Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness around the world

Christian Meditations – A Chris Hansen Column

December 18, 2007

Amazing Prophecies of The Future Series
by
Chris Hansen
Author of
Revelation Revisited
Now available at your local book store.

Everyone at one time or another has wondered just how this world will end.  The Bible teaches quite clearly that the world as we have known it has a definite end.  The Bible refers to the end of this present world as "The day of the Lord," in a number of passages.  There is a day when the Lord will return and end this present world system.

The Bible is just as clear in its teaching that Jesus will return on the "Day of the Lord." 

Many have tried to set a date or specific time for this great event.  When exactly will this day come? Saint Paul is quite clear as to when it will not come.  That day will not come until another event of great importance has already come:

(2 Thessalonians 2:3: "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."

Paul is quite clear; anti-Christ must come first.  Jesus returns to this world later on. 

Many have claimed to be Christ and even anti-Christ.  Just how will we recognize this man of lawlessness?  Paul is just as clear on this point:

"He opposes and exalts himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped, and even sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God."

(2 Thessalonians 2:3-4.)

Antichrist will proclaim himself to be God himself.  That's nothing new.  Many have done that.  What is new is that he sets himself up in God’s temple.  Why is this new?  There is no temple!  That temple was destroyed around 70 A.D.  There hasn't been a temple since then.  So the first sign to look for will be a new temple!  When you see that, then fasten your seatbelt!

Paul gives us another vital sign:  "The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs, and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing."  (2 Thessalonians 2:9.) 

Not only will antichrist proclaim himself as God, he will "prove" it with amazing miracles.  Until that happens, relax and trust Jesus.  There are other signs of which the Bible teaches. 

The followers of Jesus were just as curious about things as we are today.  They too wanted to know just how this present world system would come to its end.  "When will this happen," they asked, "and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"  Jesus responded:
"Watch out that no one deceives you.  For many will come in my name, claiming, "I am the Christ," and will deceive many."  (Matthew 24:4-5.) 

The obvious point here is that followers of Jesus will be here during this time and are warned not to be deceived.  There is no rescue until later on.  This sign is being fulfilled even today. 

Jesus told his followers what signs to expect which would foretell the end of our present age.  Here are some of them:

"You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.  Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.  Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of birth pains."  (Matthew 24:6-8.)  Those signs are happening all around us with increasing frequency.  Even so, Jesus admonishes us not to push the panic button. 

John, who wrote the book of Revelation saw these signs coming.  He too saw war, famine, and earthquakes in various places:

"I looked, and there before me was a white horse!  Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest."  (Revelation 6:2.)

"Then another horse came out, a fiery red one.  Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other."  (Revelation 6:4.)

"I looked, and there before me was a pale horse!  Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.  They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine, and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth."  (Revelation 6:8.)

"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, flashes of lightning and an earthquake."  (Revelation 8:5.)

"At that very hour, there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed.  Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven."  (Revelation 11:13.)

"Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the Ark of the Covenant.  And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm."  (Revelation 11:19.)

All of this can be expected before Jesus arrives to rescue those who have continued to place their trust in him.  Jesus gives us another sign to expect: mass persecution on a worldwide scale! 

Another sign of the end of our present age is a mass worldwide persecution.  That is happening right now and will get worse.  www.persecution.com  Jesus warned us:

"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.  At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear, and deceive many people.  Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved."  (Matthew 24:9-13.)

More Christians are dying today than ever before.  However, 200,000 people each day are coming to Christ!  So the love of most hasn't gone cold just yet.  Not every nation on earth hates Christians, at least not yet.  Things are beginning to chill.  In the U.S.  evangelism has only a 10% retention rate.  90% come but fall away later on. 

John saw this time of persecution vividly!

"They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death."  (Revelation 12:11.)

"He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them.  And he was given authority over every tribe and language and nation"  (Revelation 13:7.)

Once again, the point is that the saints of God must endure persecution until our rescue.  Why would God allow this?  In His great love, He would be compelled to use our brave witness even unto death to give others one last chance to run to the safety of Christ while there is still time!

Here is yet another sign to look for just before Jesus returns:

"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 24:14.)

Will Jesus leave such an important job solely in the hands of frail human beings?  No!  Saint John saw exactly what would happen just before the end:

"Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth-to every nation, tribe, language, and people."  (Revelation 14:6.)

On that amazing day, even those who have never heard of Jesus will hear about him!  People who have no access to modern communication will hear about Him!  People who speak a language that missionaries have never learned will hear about Him in clear words in their own speech!  No one will be able to say that they have never known or heard on that amazing day! 

Here is yet another very intriguing sign which will occur just before the arrival of anti-Christ. 

"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."  (Revelation 7:1.)

This sign occurs just before God's holy people are sealed.  They are sealed to protect them through the great tribulation to come.  Now imagine what this strange day will be like.  Somewhere in the world, wind is always blowing over land and sea.  The differences in world temperatures and the rotation of the earth virtually guarantee that this will happen.  This wind insures that ocean waves beat incessantly against the shores.

However, this day will be very different.  Quite suddenly, climatologists will find, by use of modern technology, that over the entire surface of the planet earth, not a wind is stirring!  Not a leaf will rustle!  The air will grow so still for a time that even the ocean waves will come to an ominous hush!  It will be as though nature herself is saying, Shshsh!  God is about to do something truly awesome!"  There will be no doubt that something truly supernatural, something truly beyond nature, is hovering on the horizon of mankind!

Once again, Jesus laid out the general plan of future history.  This particular sign has been partially fulfilled and has a future fulfillment as well. 

"When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, You will know that its desolation is near.  Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city.  For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written.  How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!  There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people.  They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations.  Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled."  (Luke 21:20-24.)

This prophecy has a three-fold fulfillment.  It has been fulfilled.  It is being fulfilled right now.  It will be fulfilled in the future. 

It has been fulfilled.  Jerusalem was leveled in 70 A.D.  Josephus recounts a time so terrible that millions in the city of Jerusalem died slowly of starvation.  Within the city, roving bands broke into houses and killed for a few scraps of food.  Liquid from putrefying corpses flowed in rivulets beneath the city walls during the siege! 

It is being fulfilled right now.  Jews have been taken to all nations.  Gentiles still occupy part of Jerusalem. 

The prophecy will be fulfilled in the future.  The time of the Gentiles has a definite end point, at the end of the reign of antichrist when his reign of terror comes to its dramatic end.

Saint John saw the time Jesus implied:

"I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, "Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there.  But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles.  They will trample on the holy city for 42 months.","  (Revelation 11:1-2.)

We can conclude several things from this prophecy.  First,  there will be a new temple.  Since the old one has been destroyed, there must be a new temple for the Gentiles to defile.  Second,  this period will last 3 and a half years.  This three and a half year period will be marked by a number of very interesting and very specific events.

Jesus warned us:

"There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars.  On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea."  (Luke 21:25.)

"a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark.  A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night."  (Revelation 8:12.)

If the sun's energy were reduced by a third, the earth would cool dramatically.  This would also cause a third of moonlight to disappear since the moon reflects sunlight.  If the earth's axis were tilted, then the sunrise would happen later than normal and the sun would set much earlier than normal.  "and the sun was given power to scorch people with fire.  They were seared with the intense heat, and they cursed the name of God,"  (Revelation 16:8-9.)

A few seconds in this intense atomic blast from the sun would be like spending all day at the beach without protection!  Violent storms would result from the intense heat.  Hurricanes would send the sea into a wild frenzy!  Fires would sweep over millions of square miles with no way to stop them!

"Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake.  No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on the earth, so tremendous was the quake.  ... Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found.  From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men."  (Revelation 17:18-21.)

Such an earthquake would produce immense tidal waves!  Imagine whole mountain ranges burying whole cities in massive landslides!  Imagine huge ice meteors falling from space!  Each meteor which struck the oceans would produce even more massive shockwaves which would devastate the coastlands!

All of this will proceed the coming of Jesus to this world.  By the time He returns, the inhabitants of the world, those who are left, will have had all of the fight taken out of them.  Still we are told that they will fight on bravely in any case!  How stubbornly we resist God Almighty as a race!  We are not accustomed to surrender to anyone, even our own Creator!

Can science support the book of Revelation?  Yes indeed.  It seems that the supernatural can work quite nicely with the natural course of events.  Jesus predicted: "... nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea."  (Luke 21:25.)

Revelation has a number of events which would cause the sea to be greatly disturbed.  One such event will illustrate the point quite well:

"The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea.  A third of the sea turned into blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed."  (Revelation 8:8-9.)

Here we have a wonderful mix of the supernatural, and, quite possibly, the natural course of events.  Clearly, angels are doing supernatural work to take apart the anti-Christ's military machine.  However, it does seem as though a natural event is being portrayed.

This "huge mountain all ablaze," could certainly be a meteor.  We travel through the space around our sun at 18 miles each second.  We live in a spatial minefield of debris of all sorts.  If we travel far enough for a long enough time, most certainly we will crash into something big enough to make it through our atmosphere.  Even a bad bowler will hit the pins eventually, just by random chance!  Is there a natural event that would cause the sea to "turn into blood?"  Blood carries generous amounts of iron oxide.  If this meteor were in fact a very heavy chunk of nearly pure iron, as many meteors are, then, as it streaked through our atmosphere, it would certainly be "all ablaze," and, it would deposit huge amounts of iron oxide into the sea.  Large amounts of iron oxide would be very toxic indeed!  This would explain why "a third of the living creatures in the sea died,".  Such a mountain crashing into the sea would produce a tremendous shock wave!  This would destroy ships by the score!  It would also explain Jesus' warning about the "roaring and tossing of the sea."  Nations would indeed be in anguish! 

God certainly does not need to use natural events, but a natural explanation only adds credibility to a book which many believe to be nothing more than Saint John's overactive imagination.  My book, Revelation  Revisited, makes the case that Saint John was given the ability to see real events which occurred in the future as he watched them unfold.  Future and present events can sometimes happen at the very same time.  For a short time, John existed in two time frames at the very same time!  As strange as this experience may appear, relativity theory does suggest that this sort of time distortion may in fact be quite possible!

Jesus gave this ominous warning about the final days of this world:

"Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man.  People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark.  Then the flood came and destroyed them all."  (Luke 17:26-27.)

In Noah's day, there were two choices; salvation or extinction!  Noah's family was saved only because they ran to God!  The alternative was too horrible to contemplate-the extinction of all life on earth!

"So the Lord said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth-men and animals-and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air-for I am grieved that I have made them.","  (Genesis 6:7.)

God's goal seems all too clear!  At that time, God intended the extinction of all life on planet earth!  Could that be his goal for the future as well?

Zephaniah the prophet foresaw this very thing!  He foresaw the extinction of all life on this planet!

"The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah ... "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 only have heaps of rubble when I cut off man from the face of the earth," declares the Lord."  (Zephaniah 1:1-3.) 

This is not exaggerated Hebrew poetry!  Zephaniah is warning us that unless we flee to God, we face extinction!  This world as we have known it is doomed!  Only those who flee to God will be saved alive!

The apostle Peter warns us of the very same thing:

"First of all you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.  They will say, "Where is this "coming" he promised?  Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation."  But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water.  By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.  By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men."  (2 Peter 3:3-7.) 

Once again Peter warns us that the earth will be destroyed-not by water this time-but by fire!  Extinction is on its way!

Saint John foresaw the extinction of all life.  "The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea died."  (Revelation 16:3.)  Clearly we have here the extinction of all sea life.  "The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood."  (Revelation 16:4.)  This means that there is no more water!  All life needs water to survive!  No plants, no photosynthesis, no oxygen, no food chain, no life!

"Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it.  Earth and sky fled from His presence, and there was no place for them."  (Revelation 20:11.)  John leaves no doubt!  The universe itself as we have known it will vanish!  When it vanishes it will take everyone with it who has not run to Jesus for safety! 

These are dire warnings indeed!  However, with each warning there is hope.  Out of death and destruction and yes, even extinction, God always provides renewal!  This renewal is found in running to Jesus who died for us, and who arose from death.  Even Jesus suffered extinction!  We too will suffer extinction!  When we trust Christ Jesus, then extinction is not the end of the story.  Since Jesus rose again, so will we! 

Choose now!  Extinction, or salvation!  I can choose either choice, but I cannot choose my consequences resulting from that choice!
   Jesus issues another stern warning about the final days of this world as we have known it:

"It was the same in the days of Lot.  People were eating and drinking, buyng and selling, planting and building.  But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.  It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed."  (Luke 17:28-30.)

Why was God so angry with Sodom?  Why will He be so angry with this present world?  Saint Jude tells us precisely why!

" ... Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion.  They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire."  (Jude 7.)

The apostle Peter tells us the very same thing:

" ... he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;"  (2 Peter 2:6.)

The fire which destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah was only a down payment of the eternal fire to come!  Peter and Jude tell us that quite clearly!  Saint John foresaw the very same thing!

"Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.  The lake of fire is the second death.  If anyone's name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."  (Revelation 20:14-15.)

There is a secret hope within mankind that death is the great escape-the gateway to oblivion.  What would happen if this gateway to oblivion were forever closed?  When death and Hades are hurled into this eternal burning lake, that is precisely what happens.  Death itself is destroyed.  Everyone standing on the edge of this blazing lake watches in horror as the gateway to oblivion slams shut forever!  Escape through unconsciousness or through oblivion is no longer possible!  This terrifying realization dawns on those who stand on the edge of this burning abyss!  They realize this just before they are hurled into this fire of forever! 

Those who are about to enter the gates of heaven have the same realization!  Only this realization is quite different!  They too realize that death is forever gone!  For them, however, this is a great comfort!  They will know that the joys of heaven can never come to an end!  They too enter through the gateway of forever!

             Please, run to Jesus for safety before you pass through the gateway of forever!    

 
Wouldn't it be nice if believers in Christ could escape the tribulation period?  In this scenario, believers would be "raptured" just before the great tribulation period.  Believers would be safe in heaven during this time of terror which will come upon the whole world.  Is that what will actually happen?  Jesus tells us precisely when we can expect to be "raptured."

"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 out 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."  (Matthew 24:29-31.)  (Isaiah 13:10 & 34:4.) 

Jesus is quite clear at this point.  Believers are gathered by the angels after the tribulation period.  Saint John foresaw this very thing in a number of passages:

"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 island and mountain was removed from its place.  Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks and the mountains.  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 6:12-17.)

Clearly this is a picture of the final act of human history.  The planet earth is shaking itself to pieces!  Islands disappear beneath the waves!  Mountain ranges collapse in huge landslides!  The galaxies vanish into the distant horizon!  The angels are sweeping believers from this planet as it rips itself apart in self destruction! 

Additional passages support the idea that the Great Rescue will come at the very end of things. 

 How do we know for sure that the great rescue will occur after and not before the great tribulation?  1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 begins to build the case for this very proposition:

"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 with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And so we will be with the Lord forever."

If the "rapture" or great rescue is to occur before the tribulation period, as many suppose, then the "dead in Christ" must rise before the tribulation period begins.  Is that what actually will happen?

"And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God.  They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands.  They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.  (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.)  This is the first resurrection.  Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection."  (Revelation 20:4-6.)

John places the very first resurrection squarely after the tribulation, after the reign of antichrist, and before the thousand-year reign of Christ over this world.  John makes it quite clear that no resurrections take place before this period. 

Revelation Revisited, available everywhere, seriously questions the very popular assumption that the church will be raptured before the great tribulation.