ARE WE ON THE THRESHOLD OF THE TRIBULATION?

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.   The doctrine called “Premillennialism” has been taught for hundreds of years.

1.    It teaches that there are signs that predict the second coming of Jesus is near.

2.    When He comes, He will rapture the church from the earth.

3.    At that time, the earth will go through a 7-year tribulation period.

 

B.   Quotes: 

1.    “The Bible gives us certain signs of the times we’re told to be looking for – clear indications that will alert us to Christ’s soon return.  And here’s what I find so fascinating:  There are more of those signs in closer proximity to one another than I have ever seen before” (Signs of the Times, Greg Laurie, “Converging Signs, p. 10).

a.    Global wars

b.    Earthquakes

c.    False teachings in the church

d.    People denying the return of Christ

2.    “The Lord lets us know we are in the end times via the ‘signs of the times’” (Bible Prophecy Answer Book, Ron Rhodes, “The Signs of the Times, p. 69). 

a.    “To make the signs of the times more accessible to students of prophecy, I have come up with six categories:  the rebirth of Israel sign, moral signs, religious signs, national alignment signs, earth-and-sky signs, and technological signs” (Ibid., 70-71).

b.    One example:

 

“Another example relates to the mark of the beast.  We do not know specifically what form this mark will take, but we do know that the false prophet will control who will be able to buy and sell, depending upon whether they submit to worshipping the antichrist (Revelation 13:16-17).  With today’s satellites, the Internet, supercomputers, biometric identification procedures (hand scanners, retina scanners, facial recognition scanners), radio frequency identification (RFID) chips, and smart card technology, it would be easy for every selling establishment and every buyer to have a separate account number that would enable such control by the false prophet.  This technology exists today!” (Rhodes, 76).

 

C.   It is this type of teaching that leads to the title of our lesson this lesson:  “Are We on the Threshold of the Tribulation?”

 

D.   A simple answer to this question is:  “No.” 

 

E.   A mere denial proves nothing.  Let’s look at some of the evidences that will help us to support this answer.

 

I.             PREDICTIONS OF THE PAST

 

A.   As we noted in the introduction, premillennialism has existed in some form for hundreds of years.  Therefore, predictions about the Second Coming of Christ have been around for hundreds of years.

 

B.   I looked up “Predictions and Claims for the Second Coming” on Wikipedia. 

1.    They listed 47 examples of predictions of the Second Coming from 500 A.D. to 2021.

2.    They also listed 4 examples of future predictions of the Second Coming between 2024 to 2057.

C.   Some illustrations:

1.    Hippolytus of Rome, Sextus Julius Africanus, and Irenaeus all predicted that the Second Coming would happen in 500 A.D.

2.    Pope Sylvester II predicted the Millennium Apocalypse, that is, the end of the world happening at 1,000 A.D.

3.    Thomas Muntzer, an Anabaptist, predicted the Millennium would begin in 1525.

4.    John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, predicted the millennium would come by 1836.

5.    William Miller, one of the founders of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church predicted the Lord would return on October 22, 1844.

6.    Charles Taze Russell, the first president of the Jehovah’s Witnesses proclaimed that Christ came invisibly in 1874 and that the final end of “the day of wrath” would take place in 1914.

7.    In both Doctrines and Covenants and minutes of meetings, Joseph Smith believed that the Second Coming of Christ would be about 1891.

8.    Herbert W. Armstrong of the Worldwide Church of God made at least four different predictions about Christ’s return.  His last one stated that Jesus would come before he died.  He died in January of 1986.

9.    Hal Lindsey published the book, The Late Great Planet Earth, and predicted Jesus would return in the 1980s, possibly in 1988.

10. Jerry Falwell, a fundamentalist preacher, stated in 1999 that Jesus would probably come within the next 10 years.

11. Jack Van Impe made several predictions about the Lord’s return.  His last prediction was 2012.

12. Jeane Dixon, a psychic, predicted Armageddon would occur in 2020 and the total defeat of the Antichrist, Satan, and the False Prophet by 2037.

 

D.   These examples should prove to all of us that no one can predict when the Lord Jesus Christ will come.  They should also cause each of us to totally discount those today who would tell us that they are the ones who are “in the know” when it comes to eschatology.

1.    They have cried:  “Wolf, wolf,” when there is no wolf long enough.

2.    They have screamed:  “The sky is falling far too long.”

 

II.           PERVERTED BIBLE PASSAGES

 

A.   Peter wrote about individuals of the first century who were “unlearned and unstable.”  He said that they wrested the “Scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Pet. 3:17). 

1.    Wrest:

a.    Strong (4761):  to wrench, that is, (specifically) to torture (by the rack), but only figuratively to pervert

b.    Thayer:  to twist, turn awry, to torture, metaphorically to pervert, of one who wrests or tortures language in a false sense.

c.    Vine:  to twist, to torture, it comes from a root meaning “to turn” 

2.    In the next verse, 2 Peter 3:18, Peter set forth this warning to his readers:

 

Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness.

 

B.   Examples:

1.    Matthew 24

a.    The premillennialist uses Matthew 24 often as one of his proof-texts regarding the signs that the end of the world is approaching.

1)    “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars…” (v. 6).

 

“For instance…We continue to witness the rapid escalation of global wars and terrorism.  Our world has experienced terrorism for many years, but never on the scale that we’ve seen since September 11, 2001.  And now, as I write these words over ten years after that event, we see open conflict breaking out across the Middle East – even in nations once thought to be ‘stable.”  Revolutions have hit these nations like dominoes…Iran, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Yemen.  The unrest in these nations is palpable.  Where will it end” (Laurie, 11).

 

2)    “…and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places” (v. 7).

 

“We see the unprecedented increase in massive, killer earthquakes – absolutely stunning in their severity.  Within recent months Haiti, Chile, and New Zealand have been shaken, with great property damage and loss of life.  A recent quake in Japan was recorded at a shocking 9.0 of the Richter Scale, virtually devastating parts of that island nation.  The earthquake was so violent that scientists believe the axis of the earth actually changed, and the entire island of Japan moved ten feet” (Laurie, 11-12).

 

b.    This passage is completely removed from its context and made to teach something Jesus Christ, who spoke the words, never intended.

1)    The premillennialist completely overlooks the discussion that took place between the apostles and Jesus in verses 1-3.

a)    The disciples showed Him all the buildings of the temple as they departed from it.

b)    Jesus’ response was a surprise (Matt. 24:2).

 

And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things?  Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

 

-      Jesus said the temple was going to be completely destroyed.

-      When did this happen?  It happened in A.D. 70 when the Roman army overthrew the city of Jerusalem.

c)    The disciples did not let this response pass.  When they sat on the mount of Olives they questioned Jesus about it (Matt. 24:3).

 

And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be?  And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

 

-      There are three questions asked by the disciples.

-      The first question has to do with the destruction of the temple.  “Tell us, when shall these things be?”

-      NOTE:  If all of chapter 24 pertains to the Second Coming of Jesus, then He never answered their first question.

2)    But, Jesus did answer the first question in Matthew 24:4-35.  (NOTE:  If these verses do not apply to the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple, some of the verses make absolutely no sense).

a)    “Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains” (v. 16).

b)    Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house” (v. 17).

c)    “Neither let him which is the field return back to take his clothes” (v. 18).

d)    “And woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!” (v. 19).

e)    “But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day” (v. 20)

3)    Jesus also provides a specific timeframe when the signs of verses 4-35 would come to pass (Matt. 24:34).

 

Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

 

a)    “This generation” involved those living in the first century.

b)    Either those things were fulfilled by the close of the first century, or, Jesus lied, making Him a false teacher or, Jesus was ignorant, causing Him not to be God.

2.    1 Thessalonians 5:1

 

But of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

 

a.    The Argument:

1)    Paul had just completed a discussion about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 4:13-18).

2)    Notice that Paul uses the words “times” and “seasons” in this verse. 

a)    There are certain “times” and “seasons” that have signs connected to them:  fall and the turning of the leaves, gift purchasing before Christmas, warmer temperatures and rain in the spring).

b)    Paul knew there were “times” and “seasons” for Christ’s coming.  He believed the Thessalonians were well aware of these and did not need to write to them about those things.

b.    The Answers:

1)    #1:

a)    Having told them about the Second Coming, Paul probably knew

some might ask, when will these things come to pass.

b)    He notes that regarding the times and the seasons he did not have

to write unto them because there are no signs.

c)    Read 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3

 

For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.  For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

 

2)    #2

a)    Some believe that Paul is discussing the fall of Jerusalem beginning in 1 Thessalonians 5:1.

b)    Having discussed the Second Coming, some might have questioned Paul about the signs and the seasons that were happening right then.  These were the signs that indicated the destruction of the temple as told by Jesus in Matthew 24.

c)    Paul did not need to rehearse these events to them.  That day would also come when some were not prepared for it.  Not so for Christians (1 Thess. 5:4).

 

But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief in the night.

 

III.         PROHIBITIONS TO CHRIST’S RETURN

 

A.   The Rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem

1.    We are told that one of the signs of the Millennium involves the rebuilding of the temple in the city of Jerusalem.

2.    Book:  The New Temple and the Second Coming, Grant R. Jeffrey, copyright, 2007.

a.    “We are living in the generation that will witness the Second Coming” (p. vii).

b.    Four quotes regarding the rebuilding of the Temple

1)    “…the Scriptures make it clear that just before Christ returns, the Third Temple of God must stand again on the original location of the Temple Mount” (p. 4).

2)    “However, the Temple must once again occupy its place on the Temple Mount before the major prophesied events of the last days can take place” (p. 4).

3)    “However, God has called on His people to rebuild the Temple.  Not only is this critical development commanded by God, but the Scriptures reveal that the Temple will be rebuilt before the Messiah returns to earth” (p. 10).

4)    “This generation alive today will see the Temple of God once again standing in Jerusalem, and the King of Israel – the returning Messiah – ruling from the throne of David!” (p. 11).

c.    The problem:  “One of the most problematic obstacles to the rebuilding of the Temple is the location of the famous Muslim shrine known as the Dome of the Rock…For almost thirteen centuries people have believed that this shrine was built directly over the site of the original Temple of Solomon.  If that were the case, the Dome of the Rock would need to be removed before the third Temple could be built” (p. 21).

d.    Their answer:  The Dome of the Rock is not on the original location of Solomon’s Temple. 

e.    Question:  If that is the case, then why hasn’t someone started building The Third Temple?

 

B.   Plain Bible Teaching

1.    A prophecy regarding the descendants of Jehoiachin (Jer. 22:30)

 

Thus saith the Lord, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days:  for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Jerusalem.

 

NOTE:  Jesus is a descendant of Jechoiachin (Matt. 1:12; Luke 3:27).

2.    Jesus is presently reign and will continue to do so until the last enemy is destroyed, that is, death.  Then the kingdom will be delivered back to the Father (1 Cor. 15:22-26).

 

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.  But every man in his own order:  Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.  Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule, and all authority and power.  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.   Are we living on the threshold of the Tribulation?  No.

 

B.   Are we living on the threshold of the Second Coming of Christ?  Not one person knows.

 

C.   Thus, the Bible teaches us to prepare, to be ready, to be living faithful, godly, diligent Christian lives in case He does come today.

1.    Matthew 24:42

 

Watch therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

 

2.    Matthew 24:44

 

Therefore be ye also ready:  for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

 

3.    Matthew 25:13

 

Watch therefore; for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.