For many who study Bible Prophecy, the return of Jesus Christ is the most interesting aspect of that study. To imagine that millions of Christians could be scattered all over the world, and in a single instant be translated together into the outer atmosphere of the earth, to meet the Lord, is amazing.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
What will the social and political climate of earth’s people be like when Jesus returns? What conditions will be necessary for Jesus to remove His church from the earth, and the introduction of the antichrist on the world scene?
First, the return of Jesus for His church is tied closely to the increase in sin by men on the earth, along with the patience of God in waiting for all men, to have the opportunity to repent and be saved.
God is not willing that any person should perish in their sins and be assigned to eternal torment in hell. He desires all men everywhere to be saved. And so, He patiently waits and watches for those who will turn to Him in repentance from their sins, and will receive His chosen method for man’s salvation, Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
When the sin of man has reached a pinnacle, as it had in the days of Noah, then the Lord shall return. Jesus described His return in context with the beginning of the flood of Noah. God flooded the earth because of sin and the necessity for His judgment for that sin. There is an appointed time when God will no longer put up with man’s sin and rebellion and will close the door on repentance and salvation.
Genesis 6:3 And the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”
Matthew 24:36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Genesis 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
The Rapture and removal of all those who love Jesus, from the earth, will signal the beginning of this judgment. Shortly after the Rapture, the world will be introduced to a leader who will show himself just when the financial markets of the earth are in their greatest peril. It will not be during a time of financial prosperity that antichrist will come on the scene, but during a period of financial catastrophe.
In a very short time, the entire world will accept this new leader as their financial Messiah. He will rescue the world from financial ruin, and use this springboard to launch himself as the leader of all human government, and the commander of all armies of the world. He will exalt himself above all men and even the God of heaven. After he rescues the world from financial ruin, he shall assemble all the armies of each nation into a great united army with himself as commander and chief over all.
Daniel 11:36-39 “Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done. He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all. But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain.
He will make peace between Israel and the Palestinians by “dividing the land of Israel.” He will permit the Jews to build their Temple on the Temple Mount, alongside the exiting “Dome of the Rock”. In the middle of this seven years of peace, he will break the peace and exalt himself as ruler over the earth, to God of the earth. This will begin the great outpouring of God’s wrath on the earth for the final three and one-half years of the “Great Tribulation”. It is this period of time that the Book of Revelation describes from chapter 6:3, to chapter 18.
Daniel 9:27 Then he (antichrist) shall confirm a covenant with many for one week (seven years); But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering (in the newly built Temple). And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.”
At the end of this last three and one-half years, Jesus will return from heaven with the army of His church, and destroy the antichrist at the valley of Meggido, north of Jerusalem, and cast the antichrist-the beast, into the Abuso where he shall remain for 1,000 years.
Revelation 19:11-21 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He (Jesus) who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven (Jesus Raptured Church) , clothed in fine linen (Garments of the Redeemed) , white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.” And I saw the beast (antichrist), the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.
Revelation 20:2-3 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished.
When will Jesus take His church from the earth at the Rapture?
When the current financial markets are in complete ruin, and beyond the repair of man. Already the United States has entered her final time of financial ruin. Europe and Asia are close behind. Recent collapses in several European nations have put increased pressure on the financial markets of Europe, which have in turn affected the markets in Asia and the U.S.
When you see the utter and complete collapse of financial markets around the world in the near future, you can expect that the climate will be perfect for someone to come and rescue those markets. How can one man become the leader of the entire world in such a short period of time, as the Bible describes the antichrist? There will need to be a world-wide collapse of all the financial markets, with one man having the solution for restoring that collapse, in order to put such a man into power so quickly. We are entering that final time for the preparations of the antichrist’s introduction.
China is beginning to panic as they see that the United States will not be able to repay the massive amount of money that has been loaned, and will default on the repayment of those loans. When this happens, China will also collapse in their financial markets, and the ripple effect of this default by the U.S. will cripple all the financial markets around the world.
By the end of 2013, the beginning of the end, will be apparent in the United United States, as our debt ceiling reaches critical mass. For all practical purposes, the U.S. is already bankrupt. In the next two years, the government of the U.S. will be scrambling to save the economy and the repayment of those massive loans, by increasing the printing of currency, which will lead to massive inflation, the raising of taxes, extremely high interest rates, and gold being close to $5,000 an ounce.
The United States will not, and cannot ever admit that they are on the verge of bankruptcy, because to do so would cause an immediate panic around the world and the collapse of all global markets. When the failure of the United States financial markets is complete, there will be no forewarning, or announcement to the world or the citizens of the U.S., it will just happen in a single day. Then it will be too late to do anything about it.
The only salvation for the financial markets today before they collapse, is for the U.S. to stop printing money, keep spending within our current tax income, and stop borrowing more money from China. It would be far too painful for Americans to stop their spending at this point for any of these solutions to happen. Americans are far too used to the manner of life that they have grown accustomed to, to stop spending and live within their means. We are a nation that has lived on borrowed money for almost 60 years.
We live on borrowed money, and borrowed time, as we approach the end of this present age, and the return of Jesus for His church. For the person who Loves the Lord and eagerly awaits His return, these events bring us great excitement and the realization that every word that God has spoken about the end of the age, has finally began to take place.
Jesus is coming soon, and for those who eagerly await Him, it will be the greatest period of time in our lives. For those who do not yet know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, these will be the days that cause men’s hearts to fail them over the fear of what is coming upon the earth.
Philippians 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ…
Luke 21:26 men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Rob Robinson
