Beginning and the End

July 20, 2023
Stacie King
New Wine

A decades long quest for truth has led to a close examination of the beginning and the end. It seems christianity (churchianity) is terrified of the beginning and the end. Genesis is taught as a collection of stories, generally following the literary technique of the hero’s journey, and coming into conflict with accepted ‘science’. Revelation is taught as a complete allegory. It seems modern churches are reluctant to dig into either the beginning or the end… which places the understanding at the top of my to do list. I admit I have been reluctant to write this essay. It comes against religion and accepted theology. I am not a heretic and Jesus Christ is the love of my life… so if millions of people are under a misunderstanding because religious institutions have instilled incorrect theology, an examination and presentation of a different and possibly more accurate understanding is warranted. This is especially true if we live in a season where the nations are deceived.

The beginning:

We must understand this in spirit and in truth… in the spiritual and the physical. Many theories have been proposed regarding God, Lucifer, Satan, Jesus, Source… however, speaking biblically, these entities are rarely explored and often superficially understood. Most people accept that there are non physical entities in play. What we often fail to acknowledge is that non physical entities are not beholden to physical constructs (for example, time). We also call singular entities by multiple names which tends to muddy understanding. The main players are actually fairly simple:

God: The Father (original spirit entity which has always existed, Source of energy/logic/frequency and creation)

The Son (an entity that existed before physical creation and through which all things were created, the Word, the Light, the Way to access the Father)

The Spirit (an entity that existed before physical creation and through which the Source interacts with physical creation)

The Heavenly Host: All spiritual entities that make up the spirit realm in submission to God Most High (angels, sons of God, saints (not the RC variety), Divine Council)

The Adversary: Satan (literally: adversary/accuser; there are multiple satans and it is a role not a name), the Devil (a spiritual being that existed before physical creation and interacts with the physical realm to deny connection to the Source)

The armies of darkness: demonic entities, fallen or rebellious angels

Notice Lucifer didn’t make the list? Only in the King James translation is Lucifer mentioned, and then in Isaiah. There is credible evidence that Isaiah was referring to a Babylonian king, not the spiritual adversary in this passage. The association of Lucifer with Satan hinges on Paul saying:

And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.
2 Corinthians 11:12‭-‬15

Modern theologians have connected the idea that Satan masquerades as an angel of light to the “Son of the morning” that Isaiah describes. Jesus said: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”
Luke 10:18

The idea of Lucifer has been twisted and manipulated throughout history to confuse our understandings of the beginning and the spiritual realm.

Now that the players are loosely defined, let’s look at the beginning…

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
John 1:1‭-‬4

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
Genesis 1:1‭-‬5

Combining these two passages, we see that Jesus was the Word by which God (creator source) spoke the physical realm into existence. We also see the Spirit involved and interacting (hovering) with the physical creation. This is a description of the beginning of the physical realm. It does not mean that Jesus or the Spirit always coexisted with God (Source). It does mean that these entities coexisted before God created the construct of time (physical realm) and they have been given equal functions within the God- head. This matters because it impacts our understanding of the relationship of the Trinity and our understanding of Who Jesus actually is… we’ll get back to that.

On the 6th day (evening and morning implies a normal physical day from the beginning), God created humanity.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Genesis 1:26‭-‬27‭, ‬31

Please note a couple of things in this account. First, God gave people dominion over everything He had already created on previous days. Also, God created both male and female on day 6.

Traditional theology teaches that God made Adam on day 6 (and Eve too?) as the first human. These are the only two humans that God created and all of humanity resulted from their offspring. What does the Bible say?

When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:5‭-‬9

No plants had yet sprung up when God created Adam. We have a theological problem here. Now, a doubter would evidence this as an inconsistency, but is it really? God is rather notorious for setting aside His portion. What if, early on the morning of the third day, God made Adam from the dust of the ground and created a garden to accommodate him? Another option is that a day isn’t actually a day, but the ‘evening and the morning’ bit seems to negate that. Or we could say that God didn’t actually create plants on day 3, He just seeded the ground. But that view means Chapter one is inaccurate.

And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
Genesis 1:11‭-‬13

So let’s return to Adam and bring Eve into the picture. If Adam and Eve were the male and female God created on day 6 and the only humans in existence, they were both created the same day.

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.
Genesis 2:18‭-‬22

According to the account, God created Adam (before any plants on Day 3) and brought all of the animals (created day 6) to him to name. When Adam had named all creatures, no appropriate mate was found for him, so God created Eve from Adam.

According to theology, God created animals, then created Adam and Eve on day 6. Theology doesn’t hang together.

A close read of Genesis 1-5 explains the beginning this way:

God began to create.

He created Adam before any other life, showing His purpose for creation. We are that important to Him.

He created a garden to accommodate Adam and then continued with creation at large.

On day 6, God created animals and humans, male and female.

Soon after, God brought the livestock and birds to Adam to name.

No helper was found for Adam, so God created Eve from Adam.

God walked with Adam and Eve in relationship.

Eve gave in to pride, a desire to be equal to God.

Adam and Eve left the garden, but not the presence of God.

How do we know? Look at the story of Cain and Abel. Read closely.

Cain killed his brother, and who came to speak with him? What was said?

And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.
Genesis 4:10‭-‬17

From this account, we know that, although Eden was out of the picture, God was still in frequent close contact with Adam and his family. The obvious questions are: who was Cain afraid of and who did he marry? The theological answer is that Adam and Eve had many children who had spread out and started other villages. Does that make sense?

The bible tells us that Eve had two sons.

Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.
Genesis 4:1‭-‬2

And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.” To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord.
Genesis 4:25‭-‬26

When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years; and he had other sons and daughters.
Genesis 5:3‭-‬4

Eve considered Seth a replacement for Abel. Neither Cain nor Abel are mentioned in Adam’s genealogy, and no other children are mentioned other than those born after Seth. Where do we get the idea that Cain feared his siblings?

Notice what Cain said to God. God… who still visited and spoke directly to this human family!

Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
Genesis 4:13‭-‬14,16

If Adam and Eve had many children who had already gone out from God’s presence, why would Cain have felt that was more than he could bear? Why would those other children have gone out from the presence of God?

It makes much more sense that God created His elect, Adam, and set him apart. He created humanity on day 6. When He created fish, the seas teemed. When He created birds, flocks filled the skies. When he created livestock, herds filled the land. And when He created male and female in His image?

He later created Eve for Adam and the history unfolds from there. Cain did not marry his sister. He went to a people who were not in relationship with God. When his nephew was born, people began to call on the name of the Lord.

Why does it matter?

It matters because we see from the beginning how God structures the physical realm in spiritual terms. He always sets aside His portion, His people, His elect. It confirms the unchanging nature of God. It matters because we need to understand that scripture is consistent and trustworthy. It matters because we must let the Spirit guide us into all truth and recognize that theologians are not the Spirit.

The End: (not really)

Revelation is another area that modern churches refuse to touch. Why?

Could it be that what it says doesn’t match accepted theology and doctrines would have to be adjusted? Would it remove some power structures that have been very lucrative for the established religions and their proponents?

One day I read a single verse in Revelation:

Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.
Revelation 1:3

This changed everything. I’d always been taught that Revelation was too controversial, too allegorical, too difficult to understand, too… out there. We have no way of knowing what is literal, allegorical, has happened, will happen. I recently heard a popular pastor with a large platform state: We’re about to see John bounce around in time and become very confused. He was unable to tell what or when he was seeing.

Really? Because Revelation 1:3 does not sound like it would go along with a jumbled up, confused prophecy. How would anyone be expected to read it aloud *and keep what is written in it*?

Perhaps this pastor, and many like him, are the ones who are confused. As I said in the beginning (pun intended), if millions of people are under a misunderstanding because religious institutions have instilled incorrect theology, an examination and presentation of a different and possibly more accurate understanding is warranted.

When we read something in the Bible and it does not fit with our theological understandings, our interpretations need to adjust. We don’t just exclude Biblical truth or twist it about so that it sorta fits. That is the devil… he’s the one who twists truth to fit a narrative.

I began to dig into Revelation and discovered an entirely new understanding that makes a lot more sense when compared to other prophecy. I need you to flip the off switch to easily offended hearts for a bit. If you are a student of scripture, you are probably not going to like what you are about to read.

We are given a false choice in our belief about end times. Books have been written ad nauseum about end times views and I have read more than I care to recall. What they never do is a scriptural deep dive to connect the dots and use everything we are given to come as close as possible to truth.

So I set out on a quest. No agenda. No need to be ‘right’. Just trying to determine which of, if any, the views most closely aligned to scripture. I was stunned to find that none of them did.

Amillennialism:

Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for 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 is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.
Revelation 20:6

Immediately discarded. John says exactly the opposite.

Historic Premillennialism:

According to John, Christ does indeed return to earth and reign with saints for 1000 years. But there’s more wrapped up in premillennialism. Premillennialists are divided into two groups: Historic and Dispensationalist. Historic premillennialists maintain that Israel will undergo a national salvation revival just before Christ returns. They look at prophecy as being solely about the church. Therefore, they *interpret* prophecy through the lens of church history and present to determine where we are in God’s ultimate timeline. Historic Premillennialists will describe Nebuchanezzar’s dream in Daniel 2 as various kingdoms and empires that influenced or affected the Church. Likewise, the 7 churches in Revelation 2-3 are described as seven ‘ages’ of the church.

Dispensationalism:

Dispensationalists add a seven year tribulation to precede the return of Christ and the millennial reign. They believe that Israel will be restored as a nation and God will fulfill His promises to the ethnic Jews after the end of the ‘church age’. Dispensationalists believe that during the millennial reign, the nation of Israel will be given governance over the New earth while Christians will reign spiritually in glorified bodies. Dispensationalism is the most popularly held belief among modern evangelicals, though the average church goer likely knows little about it.

Postmillennialism:

This understanding is on the rise thanks to a surge of charismatic practices and the popularity of Pastors like Johnny Enlow. For a very long time, the church has languished in a notable absence of power. It can be argued that established religion has sought to consolidate power in the institution and its hierarchy, similar to the Pharisees and Scribes with whom Jesus contended. As a result, many have turned to Wicca, New Age and even Satanism in pursuit of spiritual power and to gain a measure of control over their lives. Postmillennialism speaks to these people from a christian perspective. Charismatic movements promote the power of Holy Spirit and evidence it with litmus tests of tongues, signs and wonders. Modern Charismatic movements go further, claiming that every believer has all authority in the name of Jesus to command, rebuke, decree and prophesy. They probably don’t realize it, but this is a postmillennialist trap. Postmillennialists believe that Christians will preach the gospel throughout the earth. Humanity will become more and more Christian. Believers will step into their rightful role as heirs of God, take back their mountains (of government, commerce, education, religion, entertainment, media, sports) and bring heaven to earth. Then Jesus will return.

While this sounds great… very empowering… it is not biblical. Nowhere, in any prophecy, is it ever said that the world will become heaven on earth due to the efforts of Christians and then Jesus will return. In fact, prophecy and scripture say it will look very different to heaven on earth.

To complicate matters further, we are asked to decide if we have a preterist or futurist view. Preterists believe all biblical prophecy was fulfilled in the first century AD and was never literal, but speaking of events to take place in Jerusalem. Partial preterists believe all prophecy has been fulfilled except the last few chapters of Revelation. They do not believe in a millennial reign or a rapture (harpazo) event.

Futurists believe That everything past Revelation 3 is yet to occur. They believe (through their church oriented paradigm) that the seven churches are actually seven ages of the church and that we represent the last age.

What in the world is a truth seeker to do with all of this confusion?

I don’t know. This is what I did.

I went to God in prayer and asked for wisdom and guidance.

I read the promise of Jesus Christ:

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
John 16:13

I opened my Bible and I began to read what HE said repeatedly over thousands of years.

This is where I landed…

“We’ve been trained to think that the history of Christianity is the true context of the Bible. We talk a lot about interpreting the Bible in context, but Christian history is not the context of the biblical writers. The proper context for interpreting the Bible is not Augustine or any other church father. It is not the Catholic Church. It is not the rabbinic movements of late antiquity and the Middle Ages. It is not the Reformation or the Puritans. It is not evangelicalism in any of its flavors. It is not the modern world at all, or any period of its history. The proper context for interpreting the Bible is the context of the biblical writers—the context that produced the Bible.1 Every other context is alien to the biblical writers and, therefore, to the Bible. Yet there is a pervasive tendency in the believing Church to filter the Bible through creeds, confessions, and denominational preferences. I’m not arguing that we should ignore our Christian forefathers. I’m simply saying that we should give their words and their thoughts the proper perspective and priority. Creeds serve a useful purpose. They distill important, albeit carefully selected, theological ideas. But they are not inspired. They are no substitute for the biblical text. The biblical text was produced by men who lived in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean between the second millennium BC and the first century AD. To understand how biblical writers thought, we need to tap into the intellectual output of that world. A vast amount of that material is available to us, thanks to modern technology. As our understanding of the worldview of the biblical writers grows, so does our understanding of what they intended to say—and the mosaic of their thinking takes shape in our minds.”-The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible, pgs 15-16. Dr. Michael Heiser

Before we look at prophecy, let’s take a closer look at who Jesus is. (I told you we’d get back to that!) Jesus of Nazareth is not the only Son of God. That isn’t heresy, it’s what the Bible says. If you need a deep dive into evidence, please explore the Divine Council and the spiritual realm. Jesus is the unique Son of God. He volunteered for a rescue mission that would cost His physical life before God established the construct of time. It is not easy for our humanity to put aside linear time, but we must if we are to understand how this works. The spirit realm is not within the time construct. It isn’t that God exists in an eternal tunnel and He can see the end of the tunnel and the beginning of the tunnel… He isn’t in the tunnel. He created the tunnel. Time is nothing to God, there is no linear nature. So before God ever said, “Let there be light” Jesus had defeated death. That’s why He was with God in the beginning and everything was created through Him. We are clearly told ‘why’ Jesus has been elevated to the right hand of the Father.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:5‭-‬11

As a popular preacher says: when we see the word therefore, we had best look at what it’s there for. Jesus is unique in that He was the Son who volunteered for humility and obedience beyond all others. That’s why God highly exalted Jesus, and that’s why Jesus is our Lord and Savior. Now we can dive into some prophetic clues to God’s timeline, a corrupted history, and where we really are in relation to prophecy.

Daniel 9: I believe that Christians have made the mistake of interpreting Daniel’s vision through a Christian lens. There’s absolutely no need to do this. If we explore the vision through a Jewish understanding, it becomes clear that the dates were never referring to Jesus or the Messiah, but an anointed one who would rebuild the temple. The destruction by the one who enters on the wings of abomination aligns perfectly with Rome’s destruction of it 490 years later. The Daniel 9 prophecy had nothing to do with Jesus Christ… and why would it? No one in Daniel’s day would still be alive by the time of Christ. It would be a useless and moot word given to Daniel… for what purpose? To validate the insecurities of a people thousands of years in the future? We do not need such validation.

The rest of Daniel speaks to the end of days. However, it also gives numbers. And the last words of the angel are intriguing… Does he mean the Daniel will die (rest) and stand in his allotted place at the judgment? Or… does he mean that Daniel will be still and wait and arrive at the 1335 days he just spoke of? Or is this a case of multiple meanings exist? I don’t know, but the not knowing is enough to put me off using this prophecy alone to make any firm statements about the New Covenant.

He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand. And from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days. Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days. But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days.”
Daniel 12:9‭-‬13

All I am comfortable saying regarding Daniel’s word is that if ‘the regular offering is taken away” with the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD and that’s when the abomination that makes desolate is set up… for three and a half years… then there’s a certain correspondence with New Covenant prophecy here.

Isaiah:

The 53rd chapter of Isaiah is the Jesus prophecy. It is often read in church. What isn’t often read are the chapters that follow. From Isaiah 53 through the end of the book, nearly every chapter correlates to the New Covenant. Foreigners and strangers will be brought into salvation, God will be the light of the city. Some of the passages are identical to John’s quotes in Revelation. When we read the last 13 chapters of Isaiah, God paints a clear picture of His salvation and reconciliation through Jesus and His restoration of Jerusalem (not Israel). The description corresponds to the New Jerusalem described in Revelation 21.

Jeremiah:

In Chapter 23, Jeremiah mentions the reign of Christ. In Chapter 31, God speaks clearly of the New Covenant He will establish and the New Jerusalem that will never be overthrown again.

Ezekiel:

Beginning in Chapter 37, God gives Ezekiel a vision that closely corresponds to Revelation 20-22. Some commonalities: a New and everlasting covenant, a New Jerusalem, a New temple which nothing will ever defile, judgement against Gog and Magog…

So an examination of Old Covenant prophecy does indeed correlate with the final chapters of Revelation, after the millennial reign, but what about New Testament prophecy?

Matthew:

In chapter 23, Jesus laments over the temple and the Scribes and Pharisees. He calls them several derogatory names and speaks woe over them. He finishes by saying:

Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!
Matthew 23:36‭-‬37

Immediately after, in Matthew 24, Jesus prophesies about the end days.

Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place ( let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven 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 heaven to the other. “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark… Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
Matthew 24:1‭-‬11‭, ‬13‭-‬16‭, ‬21‭-‬38‭, ‬42

For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Matthew 16:27‭-‬28

Ok… so now we are able to firm up Daniel’s prophecy regarding the abomination that makes desolate. Jesus confirms this as a sign, and it appears to be speaking of the Holy of Holies, but it also says (let the reader understand). Understand what? We are repeatedly told that we are the temple under the New Covenant. Was Jesus referring to a physical figure sitting in the Holy of Holies around 70 AD when Jerusalem was destroyed?

We also see the tribulation described both in Daniel and Ezekiel now related in detail by Jesus. He tells those people exactly what to look for and that “Truly this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” The religious argument is that He didn’t mean a generation, but an age. I don’t buy that argument. Jesus was not speaking in parables. He was telling His closest companions, the men He entrusted to take the gospel to all of humanity, what to be aware of, what to look for and what they needed to know in order to lead appropriately. On the second occasion He stated the ones standing there would not taste death before they saw His coming. Another religious argument was needed to counter this statement. They say that Jesus meant those people would see Him after the resurrection. Except… He did not come in His kingdom and the glory of the Father with His angels to repay each person according to what they had done between the resurrection and ascension. That explanation simply does not fit what Jesus did, yet it exactly fits what we see in Revelation 19 and 20. The way Jesus describes the tribulation and His coming in this passage tracks directly to what John describes in Revelation 5-11 and the coming of Jesus in Chapter 19 and 20:1-6.

In chapters 12-18 of Revelation John describes what is happening in heaven, in the spirit realm. The seals are broken releasing the tribulation, battles are waged in the unseen realm while the tribulation is unfolding in the physical. The final seven plagues are poured out. Then Jesus returns.

My question is this: how can we be sure this didn’t all happen around 73-74 AD? According to Revelation, God does not create a New heaven and New Earth yet. There is no judgement day, yet. Jesus returns and reigns with His saints, the beast and false prophet are cast into the lake of fire, and after the thousand years, the devil is released for a season to deceive the nations.

How does the rapture (harpazo) figure in?

Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for 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 is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.
Revelation 20:4‭-‬6

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 4:13‭-‬17

This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.
2 Thessalonians 1:5‭, ‬7‭-‬10

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
2 Thessalonians 2:1‭-‬4‭, ‬6‭-‬12

I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
1 Corinthians 15:50‭-‬53

We get the idea of a rapture from the letters to the Thessalonians who were quite concerned about the return of Christ. They certainly believed Him when He said they would see it. The apostles did not dissuade them from such belief. Instead, they were encouraged that the mystery of lawlessness was already at work, Christ had not returned at this point, when He did, everyone would know and they’d be caught up. This seems to be a detailed picture of Revelation 20 When Jesus returns and the first resurrection takes place… before the thousand year reign.

I want to finish this study off with the next section of Revelation 20

And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.
Revelation 20:7‭-‬11

After an examination of the entirety of scripture, this seems to be where we land in God’s timeline. It looks like this:

God created the physical realm
The spiritual realm invaded and corrupted the physical realm, so God cleansed it
The damage was done, and, at Babel, God apportioned the nations to lesser spiritual beings (Deut, 32:10) keeping Israel as His portion.
Civilizations rose and fell, God reconciled all back to Himself through Jesus Christ
Jesus said on several occasions that He would return in His audience’s lifetime, the first century churches expected Him to return in their lifetime, the apostles supported this understanding
The gospel went throughout the world (Ephesus, Collosia, Rome… all these churches were in major ports)
The tribulation occurred around 70AD, Jesus returned in the first century, the rapture happened at the first resurrection
The millennial reign occurred
The devil was released to deceive and has been quite busy doing so

We now live in a season of deception. We can’t trust the timeline or history we have been taught. We must look at archeological evidence and know that much has been hidden and erased. We must acknowledge that much has been hidden underground and in places we are not allowed to access. We must understand that we have to question everything and go to God for understanding as most, if not all, of our accepted doctrines have been corrupted.

Please be encouraged to search the scriptures for yourself. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth, and don’t accept any person as the guide in your spirit… no matter how popular their platform.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1‭-‬2

The armies of Gog and Magog will surround the camp of the saints.

God will make all things new.

Boldly engage in spiritual warfare.

To consider…

This is a collection of photos from various world’s fairs and expositions around the world in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.

Who built these buildings?

Where did they go?

Where did the technology go?

Could it be that we are deceived by a false history and timeline?