As In The Days of Noah

Jesus told His disciples that deception, wickedness, and tribulation would come upon the earth prior to His second coming.  These teachings are recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21.  At one point Jesus said this, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of man.” (Mt 24:37). Expanding on that statement He said that people were eating and drinking, marrying and carrying on life as usual right up to the very last day, unaware that God’s judgment was about to fall. They were unbelieving of judgment and ignorant of it until the very day that the rains came and they were taken away.

We might raise the question, “Did the people of Noah’s day know that the flood was coming, that judgment was imminent?” Were they ignorant because they were not forewarned, or were they ignoring God’s warning, disbelieving that anything would change the course of the world to which they were accustomed?

The answer to that question is found in the account of the flood, in Genesis 6. Over a long period of time the wickedness of mankind grew ever greater, until every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time (Gen 6:5). That is true of today, the last days before God’s next judgment. I am afraid that we do not fully realize how wicked and evil the hearts of mankind have become, similar to the days of Noah. One particular evil is singled out, the daughters of men were marrying the sons of God, and Nephilim were being born (Gen 6:2). All this wickedness led God to say that His spirit would not put up with man forever, therefore his days are limited to 120 years (Gen 6:3). That was a prophetic pronouncement that judgment was on the horizon, to be unleashed and fulfilled 120 years from the time when it was proclaimed. This pronouncement was most likely known to all mankind, through Noah, or through other spokesmen, because it came down through the ancient historians and is recorded for all mankind to know. And history proved the prophetic pronouncement of judgment to be accurate, fulfilled by God right on schedule.

As in the days of Noah, God has a time frame for fulfilling his warnings of impending judgment upon this generation, the warnings made clear for all to see in the prophecies of Revelation. And it just may be that the same 120 year time-frame is part of the meaning of the phrase, “as in the days of Noah.”  Part of the reason for such a long warning period is that God is patient, not wanting any to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (II Pet 3:9).

God revealed to John the apostle that there would be seven trumpet warnings leading up to Jesus Christ coming in judgment. The seventh trumpet is the actual outpouring of His judgment upon the whole earth. This judgment, like the flood, is a transition into a new era, a new time period in His redemptive plan, namely, the Millennial Kingdom. These seven trumpet warnings are not judgments of God to be meted out during the Great Tribulation, as many have taught for over 150 years. If we allow history to interpret prophecy rather than presumption and conjecture, we may come to understand that the time span of the trumpet warnings is similar to the days of Noah. The trumpet warnings of revelation have been occurring for over 100 years.¹ The first trumpet was World War 1, the second trumpet was Word War 2, the third trumpet was Chernobyl, the fourth trumpet was climate change, and the fifth trumpet was the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein. The sixth trumpet is yet to sound, which will be the build up to Armageddon, masterminded by the lawless one who leads a large Arab army against Israel.

If the time-frame of 120 years is a legitimate component of Jesus’ statement, “as in the days of Noah”, then we have a possible time-frame of His warnings leading up to the second world judgment. If this time-frame is accurate then we must realize that both tribulation and judgment are imminent, right at the door. World War 1 began in 1914, and the other four trumpet warnings occurred throughout the twentieth century. If the coming of Christ in judgment upon the eighth beast alliance and the lawless one (aka Armageddon) occurs 120 years after the beginning of the trumpet judgments, that would place it about 2034. The final judgment, the seventh trumpet/bowl judgment will follow immediately after the battle of Armageddon. Christians will be rescued from that great outpouring of God’s wrath, being gathered up to meet the Lord in the air when He returns. But we, the Church, will be here through the trumpet warnings and the extreme tribulation of the last few years leading up to Christ’s return. Part of that extreme tribulation will be ever increasing wickedness, the destruction of America, and the rise of the eighth beast and the oppressive buildup to Armageddon.

We need to understand the prophecies of Revelation accurately so that we can be ready to stand firm in faith when tribulation comes.

¹  The trumpet and bowl judgments are discussed at great length in my book, Right At The Door.

Rebuilding The Temple

 

Rumors abound that the temple will be rebuilt on its original site. Temple furnishings and vessels have been re-crafted, on display at the Temple Institute in Jerusalem. And there are reports that Jewish priests are in training to resume temple worship. There is even hearsay that the ark of the covenant is in hiding and safekeeping in Ethiopia. All of these hopes and dreams swirl around faulty interpretation of two key Biblical passages. The fact is, the temple will not be rebuilt prior to Christ’s second coming.

The single biggest hindrance to rebuilding the Jewish temple on the Temple Mount, obviously, is the fact that there are currently two very revered Muslim buildings on that site – the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. It is highly unlikely that those holy buildings will be removed and the site repossessed by the Jews.

When King Jesus returns and reigns in Jerusalem, His rebuilding program will include a Jewish temple for the Millennial Kingdom. It is described at length in Ezekiel 40-44. It will be rebuilt by Messiah to allow for the Jews to worship Him within the framework of their historic covenant, feasts, festivals, and liturgies.

But that is not the temple rebuilding timeline envisioned by Orthodox Jews and American Christians. The Jews believe that the temple must be rebuilt before the coming of Messiah. Christians insist that it must be rebuilt leading up to the Great Tribulation, so that Antichrist can abominate it and destroy it at the mid-point of the great Tribulation.

Daniel’s vision of seventy weeks (Dan 9:24-27) is cited as the Biblical basis for the rebuilding and destruction of the temple. Problem is, this incredible Messianic prophecy has audaciously been transformed into a prophecy about Antichrist and the Great Tribulation. It is Messiah who would make a covenant for one week, referring to the New Covenant, not Antichrist making a covenant with the Jews. It is Messiah who would put an end to sacrifice in the middle of the seventieth week, by His crucifixion. Not Antichrist destroying the temple. Then, in the last half of verse 27, the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem is anticipated. That was fulfilled by Titus in 70 AD. And Jesus confirmed that (Matt 24:15). Neither Daniel or Jesus gives any hint that Titus is a prototype of a future Antichrist who will once again destroy the temple and the city of Jerusalem. That is poppycock. You cannot find it anywhere in Revelation, either.

One other Biblical passage is used to support the rebuilding of the temple in anticipation of the Great Tribulation. Paul wrote that the man of lawlessness will “set himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God” (2 Thes 2:4). The Greek word that Paul uses for temple is naos, not ieron. He is referring to a spiritual temple, like the temple of God in heaven (Rev 7:15), not the brick-and-mortar temple in Jerusalem. What Paul was saying, somewhat prophetically, is that the man of lawlessness (the Islamic Mahdi, aka antichrist) will claim to be God. His rise to power and the grand rebellion that he will lead (building up to Armageddon) will happen before the return of Christ, before the rapture (2 Thes 2:1-3)

We need to focus on the signs that are recorded in Revelation to warn us that the coming of Christ is right at the door, rather than looking for the temple to be rebuilt. The first five trumpet warnings have already occurred. History is interpreting prophecy before our very eyes.

Extreme Tribulation

 

We need to change our nomenclature. What most Christians associate with the two-word phrase, “great tribulation”, is not at all what God intended. They assume that “great tribulation” refers to one thing, and one thing only, a seven-year Great Tribulation. Furthermore, they assume that the Great Tribulation will only affect the wicked, those left behind when Christians are blissfully raptured away to be with Jesus.  That assumption is woefully and dangerously misleading.

If we would change the terminology to extreme tribulation, and abandon the term “great tribulation” altogether, it would help immensely in understanding the prophecies of Revelation accurately. The Greek words normally translated great tribulation (e.g., Rev 7:14, Matt 24:21; cf. Dan 12:1) are thlipsis megalos. Thlipsis is best translated as affliction or turmoil, but we have become more accustomed to using the English word tribulation to translate it. And megalos simply means large, extreme, huge, or great.  Changing the terminology is completely legitimate within the bounds of Biblical translation, and it would be extremely helpful for getting away from the false notions associated with “great tribulation”.

The English word that we use in so many translations, tribulation, actually comes from a Latin word, tribulum. The tribulum was a large heavy sledge-board with flint or stones on the underside. It was drug over the wheat to thresh it, separating the grain from the husks. The wheat could then be winnowed, the husks blowing away in the wind and the grain preciously gathered up.  Like the tribulum, God uses tribulation to separate the useless husks from the precious grain. That is such an important concept to understand as the last days quickly come upon us.

Tribulation is a common theme throughout Biblical history. It is a key component of God’s redemptive plan. Tribulation was used by God, over and over, to chasten and purify His chosen nation, the Jews -- in Egypt, then during the time of the Judges, then in Babylon, then again in 70 AD. Why then would we Christians, at the end of the age, refuse to understand that extreme tribulation will again be used by God, this time to separate the wheat from the tares, and purify the Church to be a holy bride for Jesus’ return? Instead, we want to relegate that extreme tribulation as judgment upon the wicked, only, and allow for the church to be raptured, never being threshed by the tribulum.

For over 150 years now America has listened to prophets and teachers proclaiming that the Church will be spared the extreme tribulation that is prophesied in Revelation. Bible-believing Christians are conflicted and confused over what to believe about the Great Tribulation. This quandary is similar to that described by Isaiah and Jeremiah. They pointed out, over and over, that false prophets are notorious for prophesying peace and safety, giving false hope, when God is warning of destruction, captivity, and extreme tribulation. (see the story of the false prophet Hananiah in Jer 28). The truth of what lies ahead is not peace and rapture. Instead, we are warned to expect the rise of the eighth beast and the man of lawlessness, the destruction of America, and the final, cataclysmic battle of Armageddon. Only then will Jesus return to rescue His chosen ones, catching us up from this earth just prior to the last trumpet, the horrible outpouring of His wrath.

Is the church in America ready for extreme tribulation? No, many will be disheartened, dismayed, and fall away. Only a few will be threshed by the tribulum, and remain faithful and true.