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THE SECOND and THIRD COMING OF THE LORD JESUS
Daniel
Chapter 9
It is clear from this chapter that there is a seven-year period. In the middle of these seven years, the
abomination of desolation takes place. The first three and a half years is the Great Tribulation. The second three and a
half years is the wrath of God. There are no scripture verses that say there is a seven-year tribulation. Bare in mind that
Satan through the anti-Christ instigates the “Great Tribulation”; where as the “wrath of God” is entirely an affliction from
God himself. The tribulation saints have the promise of First Thessalonians 1:10, “And to wait for his Son from heaven,
whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.” When reading Matthew 24: 29, keep in
mind this is immediately after the tribulation…don’t look at it as seven years, but as three and a half years of tribulation.
Compare Matthew 24:29-31 to Revelation 6:12-17. This describes the great day of his wrath to come. This is the second advent
of Jesus Christ in glory with his angels as he comes to gather his elect (saints). Also commonly called the Day of the Lord.
After reading Matthew 24:15, (talks about after the abomination of desolation) go to verse 21: “For then shall be great tribulation,
such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be”. This describes the “Wrath of God”,
the trumpets and vials. In Matthew 24:16, Judah is told to flee into the mountains. At the end of the three and a half years,
of the Wrath of God, Judah is the first to be saved. In Zechariah 12:7, it talks about the third advent of the Lord Jesus,
where he will come with all his saints to set up his Kingdom. He (Jesus) will come to Bozrah first, (Isaiah 63:1-7, 34:1-6),
then to the Mount of Olives. In Zechariah 14:1-7, notice that this description of the day (verses 6,7) is clearly different
then the description given for the Day of the Lord.
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THE 144,000
JEWISH REMNANT
Revelation 11:3 says, "And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they
shall prophesy a thousand
two hundred and threescore days, clothed in
sackcloth."
Read Revelation 11:3-13.
God has appointed
two witnesses and given them special powers to
authenticate their ministry. I believe their preaching is world wide,
but
mainly to the Jewish people. Their ministry is the first three and a half
years (commonly known as the great
tribulation). Revelation 11:10 says, "And
they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice, over them, and make merry,
and shall send gifts to another".
In the second three and a half year period, Israel will be invaded
and Jerusalem
is taken into battle. It is also the period when the wrath of
God is poured out on the earth. They will be no one rejoicing
and making
merry or giving gifts out in those three and a half years. Who are these two witnesses?
Malachi 4:5
says, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming
of the great and dreadful day of the Lord". In I
Kings 19:18, when Elijah
thought he was alone, God told him he will have seven thousand that didn't
bow their knees
to Baal. In Revelation 11:13, in the great earthquake seven
thousand were killed. I believe there is some significance
to that
number. The other witness may be Moses, because Moses performed some of
the same miracles mentioned in
Revelation 11:6. Some people think it may
be Enoch, but God promised Enoch he would not see death. (Hebrews 11:5).
Who the two witnesses are is not important at this point. What is important is that
God said there would be two
witnesses. No where in the scripture does it say
there are 144,000 evangelists, or flaming evangelists or witnesses.
In Romans 9:27, "Isaiah also crieth concerning Israel, though the number of
the children of Israel is as the
sand of the sea, a remnant shall be
saved."
In Romans 11:5, "Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant
according to the election of grace".
In this present age (the church age,) which ends at the second coming,
everybody gets saved the same way, through the preaching of the gospel.
(Romans 9:27).
In Romans 10:12, "Now
if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and it
diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more
their
fullness"? Immediately after the second coming and just before the wrath
of God begins, this remnant is marked
by God's special protection. (Read
Revelation 9:4).
The sealing takes place immediately after the sixth seal
is opened.
In Revelation 6:12-17, it is marked by the opening of the seventh seal. The
silence in heaven is about
the space of half an hour. In Revelation 8, we
find the tribulation saints in heaven before the throne of God. The
144,000 remnant is on earth. Take notice of the first three verses. The
angels that had the trumpets and vials
of the wrath of God were halted
until the 144,000 were sealed. (Read Revelation 8:6-12 and 16:1-11). Take
note:
First they are in or around Jerusalem. In Revelation 11:13 and
Matthew 24:16, they are not under the economy system
that the
anti-Christ sets up. The fact that they do not take the "666" mark could
conclude that they must be in
Israel. Perhaps that is why Israel has great
wealth. In Ezekiel 38:12-13, the great socialist society that the
anti-Christ
sets up only seeks to impoverish and control the people. It
is an anti-Christ system.
II Thessalonians 3:8-10
says, "For even when we were with you, this we commanded
you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat".
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