The short time will be cut short by the Parousia of the Lord Jesus Christ. His appearance will light up the sky from one end to another. Those who believe him will come into his presence.
The Parousia will usher in the final judgment. All people will be raised to stand before Jesus the Judge. Those who belong to him will go to live with him for eternity.
The coming of the Man of Sin will end the Times of Fulfilment of the Kingdom of God. He is described in 2 Thessalonians 2. This man is not the Beast of Revelation, nor is he the antichrist. He is a man who leads a rebellion against God at the end of the age. He will be destroyed by the Second Coming of Jesus (2 Thes 2:8).
The season ushered by the man of sin is called the "Little Season" or Short Time (Rev 20:3). God will release the spiritual powers of evil for one last time. God is so gracious that he even gives Satan one last chance to repent. However, he will not take this opportunity, and will go out to do evil. This season of evil will be very short, so it is referred to as half a time. It is described more fully at Short Time.
The long season after the Time of Distress is the fulfilment of the Kingdom of God. Once the fullness of the Jew's come in, the team is complete. The spiritual powers of evil will have lost their power, so a time of great victory for the church will follow.
Daniel had a vision of the Ancient of Days, God, and one like a son of man coming into his presence (Dan 7:9,13,14). This is the ascension when Jesus entered heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father. He was given a Kingdom that would never end.
Daniel 7:18,22,27 describes a subsequent period when the saints possess the Kingdom. Sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. This is a picture of people of God being given authority to establish his Kingdom. The game plan is still the same. The Kingdom advances rapidly by the proclamation of the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit. (Look here for a full description of the Kingdom of God).
In Ephesians 1:9,10, this season is called the Times of Fulfilment. At first glance, this appears to be a reference to the Second Coming. However, the event is the mystery, which God purposed in Christ. In Ephesians 3:10, this mystery is explained as the church achieving victory over rulers and authorities (the mystery is not the Second Coming).
During the season of the Kingdom, all God's promises will be fulfilled. Our mandate to fill the earth and manage it will be completed. Our commission to make disciples of all nations will be successful.
The glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea (Hab 2:14).How long will the times of the fulfilment of the Kingdom last? The Bible does not say. However, this is one of the two very long seasons. If the Times of the Gentiles go for 2000 years, the Times of Fulfilment could last at least as long, or longer. This is God's best season, so it is unlikely it will be cut short.
According to Revelation 7:9, there will be a great multitude in heaven, for more than can be counted. The angels have been counted, and there are thousands of millions of them. There will be far more Christians than angels. Currently, there are only about a billion Christians on heaven and on earth, a number equivalent to the population of China (which can be counted). Considerable more time will be required for this great multitude of people to be brought in.
God is a gracious God. By the time that this season is complete, the number of those saved will far exceed the number who have been lost — a far more respectable score.
The events that end of the Time of Distress release the Holy Spirit to carry the gospel to the world. The Advance of the Gospel marks the beginning of the next season. Several changes make a rapid advance of the gospel possible.
With all constraints gone, the Holy Spirit will be free to do his stuff in a new way.
The suffering of the Time of Distress will have purified the church. It will be radical and ready to proclaim the good news.
The gospel will be preached in the power of the Spirit. He will accompany the gospel with signs and wonders that confirm the love and power of God (Mark 16:16-17).
Christians will have been forced to build strong relationships with each other in order to survive through the Time of Distress. People will be able to see the new commandment being lived out in their neighbourhoods (John 13:34). They will be drawn to Christians loving each other as Jesus loves them.
People who have experienced Christian generosity during tough times will have tested this love and proved it is real.
Jewish Christians will preach the gospel of the Kingdom with zeal and fervour throughout the world.
The nations of the world will have trusted human governments for peace and prosperity. When peace and prosperity are stripped away, and governments go down the gurgler, people will be desperate for a better saviour. Jesus will stand out from the pack.
The truncated church will reach its fulness as the barrier between the Jews and Gentiles are broken down.
The principalities and powers will be crippled by the collapse of human governments.
The book of Revelation is not a set of signs that the second coming of Jesus is close. It is not a description of events leading up to the second coming of Jesus.
The vision is actually a description of the season when the fullness of the Jews receive the gospel and come to faith in Jesus as Paul prophesied in Romans 11. A key to understanding the vision is given in the prologue.
Every eye will see him, even those who pierced him (Rev 1:7).This promise speaks of every eye seeing Jesus. Everyone in the world will have the eyes of their hearts opened to see Jesus and accept him as their Saviour and Lord. It will be a spiritual revelation, not an actual seeing. In contrast with many other verses, which speak of people seeing Jesus, this one also includes "those who pierced him". As part of a worldwide revival, the Jews will come to faith in Christ. This is a key theme of the book.
The sealing of the 144,000 in Revelation 7 is also a description of the Jews coming to faith in Jesus. Twelve represents the Jewish people, so a thousand symbolising completion. So 12,000 squared represents the majority of the Jewish people coming to faith in Jesus.
The first four seals that are opened in Revelation 6 are signs that mark the beginning of the Time of Distress during which the Jews come to faith in Jesus. They are not a sign of the second coming of Jesus.
The seals set in train the events which will begin the Time of Distress, leading to the fullness of the Jews and the time when the Kingdom is established. As each seal is opened, an event takes place on the earth.
We should remember that Jesus is the one who opens the seals. Although the events that take place are unpleasant, they will only come when he is ready. The spiritual powers of evil have no authority to bring them to pass. Because they are initiated in heaven, we know that they will bring blessing to God's people.
A seal is a mark of ownership. When something is marked with a seal, it is a guarantee that it is backed by the authority of the owner of the seal. The seven seals describe a series of events that will be used by God to refine and purify his people. Those who truly belong to Jesus will be sifted out. The seals also give the people of the world the opportunity to choose their loyalty. It will be a choice between Jesus and political power.
As each of the first four seals is opened, John sees a horseman ride forth. The horses should not be taken literally; each horseman represents an actor in human history who causes a particular event. These follow on from each other, but they may also overlap each other. The four seals are described more fully in Seven Seals.
Many Jews see the Holocaust as the pivotal event in their history. The problem with looking back to this event is that causes the people of Israel to see themselves as victims. In a bad case of the ends justify the means, defence of the Jewish people has been used to justify extreme force and violence.
The holocaust is not the pivotal event in Jewish history. Israel has two pivotal events. The first pivotal event was Jesus, the Son of God, declaring that Israel was left desolate. The second pivotal event will be the day when the people of Israel say,Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord (Matt 24:39).
The blessing of God is the only thing that can secure a safe future for the Jewish people. Those who trust in military power and political alliances will be disappointed.
Hugging the holocaust has led the nation into a moral quagmire. The holocaust has become a justification for immoral actions, particularly by the Jewish state. Fear of another holocaust justifies faith in violence and war. Anger about the holocaust is a justification for propaganda, deception and lies. Fear of what might happen is being used to justify ruthless and violent state power. The holocaust may eventually be used as a justification for ethnic cleansing.
In this moral abyss, violence is good, deception is necessary, propaganda is truth. The prophets warned of the dangers of moral confusion.Woe to those who call evil good
By defining itself in terms of the holocaust, Israel has fallen into moral confusion. Worse still, the spirit of the nation has been captured by the evil spiritual forces that perpetrated the holocaust.
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter (Is 5:20).
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This is the end of this series on Israel. Some readers may have concluded that I am negative about Israel. That is not true. I believe that the descendants of Israel have a wonderful future and a critical role in bringing in the Kingdom. I describe these events in a series of posts called Fulness of Israel.
To bring in the Fullness of Israel, God’s will need his people working with him, not away on wild goose chase. Unfortunately, a lot of garbage will have to be cut out of the way before that can happen. That is what I have tried to do here.
The Big Battle is the epochal event that marks the end of the Time of Distress. Four epochal events mark the beginning of the next season. They open the way for the Holy Spirit to be released to bring transformation of the earth. The Fullness of Israel Collapse of Human Governments The Gospel released throughout the earth The Kingdom of God comes.
