Download This  Study For Free!


Please feel free to Download this study.

THE LAST DAYS (Part II) VERSES

1. Post-tribulationism:
Second coming and rapture a single event:
Matthew 24:27,30,31 – "For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man…..At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.  And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other."

I Thessalonians 4:16,17 – "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever."

I Thessalonians 5:1,2  - "Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night."

I Thessalonians 5:3-6 – "While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.  But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.  You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.  So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled."

Matthew 24:42 - "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come."

Luke 12:35-39 - "Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him.  It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them.  It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night.  But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into."

    They do not believe Jesus' return is imminent:  
Matthew 24:14 – "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."

Matthew 25:19 – "After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them."

II Peter 3:11-13 – "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.  That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.  But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness."

    They believe the "elect" in this verse is the church:
Matthew 24:31 – "And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other."

    They believe that "watch" and "keep alert" refer to the tendency of
Christians to go to sleep:
Ephesians 6:18 – "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."

I Corinthians 16:13 – "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong."

Colossians 4:2 – "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful."

I Peter 5:8 - "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."

Matthew 24:36-44 - "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.  Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.  Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.  But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.  So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."

Revelation 16:15 - "Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed."

    They believe that the mystery is not the time of the rapture, but the
rapture:
I Corinthians 15:50-53 – "I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.  Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality."

    They believe the church and Israel will go through the Tribulation:
Acts 14:22 – "strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. 'We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,' they said."

I Thessalonians 1:6 – "You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit."

I Thessalonians 3:4 – "In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know."

II Thessalonians 1:5-8 – "All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.  God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.  He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus."

Matthew 24:14 – "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."

    They believe that the church will be protected from God's wrath:
Revelation 7:1-8 – "After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree.  Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea:  'Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.'  Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000, from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000, from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000, from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000."

Ezekiel 48:1 - "These are the tribes, listed by name: At the northern frontier, Dan will have one portion; it will follow the Hethlon road to Lebo Hamath; Hazar Enan and the northern border of Damascus next to Hamath will be part of its border from the east side to the west side."

    They believe that the church existed in the O.T. and the N.T.:
Joshua 8:35 – "There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly [church] of Israel, including the women and children, and the aliens who lived among them."

Joel 2:16 – "Gather the people, consecrate the assembly [church]; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast.  Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber."

Acts 7:38 – "He was in the assembly in the desert, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers; and he received living words to pass on to us."

Ephesians 2:11-16 – "Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called 'uncircumcised' by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)-- remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.  For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility."

Romans 11:17-21 – "If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.  You will say then, 'Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.'  Granted.  But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid.  For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either."

    Classic Post-tribulationism:
Acts 8:1 – "And Saul was there, giving approval to his death."

Acts 11:19 – "Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews."

2. Mid-tribulationism:
Revelation 8:1 – "When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour."

Revelation 11:12,15 – "Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, 'Come up here.' And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on….The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:  'The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ,' "

I Corinthians 15:52 – "in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed."

Revelation 11:18 – "The nations were angry; and your wrath has come.  The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great-- and for destroying those who destroy the earth."

    The restrainer is the church:
II Thessalonians 2:6-8 – "And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time.  For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.  And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming."

    The tribulation is only 3 ½ years long:
Matthew 24:21 – "For then [after the 'abomination of desolation – 24:15] there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never to be equaled again."

    Revelation 4-11 = first 3 ½ years; Revelation 12-10 = last 3 ½ years:
Daniel 9:27 – "He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."

    Trumpet in Rev. 11:15 and I Cor 15:52/I Thess 4:16-17 are same:
Revelation 11:15 – "The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:  'The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.' "

I Corinthians 15:52 – "in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed."

I Thessalonians 4:16,17 – "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever."


3. Pre-tribulationalism:
    The Lord's wrath includes the persecution of the Antichrist and seals 2-4
    of Revelation:
Leviticus 26:21-28 - "If you remain hostile toward me and refuse to listen to me, I will multiply your afflictions seven times over, as your sins deserve.  I will send wild animals against you, and they will rob you of your children, destroy your cattle and make you so few in number that your roads will be deserted.  If in spite of these things you do not accept my correction but continue to be hostile toward me, I myself will be hostile toward you and will afflict you for your sins seven times over.  And I will bring the sword upon you to avenge the breaking of the covenant. When you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague among you, and you will be given into enemy hands.  When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will be able to bake your bread in one oven, and they will dole out the bread by weight. You will eat, but you will not be satisfied.  If in spite of this you still do not listen to me but continue to be hostile toward me, then in my anger I will be hostile toward you, and I myself will punish you for your sins seven times over."

Ezekiel 14:12-13 – "The word of the LORD came to me:  'Son of man, if a country sins against me by being unfaithful and I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its food supply and send famine upon it and kill its men and their animals,'"

Deuteronomy 11:17 – "Then the LORD's anger will burn against you, and he will shut the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the LORD is giving you."

Ezekiel 4:16-17 – "He then said to me: "Son of man, I will cut off the supply of food in Jerusalem. The people will eat rationed food in anxiety and drink rationed water in despair, for food and water will be scarce. They will be appalled at the sight of each other and will waste away because of their sin."

Numbers 11:33 – "But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the LORD burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague."

Numbers 16:46 – "Then Moses said to Aaron, 'Take your censer and put incense in it, along with fire from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from the LORD ; the plague has started.' "

    The church will be raptured before the "hour of trial":
Revelation 3:10 – "Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth."

    The church is a parenthesis between 2 stages of Israel:
Daniel 9:27 – "He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."

    The church is a mystery not mentioned in the O.T.:
Ephesians 3:1-13 – "For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles-- Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly.  In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets.  This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.  I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power.  Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.  His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.  In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.  I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory."

Ephesians 5:32 – "This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the church."

Colossians 1:26-27 – "the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints.  To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

    Matthew 24 says nothing about the church:
Matthew 24:30-31 - "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.  And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other."

    The rapture of the church is a mystery:
I Corinthians 15:51-52 – "Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed."

    The promises to Israel are distinct from the church:
Isaiah 1:25-27 – " will turn my hand against you; I will thoroughly purge away your dross and remove all your impurities.  I will restore your judges as in days of old, your counselors as at the beginning.  Afterward you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City.  Zion will be redeemed with justice, her penitent ones with righteousness."

Isaiah 2:1-5 – "This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem: In the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.  Many peoples will come and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob.  He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.  The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.  He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples.  They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.  Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.  Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the LORD.' "

Isaiah 27:13 – "And in that day a great trumpet will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled in Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain in Jerusalem."

Isaiah 61:1-7 –  "The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.  They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.  They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.  Aliens will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.  And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God.  You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.  Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs."

Isaiah 62:1-4 – "For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch.  The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.  You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God.  No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate.  But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be married."

Jeremiah 3:14-18 - " 'Return, faithless people,' declares the LORD , 'for I am your husband. I will choose you-one from a town and two from a clan-and bring you to Zion.  Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.   In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land," declares the LORD , 'men will no longer say, 'The ark of the covenant of the LORD .' It will never enter their minds or be remembered; it will not be missed, nor will another one be made.  At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD , and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD . No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.  In those days the house of Judah will join the house of Israel, and together they will come from a northern land to the land I gave your forefathers as an inheritance."

Jeremiah 33:14-22 - " 'The days are coming,' declares the LORD , 'when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.  In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David's line; he will do what is just and right in the land.  In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety.  This is the name by which it will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.'  For this is what the LORD says: 'David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, nor will the priests, who are Levites, ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.'  The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:  'This is what the LORD says: 'If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time, then my covenant with David my servant-and my covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me-can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne.  I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the stars of the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.' "

    The restrainer is the church:
II Thessalonians 2:6,7 – "And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time.  For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way."

    The church is raptured in Revelation 4:1-2:
Revelation 4:1-2 – "After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, 'Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.'  At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it."

    The day of the Lord is the whole 7-year Tribulation period:
Isaiah 2:12-21 – "The LORD Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted (and they will be humbled), for all the cedars of Lebanon, tall and lofty, and all the oaks of Bashan, for all the towering mountains and all the high hills, for every lofty tower and every fortified wall, for every trading ship and every stately vessel.  The arrogance of man will be brought low and the pride of men humbled; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day, and the idols will totally disappear.  Men will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground from dread of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth.  In that day men will throw away to the rodents and bats their idols of silver and idols of gold, which they made to worship.  They will flee to caverns in the rocks and to the overhanging crags from dread of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth."

Isaiah 13:9-16 – "See, the day of the LORD is coming -a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger- to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it.  The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light.  The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light.  I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless.  I will make man scarcer than pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir.  Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the LORD Almighty, in the day of his burning anger.  Like a hunted gazelle, like sheep without a shepherd, each will return to his own people, each will flee to his native land.  Whoever is captured will be thrust through; all who are caught will fall by the sword.  Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses will be looted and their wives ravished."

Joel 1:15-2:11 – "Alas for that day!  For the day of the LORD is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty.  Has not the food been cut off before our very eyes- joy and gladness from the house of our God?  The seeds are shriveled beneath the clods.  The storehouses are in ruins, the granaries have been broken down, for the grain has dried up.  How the cattle moan!  The herds mill about because they have no pasture; even the flocks of sheep are suffering.  To you, O LORD , I call, for fire has devoured the open pastures and flames have burned up all the trees of the field.  Even the wild animals pant for you; the streams of water have dried up and fire has devoured the open pastures.  Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill.  Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming.  It is close at hand- a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness.  Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was of old nor ever will be in ages to come.  Before them fire devours, behind them a flame blazes.  Before them the land is like the garden of Eden, behind them, a desert waste- nothing escapes them.  They have the appearance of horses; they gallop along like cavalry.  With a noise like that of chariots they leap over the mountaintops, like a crackling fire consuming stubble, like a mighty army drawn up for battle.  At the sight of them, nations are in anguish; every face turns pale.  They charge like warriors; they scale walls like soldiers.  They all march in line, not swerving from their course.  They do not jostle each other; each marches straight ahead.  They plunge through defenses without breaking ranks.  They rush upon the city; they run along the wall.  They climb into the houses; like thieves they enter through the windows.  Before them the earth shakes, the sky trembles, the sun and moon are darkened, and the stars no longer shine.  The LORD thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty are those who obey his command.  The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful.  Who can endure it?"

Joel 2:28-32 - "And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.  Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.  I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke.  The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.  And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls."

Joel 3:9-21 – "Proclaim this among the nations:  Prepare for war!  Rouse the warriors!  Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.  Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears.  Let the weakling say, 'I am strong!'  Come quickly, all you nations from every side, and assemble there.  Bring down your warriors, O LORD !  Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side.  Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.  Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow- so great is their wickedness!"  Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!  For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.  The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine.  The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble.  But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.  Then you will know that I, the LORD your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill.  Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her.  In that day the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk; all the ravines of Judah will run with water.  A fountain will flow out of the LORD's house and will water the valley of acacias.  But Egypt will be desolate, Edom a desert waste, because of violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood.  Judah will be inhabited forever and Jerusalem through all generations.  Their bloodguilt, which I have not pardoned, I will pardon."  The LORD dwells in Zion!"

Amos 5:18-20 –  "Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD !  Why do you long for the day of the LORD?  That day will be darkness, not light.  It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him.  Will not the day of the LORD be darkness, not light- pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?"

Obadiah 15-17 - "The day of the LORD is near for all nations.  As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head.  Just as you drank on my holy hill, so all the nations will drink continually; they will drink and drink and be as if they had never been.  But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will possess its inheritance."

Zephaniah 1:1-18 – "The word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah:  I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth,' declares the LORD.  I will sweep away both men and animals; I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea.  The wicked will have only heaps of rubble when I cut off man from the face of the earth, declares the LORD.  I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem. I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal, the names of the pagan and the idolatrous priests- those who bow down on the roofs to worship the starry host, those who bow down and swear by the LORD and who also swear by Molech, those who turn back from following the LORD and neither seek the LORD nor inquire of him.  Be silent before the Sovereign LORD , for the day of the LORD is near.  The LORD has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated those he has invited.  On the day of the LORD's sacrifice I will punish the princes and the king's sons and all those clad in foreign clothes.  On that day I will punish all who avoid stepping on the threshold, who fill the temple of their gods with violence and deceit.  'On that day,' declares the LORD, 'a cry will go up from the Fish Gate, wailing from the New Quarter, and a loud crash from the hills.  Wail, you who live in the market district ; all your merchants will be wiped out, all who trade with silver will be ruined.  At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, 'The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad.'  Their wealth will be plundered, their houses demolished.  They will build houses but not live in them; they will plant vineyards but not drink the wine.  The great day of the LORD is near- near and coming quickly. Listen! The cry on the day of the LORD will be bitter, the shouting of the warrior there.  That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers.  I will bring distress on the people and they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD.  Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like filth.  Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the LORD's wrath.  In the fire of his jealousy the whole world will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end of all who live in the earth.' "

    The return of the Lord is imminent:
I Corinthians 1:7 – "Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed."

Titus 2:13 – "while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,"

 1 Thessalonians 4:18 - "Therefore encourage each other with these words."

    The 24 elders of Revelation 4:4 are elders of the church after the
    rapture:
Revelation 4:4 - "Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads."

    Because we will not know when the rapture will occur, it must not occur
    at the end or the middle of the tribulation, for we will know these times:
Matthew 24:36, 42 – "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father……Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come."

4. Pre-wrath rapture:
    The rapture will take place during the last 3 ½ years of "great distress":
Matthew 24:21 – "For then [after the 'abomination of desolation – 24:15] there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never to be equaled again."

Daniel 12:1 - "At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people-everyone whose name is found written in the book-will be delivered."

    The Day of the Lord begins with the seventh trumpet:
Revelation 6:16,17 – "They called to the mountains and the rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!  For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?' "

Revelation 8:1-5 – "When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.  Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne.  The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand.  Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake."

Revelation 11:18 – "The nations were angry; and your wrath has come.  The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great-- and for destroying those who destroy the earth."

Revelation 14:10 – "he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb."

Revelation 15:1,7 – "I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues--last, because with them God's wrath is completed….Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever."

Revelation 16:1,9 – "Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, 'Go, pour out the seven bowls of God's wrath on the earth.'…..They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him."

    The sign preceding the Lord's return for His saints and the Day of the
    Lord is the sky turning black:
II Thessalonians 1:5-10 –  "All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.  God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.  He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.  They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you."

II Thessalonians 2:1-4 –  "Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come.  Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.  He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God."

Joel 2:30-31 – "I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke.  The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD."

Joel 3:14-16 – "Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!  For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.  The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine.  The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble.  But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel."

Matthew 24:3,29-31 – "As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately.  'Tell us,' they said, 'when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?'….Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.  At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.  And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other."

Isaiah 13:9-10 – "See, the day of the LORD is coming -a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger- to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it.  The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light.  The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light."

Revelation 6:12-14 – "I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind.  The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place."

    The restrainer is the Archangel Michael:
 II Thessalonians 2:6-8 – "And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time.  For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.  And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming."

Revelation 12:7-9, 13:1-2 – "And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.  But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven.  The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him…..And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea.  And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority."

    The time of great distress begins immediately after the restrainer is
    removed:
Daniel 12:1 - "At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people-everyone whose name is found written in the book-will be delivered."

    The Bible never calls the 7 year period in Daniel 9 the "tribulation":
Daniel 9:27 – "He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."

    The last 3 ½ years will be shortened for the sake of suffering believers:
Matthew 24:22 – "If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened."

    The rapture, Jesus' return in judgment, and the Day of the Lord are one
    event:
II Thessalonians 1:5-10 – "All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.  God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.  He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.  They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you."

II Thessalonians 2:1-4 – "Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come.  Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.  He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God."

    God's promise that we will not go through God's wrath does not mean
    that we will not go through the persecution of the Antichrist:
Acts 14:22 – "strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. 'We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,' they said."

    The description of the Lord's return in Matthew 24 describes the rapture
    of the church:
Matthew 24:30-31 - "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.  And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other."