My Search
HOW WILL THE DAY OF THE LORD BEGIN?
"He Opened SEAL SIX and...
A great earthquake occurred and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair and the whole moon became as blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree casts its unripe figs ... being shaken by a great wind. The heaven departed as a scroll being rolled up and every mountain and island were moved out of their places." Rev.6:12-14.
STEP ONE in My Search through Revelation began with the above SIGN of the Day of the Lord. The "charts" I found on Revelation depicted Seal Six in the middle of Daniel's 70th Week. But Jesus places this Sign "in the days after the great tribulation." Mark 13:24, Matt.24:29.
Recently I have come to understand this Sign of Seal Six occurs on the 12-Hour Day Christ returns to begin what I call the 1000-Year Day of the Lord! Amos 8:9 states: "It will come about on that day ," declares the Lord, "I shall make the sun go down at noon and make the earth dark in broad daylight." Zechariah 14:7 adds: "It will be a unique day which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light." NASB.
On that day there will be no light for six hours and the "luminaries will dwindle." As the sun turns dark in Israel, it will turn dark at 6 AM on the east coast of America and the moon will turn to blood...with the change in both luminaries being seen at the same time. The stars will begin falling from heaven. Rev.6:12-14. These initial signs will alert the world to watch the events that occur on the day that comes "as a thief" for unbelievers. Believers will be "watching with their clothes on" knowing the Hour of God's Wrath and of their glorious gathering above to meet the Lord is imminent. Rev.16:15.
STEP TWO in my search requires a single solar day will launch the 1000-Year-Day of the Lord. It cannot include the great tribulation as taught by the scholars. I believe that 6 AM to 6 PM in Israel, the first 12 hours of that day, having ended the last day of this age, will climax with the start of the 1000 Year Day of the Lord. That day, terrible for the wicked and glorious for the Saints, begins at the physical presence of all the Saints coming with Christ!
This view is vital to the time of the "gathering of all the Saints from earth to heaven. It occurs in the days after the great tribulation." Mark 13:24-27. It must include all the Saints, both those with the hope of being raptured after the great tribulation as well as those “gathered from earth to heaven on one of the (3½) days after the great tribulation.”
The Mighty Angel revealed to John that the “countdown time” of 1260 days ends “in the (3½) days after the Beast kills the Two Witnesses and the 7th Trumpet is about to sound…for Time (Chronos; not “delay”) shall no longer” be subject to countdown. Rev.10:6-7. These Two Prophets are among the Saints who “come out of great tribulation to praise God and the Lamb by name” after Seal 6 opens! Though resurrected separately from the rest of tribulation martyrs, they rise up to heaven on the same Lastday!
Seal Six is “The Sign” of the Lastday...six hours into the 12-Hour-Day of the Lord that comes "as a thief"! The 22 major events of Revelation and the Presence of Christ at one of the final hours of darkness on that Day do not come like a thief. Men’s hearts will be failing from fear while millions are begging to “escape all these things” as Christ is about to institute a 1000-Year-Day of the Lord. Luke 21:25-36.
Many think the Day of the Lord begins with the Covenant of Daniel's 70th Week. Breaking the Covenant is Satan's work; not that of the Day of the Lord when Michael casts Satan to the Abyss. Unfortunately, many scholars ignore that the “unknown day” of the Lord will occur *after* the great tribulation. Instead, they place The Sign of that Day before or during the first half of Daniel's 70th Seven.
Paul says the Day of the Lord includes Christ's coming to destroy the Beast by the "epiphany of His Presence." 2 Thess.2: 2,8. The revelation of the Lawless One does not begin the Day of the Lord. The Day that comes "as a thief" is a single 12-Hour Day instead of a period of great tribulation including five seals, six trumpets and six plagues. Plague 7, Seals 6 and 7 and Trump 7 occur on the Lastday. Seal Six is The Sign of the Lastday...the Day of the Lord which comes "as a thief"! The 22 major events of that Day do not come as a thief. (See Centerpiece).
STEP THREE in My Search, to my knowledge, has not been addressed by others. Why did Jesus separate The Sign of the Day of the Lord from "the sign" of His Presence on that same Day? Both signs are mentioned in Matthew 24:29,30. Here are three reasons.
Reason One: Both the Day and the Hour are unknown. The Sign of that Day (Seal Six during a full moon) and of the Hour Christ appears (Two Prophets rising up from death, angelic messages flashing across the sky and that of angels gathering the elect from around the globe to Jesus) are unknown in advance. Jesus will know that *Day* has come as the voice out of the Temple decrees: "It is Done." Rev.16:17. He will know the *Hour* has come when three angels, sent from the Temple in heaven to the white cloud, inform the Son of Man to "Reap. For the Hour to Reap has come." Rev.14:15.
Matthew mentions these separate signs for the Day and Hour! "The Sign" of that Day waits upon the moment the Beast kills the last Martyr. Only the Father knows that moment and will give the signal from within the Temple. For as the Last Plague empties in midair, the Father decrees: "It is Done." Rev.16:17. Immediately the Lamb will open Seal Six!
"The Signs" of the Hour Christ is about to appear, on the other hand, wait upon 22 major events listed in our Centerpiece. These signs begin with four angels holding back the four great winds while another angel seals 144,000 Jews from the twelve tribes of Israel. Rev.7:1-8. Then the Lamb rescues the 144,000 from Mt. Zion and "they go with Him wherever He goes." They are with Him as the Son of Man reaps the wicked to the "winepress of God's great anger." They sing a New Song of the Lamb in heaven before the Throne and join the martyrs having come out of great tribulation who sing the victory Song of Moses. "The Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony opens in heaven for a climactic Three-Act Drama. Rev.14:1 to 15:5.
Because of these signs for the final Hour, the gathering to The Armageddon and the last two Plagues of Rev.16:12-17 must precede the opening of Seal 6 recorded in Rev.6:12-17 ten chapters earlier! Just as the Day is unknown in advance, so the exact Hour Christ appears is unknown in advance. The Son of Man must wait on a white cloud until three angels are sent from the Temple to aid in "reaping" the wicked; for they "collect" the wicked after Seal 6 opens. Then all the Saints in heaven praise God and the Lamb in the Temple for the first time ever!
To recapitulate: When the last Martyr is killed, the Lastday has arrived. With the Decree: "It is Done," The Lamb opens Seal 6, goes to rescue the 144,000 Jews on Mt. Zion and then, as the Son on Man, "waits on a white cloud" for three angels to come from the Temple in heaven to inform Him: "Reap. The Hour to Reap has come." They assist in reaping the wicked to "the great winepress of God's anger." They and the martyrs sing their songs and then they enter the Temple for its Three-Act Drama!
That Hour on the Lastday occurs while "The Signs" of that Day continue. "The signs" of that Hour, including the resurrection of the Two Prophets, the rescue of the 144,000 from Mt. Zion and the messages of three angels racing across the skies are distinct from the signs initiated by Seal 6 on the Day of darkness. They are additional to the ongoing signs in the sun, moon and stars and a great earthquake that becomes the greatest in history during the final "Hour of Trial" on all mankind.
Reason Two for separating The Sign of that Day from The Hour Christ appears: The Hour of His Presence and the sign of that Presence (like lightning with all the Saints gathered above to Himself) follows more than one sounding of the 7th Trumpet on that Day. Matt.24:27-31! There is a great trumpet in verse 31.
Jesus did not separate the sign of His Presence from that Day. He separated The Sign of that Day from the Hour of Trial! The great trumpet will blow as the angels "gather the elect out of the four winds from all extremities of the heavens" surrounding the globe to the meeting place over Jerusalem. Everyone will see the Saints coming with Him as the great trumpet sounds! Millions of the tribes of earth will mourn. Matt.24:30,31; Rev.1:7.
Jesus will "gather the elect from earth to heaven," vertically, while "angels gather them from all the heavens' extremities" around the globe to His presence, horizontally. The angels take over from the vertical position above the earth. Paul sees them gathered to the Synagogue in the Sky. Jesus uses the same word in the verb form that Paul uses in the noun form on behalf of the gathering of all the Saints "together above and unto Jesus." Mark 13:27; Matt.24:31; 2 Thess.2:1.
These two groups of Signs, one for the Day and one for the Hour, are separated by Rev.7:1-8; Rev.14:1 to Rev.15:5 and by the Temple Drama of Rev.7:9 to Rev.8:5 and Rev.11:15-19. (See Centerpiece). Christ appears on the Day of "The Sign." The 144,000 are rescued, the wicked are reaped, the Martyrs and Firstfruit of the living Harvest sing the two Songs of Rev.14:3-4 and Rev.15:3-4 and the Temple opens for the Three-Act Drama that occurs between these two Signs...on the same 12-Hour Day!
Jesus separates the Hour of His Presence from The Sign of that Day. Because 100 verses in Revelation must be fulfilled between Plague 7 suspended in midair and Christ's actual Presence. The calamities of that Day are too devastating to occur at Midweek or at the beginning of Daniel's Week #70.
At their onset, the signs are so violent that godless men are not able to kill the Saints. They are so widespread that mountains and islands move out of place. The nations' cities and mountains disappear and the wicked are destroyed in the Hour of Trial. The aftershocks of history's greatest quake affect the entire earth. Rev.16:19-21.
Reason Three for separating the Day and Hour of Christ's Presence is an astounding evidence of His love for Israel and for the disobedient descendants of the twelve tribes of Ishmael. Luke relates the calamities of Seal 6 to the nearness of Israel's redemption on the Day of the Lord...as predicted in Joel 2:32 and Joel 3:16. The rest of the nations "left of those that come against Israel" will come to worship God at Jerusalem instead of Mecca. The Jewish prophets, including John, reveal to them and to us The Sign by which all men will bow and beg or perish.
Jesus appeals to the Jews to "stand erect and look up" when its warnings appear! For what they see, at The Sign, "begins what is about to happen" on that Day! A great quake strikes Jerusalem, killing 7000 VIP's in a tenth of Jerusalem, and the Two Prophets rise up as supermen to heaven. The warnings continue as "what is about to happen means their redemption draws near."
What they see as Christ appears "completes all these things about to happens (singular verb with plural subject) because their kingdom is near." He urges, as each of these "appointed times (bundled together as a single event) happens, that they watch and beg to be able to escape all these things and to be able to stand before the Son of Man." Luke 21. Note vs.28 and vs.31 and the present tense of "about to happen" in vs.36.
This is astounding! The Elect will have just been caught up to Christ from earth's extremities and gathered by the angels from all extremities of the heavens. Luke does not address the Elect whom Jesus "gathers above (episunaxei...3rd person singular) from earth to heaven (a single direction; Mark 13:27). He will send the angels" (apostelei...3rd person singular future active indicative) and they will gather (episunaxousin...3rd person plural future indicative active) the Elect out of the four winds to Himself from all four extremities of the heavens (all directions ...Matt.24:31).
Luke omits these acts of gathering the Elect since Jesus wants the Jewish remnant who have not yet believed to also know their "redemption is near." At the first sound of the Last Trump, Jesus gathers the Elect because He alone knows whom to raise up. Mark 13:27. Angels gather them from all the ends of the heavens at a separate sounding of the Last Trump. Matt.24:31.
The Greek "apostelei" reflects the action of one person. Jesus alone gathers the Elect above (epi) and sends the angels to gather them upon (epi) and out of the four winds. Paul uses the noun form, with epi before and after "sunagog," to show Believers are gathered above and TO Jesus at the Synagogue in the Sky. Angels gather the Elect "from all extremities of the heavens"...after bringing the souls of those that sleep in Jesus from the 3rd heaven. The Angels would not know whom to raise up nor have the power to raise the dead in Christ. Luke's focus is the promised "redemption and Kingdom" about to be restored to Israel. Luke 21:28,31; Matt.17:11.
Luke alone describes "the hour coming suddenly upon all those dwelling on all the face of all the earth." He relates how men's hearts fail from fear. He warns people this Day is coming as a snare. They must not be overtaken by drink or the cares of life.
No Believer will be guilty of such a wayward lifestyle. "These things begin to happen," starting with The Signs in the sun, moon and stars...with the seas and surfs roaring...with the powers of the heavens shaking...and continuing to happen with a great quake in Jerusalem killing 7000 in the same hour that God's Prophets rise up to heaven. Luke 21:25-35; Rev.11:12-14.
The Son of Man is "about to come in a cloud with power and great glory." Matt.16:27. Then (the Jews) will look up and stand erect...for their redemption and kingdom are Near. This is the Day of the Lord. "All these things happens (pl noun; sing verb) which have always been Near"...since Isaiah! Isa.13:6-10.
On the Lastday, the cataclysmic character of Seal 6 is realized by seven classes of humans hiding in the hills. They are hiding from invading armies after the Holocaust kills two billion people ...and while the wicked refuse to repent. Rev.9:20,21. But on the Day of the Lord, they cry out to the crumbling mountains to hide them instead from God's wrath which occurs after the armies of millions mobilize at Armageddon to "make war against the Lamb and the saints coming with Him." Rev.17:14.
Kings, great men, generals, the rich, the mighty, slaves and free men plead for the rocks to kill them. They fear God and know they cannot escape His wrath and that of the Lamb. By what strange imaginations do modern scribes place the horrors of Seal 6 anywhere from 18 months to "five years before Christ appears in glory?" What motivates them to deny that only on this single Day of the Lord can it be said: "No one is able to escape God's wrath"...unless he mourns and cries out to God. The tribes of earth will mourn. Zech.12:10, Matt.24:30, Rev.1:7.
At Midweek, or before, how can these 7 classes know about the Lamb's wrath? The Two Prophets will proclaim that truth. The 7 classes seeking refuge are not exactly the same as those crushed by God's anger and wrath at Armageddon. Those hiding in the mountains and caves include rich men but not horses as in the case of Armageddon. The rich, hiding in the mountains, may have shared in gathering armies for bloodshed at Armageddon without being involved in its bloodbath. But they will not escape God on the Day of the Lord.
Rich men are not found in the Winepress of anger and wrath. Rev.19:15,18. They conscript others to gather the armies. None at Armageddon will escape God's wrath on the Day God "takes away the wicked." Of Twosomes working in the field, one will be taken to safety and the other left to the birds gathered above the corpses on the Day Jesus is revealed. Those in the mountains may call on the Lord and be "preserved from physical death." Luke 17:30-37, Matt. 24:28,39-41, Luke 17:33.
The above three reasons for separating the Day and Hour Christ appears concerns the unknown Day of the Lord...unknown as the days are "cut short in the days after the great tribulation." The Two Prophets arise after the great tribulation. Lastday events encompasses 100 verses in Revelation. See Text Key, Number VIII under TEN KEYS. This hopefully explains why Luke applied what is "about to happen" to the Jews between that Day's Sign and its Hour of Trial coming on all mankind.
STEP FOUR. My Search refutes the belief that Great Tribulation is a time of God's Wrath. If it were, it fails to end the blasphemies of the wicked. Wrath comes "after the tribulation, after the 7th Trumpet." Rev.10:6,7; Mark 13:24. They are guilty of the great Holocaust that kills a third of mankind. Those who remain at the scene of Armageddon are not killed until Christ appears. They blaspheme God's name after the 1260 days end; after all the Plagues are finished. But by the time of Seal Six, "none will escape."
Only with its Signs do "men's hearts fail from fear." Luke 21:25,26. Great Tribulation is not God's wrath. Plagues only aggravate the dementia that drives wicked men to their destiny. Seal Six stops them cold, and while they stand, they rot in their tracks on the Day of the Lord. Zech.14:12.
STEP FIVE in My Search questions the theory that, because an exact number of days (1260) must be fulfilled, the Lastday will be known in advance. This theory assumes the Day Christ appears cannot come "as a thief." It fails to recognize the Lastday is unknown because it occurs "in the days after Great Tribulation."
That Day comes suddenly; not secretly. It is the Sign of God's Day of wrath that comes as a thief. The wicked at Armageddon do not expect armies from heaven. Jesus states, with a blessing for Believers, He will "come as a thief" on that Day. Rev.16:15. Those who hide from foreign invading armies then recognize the Lamb's Day of Wrath has come ... only after The Sign. The Two Prophets will have revealed this truth. Destruction comes as a snare on Armageddons. Surprised and unable to escape, they are immobilized by deception, darkness, hail and four hurricane-force winds.
Wrath is "reserved for the day of destruction." Rom.2:5. If the Great Tribulation were a time of God's wrath, no Saints would survive and the wicked could not mobilize. No comfort would be possible if Believers are appointed to wrath as well as the Great Tribulation!
What Scripture truth, apart from modern scribes' mis-interpretation thereof, assigns Trib-Saints to God's wrath? On the Day of the Lord, the Two Prophets arise and the 144,000 Firstfruit are redeemed from earth. Surviving Trib-Saints and those who call on the Lord for mercy will be saved from death. Those who mourn will call when they see the Lord appearing with all the Saints; calling for mercy before the Hour of Testing comes on the Day of Wrath. "Every eye will see Him coming"... even a soldier who stood at the foot of the Cross and pierced Jesus but proclaimed: "SURELY, THIS IS THE SON OF GOD"!
The numbers on earth, as part of the total population, instantly diminish when Jesus sends the Angels to gather the Saints "out of the four winds" to Himself. Saints under the altar in heaven (Seal Five) had asked how long they must wait before God avenges their blood. They are required to wait a short time until the rest of their brethren are killed ... as they were." Rev.6:9-11.
They come with Jesus in the clouds ... all the Martyrs. God's wrath strikes. Saints on earth during the great tribulation are "fellow-servants" with these Saints in heaven and are members of the same Body. How can they be appointed to wrath after "enduring to the end"? The personal promise of Jesus: "Those enduring to the end will be saved ... those who keep His word to endure will be kept from the hour of trial." Having preached the Gospel "to the end and overcoming to the end," they are rescued and will sit on earthly thrones with Christ and rule the nations with a rod of iron. Matt.24:14; Rev.2:26,27.
Judgment Day is when God's wrath falls. "The Hour of Judgment and Hour of Trial" is the same hour on the "last day." Rev.14:7, Rev.3:10, Luke 21:25-35. Great Tribulation is a time of Satan's wrath and of God's Kingdom Power to hold him in check and to prepare Jews for Messiah when God's "anger is complete." Rev.15:1. Why should He empower His Prophets to "set things right" if great tribulation is the time for wrath? Christians are misled about being the subjects of God's wrath during Satan's time of deception. Even the wicked must wait for Judgment Day.
Not even the wicked are reaped to the Winepress until The Sign of the Lastday. They physically invade Israel before being "reaped" from a white cloud by the Son of Man. Millions survive until the Lastday. God's anger is greatest when He is about to mix (a new element) by pouring His anger full strength into the Cup of His wrath.
He sends word to the Son of Man at the "Hour to Reap" those who are over-ripe for punishment. The NIV (Rev.14:10) is correct to show God ready to mix His anger in the Cup of wrath; but it fails to follow through in Rev.14:19 where He fills the Winepress in "great anger" first. It fails in Rev.15:1 to show the last Plagues had "completed His anger."
Anger plus Wrath pour out of the Cup on the Lastday ... during the Hour of world-quakes and on Armageddons as their blasphemous tongues cling to the roofs of their mouths. Their "eyes rot away in their sockets" and the fowls of the air feast on their carcasses. Zech.14:12, Rev.19:17,18,21.
Anger and wrath are combined only in Rev.16:19 and Rev.19:15 to fulfill Rev.14:10,20. All the Greek Texts show the progression from "anger to great anger" in Rev.14:19. Then God's anger fills the Cup of wrath and pours out its wine in Rev.16:19-21 ... after He destroys Babylon. Rev.16:18. God "remembers Babylon" again when the Plagues have "exhausted His anger" (New Jerusalem Bible). His Cup of Anger and Wrath destroys the cities of the nations, Babylon's support System.
STEP SIX. My Search led me to wonder why the NASB, a most dependable translation, mixes wrath (thumos?) in the Cup of Anger (orgay?). How can anyone wrongly conclude that the Winepress fills with "grapes of wrath" before the Plagues exhaust His anger? This, in turn, allows the false teaching that Trib-Saints must endure the Plagues of God's so-called wrath.
The New Jerusalem Bible alone has it correct with the Winepress filled by God's "great anger" and the exhausted anger of the last Plagues having filled the Cup of Wrath. After using "anger" in Rev.14:19, Rev.15:1,7, Rev.16:1, God's anger and wrath follow the Plagues, the warnings of Seal Six, the reaping to the winepress and the Temple Drama in heaven. The Greek Text requires the Plagues to "manifest and finish" God's truth and holiness before they are described in a Flashback. This is shown by the aorist indicative in Rev.15:1,4 as opposed to the aorist subjunctive in Rev.15:8! The subjunctive carries the thought of "future" action, Rev.15:8, while the indicative shows the plagues "had finished God's anger." Rev.15:1.
Seven Plagues "complete God's anger" and anticipate His wrath. The KJV and NASB substitute "wrath" for "anger" in Rev.14:10,19, Rev.15:1,7, Rev.16:1. If the Plagues had "completed His wrath," Christ would have to "tread the Winepress of God's wrath" in Rev.19:15 before the Plagues have manifested His righteous deeds. The Plagues complete His anger which mixes with wrath at the point of exhausted patience. They complete His anger before it boils red hot. In great anger He sends the angels to aid the Son of Man by symbolically casting the wicked into God Almighty's Winepress.
Plato created the mind-set that still refuses to attribute "anger" to God. This mind-set was passed on by early Church Fathers until it appeared in English translations ... except for The New Jerusalem Bible and Greek-English translations. The New Century Bible sees no distinction at all by rendering both Thumos and Orgay as "anger." God's "long-anger" finally explodes on the Lastday. Scripture shows that what is "about to happen" relates solely to the Day all the wicked are "taken away suddenly"... after the Elect are caught up to Jesus Christ.
THESE THINGS ARE ABOUT TO HAPPEN AT "THE SIGN"!
STEP SEVEN. The most convincing step in My Search recognized what Jesus had in mind when answering three questions by the Disciples as to "those things" which He said were "about to happen ... and were Near!" ONE: When do they occur? TWO: What will be the sign of His Presence? (Sign of that Day occurs prior to the sign of His Presence). THREE: When are these things completed? Matthew asks all three. Mark and Luke ask for the Sign of the End. Luke applies the Time question, not to signs of the Endtime, but only to Jerusalem's fall in AD 70 and finally to Lastday events.
What did Jesus have in mind? How could things that He said were "about to happen" be called "Near" when they depended on signs which have not yet appeared? Three Gospels apply the first question to signs in general. General Signs are irrelevant for what is Near or "about to happen"! So they are not included in what is "about to happen" when Gentile Times are finished.
Jesus used the future tense of "about to happen" only with the general sign of wars and rumors of wars. Matt.24:6. He backed this up: "The end is not yet." Matt.24:8, Mark 13:7, Luke 21:9. These signs include false Christs, false prophets, nation rising against nation, quakes, famines, terrors, persecutions, martyrdom. These things only begin the sorrows.
Jesus had in mind The Sign that has always been "Near" in God's program. After that Sign no Believer, including the 144,000 chosen of Israel, will die. My Search was narrowed to the question: "How was The Sign Near and about to occur?"
The Gospels give The Sign (of Seal Six) that the Prophets, beginning with Isaiah, declared is "Near." Isa.13:6-10. Joel declared three times that it is "Near." Jesus shows the Sign of the Day of the Lord must wait until "Gentile Times are complete ... until the days after great tribulation." Luke 21:24, Mark 13:24. The crucial question concerns the Time when The Sign is "about to take place"... when the End is recognized as Near for certain.
Only Luke records what would happen with respect to Jerusalem and exile of the Jews. Beyond AD 70, he shows "all things about to happens" singularly applies to the signs on the Lastday. The wicked are overtaken by its coming as a "snare." Luke sees deliverance and destruction on the same Day as The Sign of the Day of the Lord! What is "about to happen" relates to this Sign!
The Day of the Lord, one 12-Hour Day, has been "Near" for many centuries. God wishes to show mercy. So, the time that passes by does not count in His eyes. What is Near and about to happen applies up to the Day God's anger mixes in His Cup of Wrath. Rev.14:10.
That is the critical-mass ignition point for completing God's anger. The Cup of Wrath fills with undiluted anger; then pours out on the wicked who survive Great Tribulation. Reserved unto wrath, evil men are all taken away. God's purpose for vessels of wrath is fulfilled on the Day "about to happen" at His righteous judgment. Rom.2:5,8, Luke 17:29,30, Rom.9:22, Rev.19:15. Paul corroborates Jesus' words. "Anger and wrath" are reserved for the unrighteous on the Day appointed. Acts 17:31.
The word about, in Zondervan's 1958 Grk-Eng Translation and Baker's 1897 Grk-Eng Translation of the KJV, appears in the present tense except with reference to "wars and rumors of wars" which apply to all time (first word in the Greek text of Matt.24:6). Events of the Day of the Lord, including God's wrath, are about to happen (present tense) when Seal 6 signals the imminent glory of Messiah's coming. Luke 21:28,31,36. Anticipation of God's purpose is not relevant to time; but to specific signs. Consider seven cases where future things are "about to happen"... all present tense; irrespective of time!
One. God set a Day when He is about to judge the world. Acts 17:31. Does a question exist that God's Wrath needs more than one Day at the End of the Age? Or even one Hour?
Two. Satan sought Jesus' death, the One about to rule all nations. Rev.12:5. He is about to do so. That's the burden of the Martyrs' Petition even on the Lastday. Rev.15:2-4.
Three. Time ends with Trump Seven " about to sound" that God's wrath has come. Christ takes this world's kingdom and reigns as King when it sounds. It is no longer future. Rev.10:6,7, Rev.11:15-18.
Four. "The Hour of Trial is about to come on all the world to test all who dwell on all the earth." Rev.3:10, Luke 21:35,36. Zondervan's Parallel Grk-Eng; Baker's KJV translation in 1897, and NASB.
Five. "Our sufferings are not worthy to be compared to the glory about to be revealed. When He appears in glory, we are instantly transformed and manifested with Him in glory." Rom.8:18, Col.3:4, I John 3:2.
Six. "Christ is about to judge the Saints at His appearing and kingdom." 2 Tim.4:1. As long as Believers face martyrdom, this judgment cannot refer to a Pre-Endtime or Endtime event. Pre-Trib Rapture doctrine assumes Believers receive their rewards before Christ appears in glory! Instead, He is "about to bring His rewards with Him." Rev.22:12, Matt.16:27.
Seven. "The Son of Man is about to come in His Father's glory to reward those unashamed of Him." Matt.16:27, Mark 8:35,38. We must endure to be worthy. All who endure will be rescued. Some will survive until He is "about to come in glory"... after He comes in Kingdom Power. Matt.16:27,28.
By using the present tense of "about" (except for Matt.24:6), and the parable about the fig tree, Jesus had the Endtime and primarily the Lastday in mind for "all these things to happen." The first specific Endtime signs begin with the "fall of great Babylon and the abomination standing in the Temple." These are two of five Endtime Catalysts showing what is about to occur.
STEP EIGHT: The most challenging aspect of My Search concerns the meaning of "some not tasting death until He is about to come in glory." Some have changed their entire approach to Christ's coming over these words. This happens when the words "ABOUT TO COME" are not allowed to include Lastday events.
These words cannot refer to an any-moment, signless coming that is so secret it preempts Seal Six's warnings. That Day is "Near" until we see The Sign which follows the Two Prophets' deaths. God's Two Prophets will arise on that same Day ... before the Elect are gathered from earth! The Firstfruit of the living Harvest (144,000 Jews) will accompany the Son of Man to heaven and sing the Song of the Lamb before the Temple opens for its Three-Act Drama of Testimony, Tribunal and Triumph (Middle Concentric Path).
Failure to understand this distorts the setting for gathering all the Saints to Christ on the last day. Until we know for certain the End is Near, He warned against saying: "The time draws near for His coming." The third Temple must be defiled before we know His coming is Near ... before the (1290) days of Dan.12:11 begin that will be "cut short." Matt.24:15,22,29,33.
Believers will know the End is Near as the Abomination sits in the Temple. But Jesus waits for The Sign at the End to urge Jews to "know the Day of the Lord and their redemption and kingdom are Near ... when these Lastday things begin to happen." The change from Hope to Imminency for Israel occurs when what is "about to happen begins to happen and continues to happen until all these things happens" (as in a single package) on the Day of The Sign. Luke 21:25,28,31,32,36. Luke links "The Sign" to completing Gentile Times and to Jews "knowing their redemption is Near."
They will "know their kingdom is Near" when Christ appears with all the Saints; after they see The Sign of that Day after waiting 2700 years. This knowledge belongs to what Jesus predicted when Elijah restores all things. Matt.17:11. "The sovereignty, dominion and greatness of all kingdoms is given to the people of the Saints of the most High"... by the Son of Man. Dan.7:22,27. Their redemption saves the Temple and restores God's people. Messiah's coming is triumphant after Luke 21:24 and Daniel's prophecy. His appearance brings national deliverance. Those who survive until He is about to come, John and Elijah being among them, will finish Christ's Mandate.
STEP NINE. Neither the Temple nor Jerusalem is destroyed on the Day of the Lord! In My Search, I realized this is Luke's unique message. "The house of Israel was left desolate" in AD 70. And the Kingdom was given to the Gentiles during Paul's ministry. Jesus had already told the Pharisees they would be "thrust out when they see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the Prophets in the Kingdom of God."
They could not see Abraham in the first century. Preterists limit what the Jews would "see" to the desolation of the first century. Jesus said the end comes when Gentile Times are finished. Here Luke 21:28-36 and Dan.7:22,27 go together. Desolation ceases when the Elect (including Daniel, Nicodemus, a dying thief and perhaps Caiaphas) "see and join" Christ in glory.
Jesus looked beyond AD 70 to the End of Gentile Times! The Sign occurs to show He included Israel in what is about to happen. Luke refers to their redemption and kingdom being Near even after their Messiah actually appears! To this end the Two Olive Trees, the Two Prophets, serve Messiah and His Mandate of authority and power for 1260 days ... to within 3½ days of His return in glory.
There is a specific setting for the Endtime. A third Temple will be standing. Jesus, Paul and John show the Temple under Gentile control to the End. Jews will finally acknowledge they failed to recognize their "time of visitation" was Palm Sunday in AD 32. Luke 19:42-44, Rev.11:1,2; See Chapters on DANIEL and SEVENTY).
Here, again, we see that, except for the "days of vengeance until Gentile Times are finished," Jesus ignored the gap of time and thought only in terms of what happens when He is "about to come in glory." Only the threat of Jerusalem's destruction occurs on the Lastday. Jews will "bless the One coming in the name of the Lord" because their enemies are about to be destroyed. Matt.23:38,39.
Armies surrounded Jerusalem in Luke's account of its fall in AD 70. After The Sign, He does not refer to this desolation in what is "about to happen." Only 7000 enemies will be killed in Jerusalem before Christ appears! Armies from the East, instead of Rome, are gathered at Christ's coming. Matthew and Mark do not refer to Jerusalem's fall as a sign of the Endtime. Only Luke's prediction of destruction in AD 70 states that vengeance would continue. Christ is "about to come" to save the Jews; not to destroy them. The Jews have suffered enough. Wicked Gentiles will be His target.
Jerusalem's fall by the armies of Titus was minuscule compared to the Destruction of Gentiles on the Day of the Lord. Preterists twist the truth of Jerusalem's fall and distort the purpose of Christ's visible return. Pre-Tribs twist the time of The Sign of that Day to support a so-called "seven-year-day of the Lord and an any-moment" disappearance or evacuation of the Saints. On the Lastday Messiah delivers Israel and destroys their enemies instantly and globally ... after He gathers all the Saints to Himself!
Luke repeats: "These things begin and continue to happen" after Gentile Times are finished. They "begin and continue and totally occur" on a 12-Hour Day ... after The Sign of that Day appears. Darkness, falling stars, invading armies, fierce winds, a quake killing 7000 in Jerusalem occur on that day ... before world-quakes utterly destroy earth's cities and mountains.
DANIEL'S focus on the Saints and the Kingdom sees Israel restored. He mentions the Saints in one chapter more times than any single chapter in the Bible. These things have been revealed to Israel by their Prophets. Saints know the End is Near 42 months before Jews know all things are happening regarding their own Sign. Matt.24:33, Mark 13:29, Luke 21:28,31,32,36. Jews will know the End is Here when the Saints are raised up and caught up, and seen by all eyes, appearing with Jesus Christ!
At The Sign, three Gospels say "all these things happens." The singular verb, with the plural subject, links all things together as a singular event in what is ABOUT TO COME. But only when they are happening. Matt.24:34, Mark 13:30, Luke 21:32. That's the distinguishing feature between the unknown Day and Hour. Matthew and Mark see Jesus "gathering the Elect from earth to heaven and sending the angels to gather them from all extremities of the heavens." Mark 13:27, Matt.24:31.
Luke does indeed talk about the Day and Hour where servants are unprepared and "one is taken and one left." Luke 12:36, Luke17:31,34. But Luke 21 relates "all these things" to the Day Jesus urges Jews to "look up, stand erect and beg to stand before the Son of Man." On this Day they Bless Him coming in the Lord's name.
Matthew and Mark refer to the Elect gathered above at The Sign. Luke does not. He addresses Jews as to their "redemption and kingdom being Near" after they see The Sign of the Day that is Near! Once The Sign occurs, the Elect know the Hour is Near. At each stage during that Day, Jews should expect what Daniel and the prophets wrote about. As a great quake strikes their city, the Lamb takes 144,000 from Mt. Zion to the Ancient of Days and then appears with the Saints in the clouds ... sometime after the sun darkens and the stars begin to fall.
This is unique. Jews surely "begged to escape" the Roman holocaust of AD 70 but could not fulfill Jesus' word: "Blessed is the One coming in the Lord's name." Here the Preterist doctrine falls apart. Josephus states that Rome killed a million and took 99,000 as slaves. Jesus did not deliver them. Instead, He made direct reference to vengeance and wrath coming upon them ... until He comes in the clouds with great glory.
First, He said their "house would be left desolate." Second, they would see Him coming in the clouds (some of them will be raised from the dead to fulfill this visibly). Third, survivors will wail at seeing Him and Believers who "pierced" Him coming with Him! Four, they bless Him as He comes. The Days of Vengeance and wrath cease at His return. Luke 21:22, Matt.23:38,39, Matt.26:64, Rev.1:7.
If the phrase "about to come" were found in our translations, those who survive until then would know His coming in Power augurs His coming in Person. Instead, we read He is "going to come." Imminency is unreal when it is applied too soon. His coming in Kingdom Power by Two Prophets precedes His coming in Person. Christ's redemptive acts include displays of His power; but not of His glory until he appears. Peter, James and John saw His glory on the Mount of Transfiguration; but they did not see Him coming "in Power!"
Modern scribes say The Sign occurs before Great Tribulation begins; before Antichrist takes global command or stands in the Temple or kills the Two Prophets. The final message in the book "Nicolae," prior to his becoming the Antichrist, says: "You have just seen the wrath of the Lamb." P.270. On the flap of a sequel, Soul Harvest, it claims His wrath destroys many cities five years before the End.
This contradicts Jesus that The Sign comes "after Great Tribulation. " An Epilogue in Nicolae quotes Seal Seven after finding its contents a "mystery." God's Mystery is finished when Seal Six opens (and Trump Seven is about to sound) and therefore Time and the mystery no longer exist. Just as God's "anger" is finished in Plague Seven; so His "wrath" comes in Trump Seven. Seals Six and Seven and Trump Seven reveal, during the Lastday, that God's mystery was over prior to the Seventh Trumpet.
Armies invading Israel from the East signal the End. The Prophets, propelled like rockets from earth to heaven, signal the End. The great quake in Jerusalem and Seal Six signal the End. The Elect coming with Christ signal the End. God's anger is never so aggravated as men cry in Seal Six that "wrath-day has come" and great voices in Trump Seven declare "God's wrath has come." The final Woe comes after the Holocaust of Trump Six has "passed by." Christ is about to reign as of Rev.6:14, 7:14, 9:14, 11:14, 16:14, 17:14, 19:14. The same verse in seven chapters requires the End has come.
God's anger stretches to the point of exhaustion. The wicked are reaped in great anger. The last Martyr arrives in heaven. Seal Six implodes the 7th Plague with ominous warnings over the earth, in the sky and the heavens! The Temple clears of smoke. Time ceases. Silence hovers for about a half hour for the evidence from the open Scroll. Only as the Drama draws to an end does a short lull separate God's exhausted anger and His explosive anger-filled-wrath. So that all heaven may rejoice.
Multitudes had entered the Temple of the Tabernacle of Testimony to praise God and to witness in Seal Seven's Court. The wine of God's unmitigated anger pours from Wrath's Cup after the Ark of the Covenant appears in the Temple. Flashes of lightning, great rumblings, peals of thunder, history's greatest earthquake and blocks of hail ensue. Is there any question of this being the Day of the Lord?
STEP TEN: Trump Seven is the clarion call for heaven's armies to ride forth on white horses. It is close to the Last Trump. With armies gathered to Armageddon, Jesus speaks His last recorded message before coming as a Thief. He "blesses" those who watch intensely ... refusing to remove their clothes lest they be seen naked. In heaven, the Saints dress in white for the Lamb's Wedding ... moments before Christ descends. Since Believers are to watch until Armageddon Day, how can The Sign of that Day occur years before these armies cross the Euphrates River?
With The Sign, the Day of the Lord is Here ... not secretly, but suddenly; not years down the road. Until the Prophets oppose the Two Beasts (Beast; False Prophet ... Rev.13) in open and deadly conflict, let no one be certain Christ's coming is imminent or His wrath has come. The Day of God's wrath occurs as of Plague 7, Seal 6, Seal 7, Trump 7 and, within an hour, the execution of His Decree coming out of the Temple from the Throne. Rev.16:17-21.
Christ appears after the last Martyr has been killed! Rev.6:10,11. This answers both the A-Millennial and Post-Millennial approaches to Revelation. My Search was fulfilled on seeing it would be unjust to Endtime Martyrs if God's wrath were executed before the last Martyrs die and Trump 7 sounds that "His wrath has come." Martyrs "must all be killed" before the promised vengeance occurs and the blessing of reigning with Christ ensues. They do not reign with Christ on earth prior to the fulfillment of either of these two conditions. They begin to reign with Christ when Satan's "short time" ends with exile to the Abyss. Rev.2:26, Rev.5:10, Rev.12:12,14, Rev.20:2-5.
Seeing The Sign, Jews will know three things. 1) What "begins to happen" means their Redemption is near. 2) What "continues to happen" causes them to mourn. 3) When "all these things happens (including The Sign of Christ's very Presence)," those who mourn know their Kingdom is near. Luke likened their former Days of Vengeance and wrath drawing near with Jerusalem's desolation drawing near. Luke 21:8,20. That was restricted to AD 70. Armies will again surround Jerusalem. But with The Signs of "redemption drawing near," Christians will share with Israel that Christ comes to destroy all their enemies. Zech.12:3,9, Zech.14:2, Rev.19:15. So as long as false Christs exist and Christians are martyred, no one should claim Christ has come ... for He is still "about to come" when these signs occur.
Here are the Significant Points for "The Sign":
One: When the End comes, Jerusalem will be liberated! Two: Jews have not "passed away" by assimilation. They suffer among the nations until Gentile Times are finished. Three: Luke connects the knowledge of "all that is about to happen" to The Sign of the Lastday ... the Day of the Lord ... and to the actual presence of Christ in glory! Elijah must come 42 months before that Day. The Lawless One will be revealed 42 months before that Day. The survival of the Two Witnesses and their support of Christians during these 42 months is the reason Christ put the Mandate for the Prophets at the climax of His Messianic Mission. Matt.16:8-28.
Preparing the Church and Israel is central to His Messianic Mission. The NOW of the Mandate's fulfillment is John's only direct reference to Daniel's Endtime period! Rev.12:10,14. This is the time Believers "love not their life unto death." The Mandate begins with the apostate Church cut off. Gentiles reach their fullness and are cut off at the end. Rom.11: 22,25, Dan.7:25, Dan. 12:7, Zech.4:11-14, Rev.11:3-11, Mark 9:1, Luke 21:24,25. Then He and His people will "shepherd the nations with an iron staff." Rev.2:27, Rev.19:15.
We must realize that "shepherding the nations" with Christ (as in the LXX text for Psa.2:9 and quoted in Rev.2:27) will be realized after Christ comes to smite the nations. The act of smiting is not in the future tense. But the shepherding with an iron staff is future tense as of His coming "at the End." Overcomers "endure to the end and hold fast until He comes in order to shepherd the nations with Him." Smiting the nations occurs at His coming and shepherding results from the smiting. The word "to shepherd" is distinctively future with respect to His coming in glory and power.
We need Daniel's vision and John's insight! Saints are commanded to come out of the global System before Babylon's fall at Midweek lays waste to the centralized underpinning of global economic structures. Saints will be wise to manage their pre-Endtime affairs and still lead many to righteousness. They will shine like the stars forever and ever." Dan.12:3.
Jesus comes in Power before coming in Person. Mark shows some had been appointed to survive until after the Kingdom comes in Power; not until after Christ comes in Person. The Power begins at Midweek and fills the Endtime. The End of the Mandate sees the Elect gathered above, Israel redeemed, enemies destroyed and Christ coming to "shepherd all nations with an iron staff." He sits on His throne 1000 years until the final judgment when He separates the Sheep and Goat nations. Rev.19:15, Matt.25:31,32.
We will know the End is Near when the Endtime is Here. Not needing to fulfill the hidden Mandate until centuries later is the reason Jesus said: "You need not know the times and seasons." Acts 1:6,7. Paul gave the same word about the Rapture Day of the Lord. I Thess.5:1-3. Except we will know it is Near. The Disciples misinterpreted His concept of the Kingdom. So have those being deceived by the promise of an "any-moment" Rapture.
Pilate understood Christ's Kingdom was not now of this world. He found no guilt in Jesus and offered to release him. John 18:36,37. Caiaphas understood. Twice Jesus told him: "From now on, the Son of Man will be sitting on the right hand of God's power." Matt.26:64, Luke 22:69. Jesus foresaw Himself ascending on the clouds of heaven, reaping the wicked and bringing 144,000 Firstfruit with Him to the Ancient of Days to receive the kingdom. He will give the kingdom to the people of the Saints and destroy the Beast who defiles the Temple and kills the Saints.
NEW ISRAEL will become a reality as a nation in a single day under the New Covenant. The Covenant was a reality at the Cross. But this Covenant involves all nations, under Israel, sharing in deliverance from the curse of nature's corruption. The world's religions will recognize Christ as the one God. Each may worship his own god; but the "knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as waters cover the sea." Rom.8:18-22, Mic.4:1-5.
God's Word is not bound by our concept of time. "A thousand years to us is like a day to the Lord." 2 Pet.3:8. In our perspective, the time is nearer than it was when Peter and Paul wrote. Rom.13:11,12. The Endtime-element is moot until we know the End is Near and Christ is about to come. The End is Here on the Day of the Lord.
Seven things will have come on the Lastday
One: Martyrs praise God and the Lamb in the Temple ... Rev.7:13 Two: God's Day and Hour of Wrath in Seal Six and Trump Seven ... Rev.3:10, Rev.6:17, Rev.11:18 Three: Time to judge and reward Prophets and Saints ... Rev.11:18 Four: Time to destroy earth's destroyers ... Rev.11:18 Five: The Hour of Judgment has come ... Rev.14:7 Six: The Hour to Reap has come ... Rev.14:15 Seven: Lamb's Wedding has come and invitation to wedding supper ... Rev.19:7-9.
All the Elect are taken up literally to the resplendent glory of our Lord's visible Presence. Why is this critical? Since the Elect are Believers, they include survivors as well as the last Martyrs and 144,000 Jews. Jews are not the Elect "re-gathered to their land after the great tribulation" (Scofield Bible notes. P.1033, Point 5; reference Matt.24:29-31. The 1984 NIV Scofield edition still refers to "re-gathering the Jews" under Matt.24:34; P.1011).
The Angels are not sent to "re-gather the Jews" to Israel but to "gather Believers from the expanses of the heavens" after Jesus "gathers them from earth to heaven." Overcomers who survive meet their loved ones as He promised. They are not "Left" to God's wrath on the Lastday! Mark 13:27 ... Jesus sends the Angels and He gathers the Elect; third person singular; Matt.24:31 ... Angels rejoice as they complete the task; third person plural!
How else can all Believers rise up on the last day as Jesus promised? The Two Prophets rise up and the 144,000 Firstfruit of the living are taken up. In the main Harvest, Paul says those caught up include all who "sleep in Jesus and all Believers who are alive and survive." The rest of the dead live not for a thousand years." Rev.20:5,6.
It is therefore impossible for any of the "dead in Christ" not to include every Martyr for Christ or for those who survive to exclude a single surviving Saint! They must all rise up when He appears. "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom. We must all be changed, who survive until His Presence, at one and the same moment!" 2 Cor.15:50,52.
The Kingdom of God was not postponed or delayed; but is being enlarged in the Church. The Church Age climaxes with Israel about to be grafted back to the Olive Tree as the New Israel under the same New Covenant given to the Church. God's Prophets promote purity in the Church and challenge 144,000 Israelis to be "blameless, truthful and celibate."
Jewish mothers are raising up children as pure servants for God's Holy Temple. The Davidic Kingdom will be restored under the Twelve Apostles and Twelve Tribes and "144,000 Firstfruit to God and the Lamb." Justice will prevail because God's honor is at stake and His word is inviolable.
Believers will not be surprised at His coming. Paul says "we are not of the night for that day to overtake us as a thief." Thief-Day does not see Jesus coming secretly; but suddenly. Else He would not bless those who watch up to the very edge of Armageddon. Rev.16:15. Paul says that day overtakes those of the night. The days after Tribulation constitute imminent expectation for the Saints. I Thess.5:2,3.
The Church must expect God's Kingdom Power before Christ appears in person. Will we heed the words of His Father: "This is My Beloved Son! Listen to Him"? All believers will be caught up with the resurrected bodies of all the souls God brings with Him. I Thess.4:14,17. Martyrs live again in the first resurrection. The 144,000 will never die. They are the Firstfruit of the Living as Christ was the Firstfruit of the dead. And so there is an "order to those raised up" on the Day of His Presence. I Cor.15:20,23. All Believers meet together when Christ appears ... or our faith is vain and the premature hope of some is shamelessly self-centered.
MY SEARCH, first posted Jan.,1999 to pinn.net/~lastday.
© Copyright by Mel Miller, 1999 - 2008. All rights reserved.
Accessed: 17 May 2008 .