Keeping Watch

       In His teaching about the signs of this age (the Messianic Age), His second coming, and the rapture—known as the Olivet Discourse—Jesus listed five traits of the tribulation that would extend across Days 5 and 6 of God’s prophetic great Week. That is, wars and conflict, famine and lack, pestilence and earthquakes, false religious and religious wars, and persecution. A final sixth sign of total darkness will signal the end of this age.
     End-Time Lesson: This extended time period would also be characterized by the falling away, culminating in the fullness of the transgressors. Stay tuned for more on what that means. Scripture also indicates that the Jews will rebuild another temple in Jerusalem and reinstate the animal sacrifices. This may seem like a good thing, something Christians should be praying for in support of the Jews. But that is not how God will see it. Again, stay tuned for why this is the case.
       Since this rebuilt temple will share the “Temple Mount” with the Islamic shrine known as the Dome of the Rock, we can expect conflict to follow. In fact, Scripture tells us that the rebuilding of the temple and the renewing of the sacrifices will cause the initial invasion of the Antichrist’s coalition of armies as the Day of the Lord draws very near (1 Thess. 5:1-3; Joel 2:1-11). This, of course, means that we will see the rise of the Antichrist before this pivotal invasion.
       The last thing we will see before that Day is total celestial darkness—a deep darkness—over  the entire earth at one time (Acts. 2:20; Matt. 24:29-30; Luke 21:25-28). When the Day dawns, all the world will see Christ coming in the clouds to gather His Bride at the rapture. They will see all of us return to Father’s House in the 3rd Heaven as promised. From there we will rule over the earth for the entire 7th Day and millennial reign of Christ. We will not come back—at least not to this earth. We will descend to the new heavens and to the new earth that God creates at the end of the 7th Day and reign with Christ for all eternity.
           But I’m getting ahead of myself. Now glorified and perfected at the rapture at the start of the last Day, we are seated as the heavenly government. You see, the Church doesn’t “escape” because we can’t handle what is happening on the earth. We are delivered from the wrath of that Day. In fact, we are raised up in order to execute God’s vengeance against evil via the seven trumpet and bowl judgments.
            But before we do, we will hear nothing. Heaven will go silent for about one half hour (Re. 8:1). It is a solemn occasion, to say the least. The silence will be shattered by the sound of a trumpet, and so shall begin the shaking of the heavens and the earth. We will see this, but only from the safety of the throne room. So shall 3½-year war for Jerusalem begin, which shall end with the defeat of the Antichrist and his forces at the Great Supper of God.