Apocalypse 2012 article 2009-10-02

Have you seen the trailer for the movie “2012”? This movie, starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Woody Harrelson, and Danny Glover, will hit theaters on November 13^th. No doubt the interest in 2012 will rise, as a result. Please pray for God to use this movie to bring a greater openness to the gospel and the return of Christ. And if you would, please pray that God would time the release of my book at the peak time of interest—so that, perhaps, the book will get into the hands of more people in order to prepare more for the return of Christ.

While viewing the trailer, I could not help but think about some similarities between what is portrayed in the movie to some of the natural cataclysmic events which will occur during the future seven-year tribulation period upon the earth. Though I am certainly not predicting dates (regardless of what the title of my book may imply [Apocalypse 2012: The Ticking of the End Time Clock: What Does the Bible Say?]), it is altogether possible for God to use the expected events of December 12, 2012 to coincide with the beginning of the tribulation period.

Following is an excerpt from my book showing that the rapture of the Church (when Jesus comes from heaven in the air to take all believers who are alive at that time to be with Him in the air) and the inception of the seven-year tribulation period (a.k.a. the day of the Lord) will occur on the same day. (The end notes from this excerpt can be found at the end of this update.)

While teaching us that believers will be delivered from the day of the Lord by the rapture, Paul exhorts Christians in 1 Thessalonians 5:4 not to be caught off guard (as a thief in the night) by the appearing of the day of the Lord. In fact, both the rapture and the day of the Lord are described as events catching people off guard as a thief in the night.^ⁱ This indicates that both events are presented as being imminent, meaning that there is no other event predicted by the Bible as taking place before these two. These events can only be described in this way if both the rapture and the beginning of the day of the Lord occur at the same time.

Earlier, in Matthew 24:36-41, Jesus also indicated that the rapture and the initiation of the day of the Lord will occur at the same time: “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. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.”

The reference to the rapture can be seen in the repeated phrase, the coming of the Son of Man in these verses referring to Jesus’ return to establish His rule upon the earth.^ⁱⁱ His return will commence with Him coming from heaven into the air for the rapture of the Church. This will be followed by a seven-year hiatus, during which time Jesus and Christians will have a layover in the air,^ⁱⁱⁱ while those dwelling on the earth will experience the day of the Lord. At the end of this seven-year period, Jesus will continue His return to the earth by landing on the Mount of Olives. Therefore, His coming (return) is actually a seven-year trip in all.

Jesus not only pictures the rapture in these verses, He also portrays the day of the Lord (the seven-year tribulation period). While the rapture of the Church is represented by the ark which delivered Noah and his family, the flood, in Jesus’ description, stands for the day of the Lord. Just as the Genesis flood was a world-wide judgment by God, so the day of the Lord, following the rapture of the Church, is presented as a period of God’s cataclysmic judgment upon the world, affecting everyone.

Jesus announced that before the flood came, people were eating, drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage. By providing a description of people participating in mundane activities, Jesus’ point is that those in Noah’s day were unaware that a worldwide cataclysm was about to occur; they continued as if nothing was about to happen, missing the opportunity to escape from God’s judgment which was about to be poured out upon the earth.

But if we look even closer, we will see indication that the rapture of the Church, portrayed by the ark, and the initiation of the day of the Lord, pictured by the coming of the flood, will occur on the very same day. Jesus links the two events by announcing that the coming of the Son of Man will be like the coming of the flood in Noah’s day. He also commented that people simply carried on with their life activities until the day that Noah entered the ark. In addition, Jesus stated that these same people did not know until the flood came and took them all away. These statements show that nothing about these people’s lives changed until Noah entered the ark AND the flood came and took them all away. In order for each of these descriptions to be true regarding the rapture and the beginning of the day of the Lord, they would need to occur on the same day.^{^iv}

To enhance His teaching of the imminence of these events, Jesus presents this picture in verses 40 and 41: “Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.”

The word then connects these verses to Jesus’ coming, mentioned immediately prior to these verses. The word taken, used twice in these verses, is the Greek word paralambano which is defined by the standard Greek lexicon as “to take into close association, take (to oneself) take with/along”.^{^v} It is a different Greek word than the one translated as taken (airo) in the announcement “the flood came and took them all away” in verse 39.^{^vi} In verse 39, Jesus speaks of judgment, while in verses 40 and 41 He pronounces that believers in Him will be taken to be with Him.

The message communicated by the two abbreviated scenes in verses 40 and 41 is this: While people are going about their normal life activities, Jesus will suddenly take believers to Himself from among unbelievers, leaving behind the unbelievers in the world. This message is driven home by the repetition of the phrase, one will be taken, the other left.

So, just as the ark delivered those (Noah and his family) who believed God’s message, so Jesus will deliver those who believe His message of eternal life. [His message of eternal life can be summarized in this way: Jesus gives eternal life to whoever believes Him for it—at the very moment that person believes Him for it.] Noah and his family were untouched by God’s judgment poured out upon the earth in the same way those who will be delivered by the rapture will be untouched by the judgments God will pour out during the seven-year tribulation period.

To summarize, the coming of the Son of Man (Jesus) refers to Jesus’ seven-year trip to the earth from heaven. It will begin with Him coming in the air to take believers off the earth to be with Him (and joining all deceased believers from the past), and it will conclude with Him coming to the earth seven years later. On the day He takes believers off the face of the planet, the seven-year tribulation period will begin (it will begin with the initiation of the seven-year treaty between Israel and ten other nations), and this period will conclude on the day Jesus comes to the earth.

Now let’s take a look at what has been going on this past week. We will begin with Iran which, I believe, God will use as a link to bring about a brief period of peace and security and to prepare for the peace treaty prophesied by Daniel between Israel and ten other nations.

In the last update, I cited an article which shows that Iran is developing its presence and influence in the Southern Hemisphere (i.e., South America). In this week’s news (see Yemen), we learn that Iran is also getting a foothold in Yemen. Since Iran already has a significant presence in Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Gaza strip, it is undeniably clear it is seeking domination in the Middle East. As a result, Arab nations which fear Iran achieving nuclear capability, are looking to Israel for help. Writing in the pan-Arab newspaper Al Quds Al Arabi, for instance, the editor, Abdel-Beri Atwan, said that with recent developments “the Arab regimes, and the gulf ones in particular, will find themselves part of a new alliance against Iran alongside Israel” (see Arab Alliance). This is significant because it seems that of the ten nations signing a future peace treaty, five will likely be Arab. Thus, God could be using this growing alliance to prepare for the treaty. (Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman brought things into perspective on the Middle East peace situation by stating: “Nobody is worried about the Palestinian problem; everybody in the Muslim and Arab world - and first and foremost in the Gulf states - is worried about the Iranian problem” (see Front Burner).

This week, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that the Iranians intend to develop nuclear weapons (see Iran Nukes). A number of articles this week responded to Iran’s apparent willingness to talk with the U.S. and European nations by claiming that Iran is merely buying time to further develop its nuclear program (see Buying Time; Buying More Time; Fooling U.S.).

One article claimed that Iran is “galloping toward nukes”, enriching uranium at a rate of three kilograms per day (see Galloping). At this rate, according to this article, it will be time to “bomb or be bombed”. In fact, Iran already has enough uranium to create a nuclear bomb (see Enough).

Sanctions will not be the answer to the Iranian problem as one U.S. administration official stated this week that the U.S. is not likely to convince enough (and the right) nations to go along with an embargo of gasoline and other fuel (see No Embargo)--something that could hurt Iran. Certainly, Venezuela and China will ignore sanctions against Iran (see Ignore Sanctions; also see China Won't Cooperate). Thus, it seems there will ultimately be only one recourse—an attack upon Iran’s nuclear facilities. There are only two countries who might be able to pull that off, and one of them, the U.S. will most likely not go that route.

A Washington Post article calls for President Obama to follow through with his threats against Iran, though the writer is doubtful the U.S. will do much more than talk tough (see Talk, Talk, Talk). However, he calls for the U.S. to do whatever needs to be done to stop Iran from acquiring nukes.

While some have written off a military attack upon Iran, Israeli officials do not necessarily agree that the military option would be ineffective. Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi warned that “all options are open” (On the Table). In a New York Times article (Arab Hopes for Attack), Abdulaziz Sager, a Saudi businessman and former diplomat who is chairman of the Gulf Research Center in the United Arab Emirates calls for Israel to attack Iran, saying that the region can better live with Iran’s response in the short-term than with the long-term nightmare of a nuclear Iran.

In a report of Israel acquiring two more German submarines, it was suggested that Israel’s subs may be a key to their attack upon Iran (see Attack Subs). If Israel does attack, it could likely lead to the overthrow of the Iranian regime, as I have argued previously. (See Weak Regime which presents Iran’s weakening regime.)

A New York Times article argued that intelligence on Iran and where it is in its nuclear program is varied with some of it being unreliable (see Unreliable Intel). Thus, Iran could be much closer to nuclear capability than some believe. And the clock is ticking.

An interesting CNBC article claims that the U.S. may face an economic Armageddon if Japan and China do not buy its debt (see Economic Armageddon). In addition, the head of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, sees the dollar’s role diminishing in the world’s economy (see Diminishing Dollar). What is God doing in this regard? Might He be providing a motivation for the U.S. to step back from the prophetic picture—particularly where Israel is concerned? Might He be preparing for a one-world currency that has been proposed which could prepare for the control of the world’s economy by one man (in the latter half of the future tribulation period)?

In response to all of this, it could be easy to become fearful; however, as I discussed in the last update, it is very important to recognize that God is in control. None of this has caught Him off guard. In fact, He is using it all to bring about His kingdom plan. The key for us is the answer to this question: How will we respond to what God is doing? It is my prayer that as we see the return of Christ nearing that we will seek all the more to grow in our relationship with Him. This begins with spending regular time in His word (the Bible) and in prayer, which should include asking Him to teach you—and transform you—by His word. As you do these things, you are preparing for His return.

Please pray for my editing work on the book this week. Also, please continue to pray that God will get this book into the hands of all who are open to His word in order to prepare them for the return of Christ.

Please feel free to forward this update to others, and encourage them to email me to receive this update on a weekly basis. Thank you.

ii The Son of Man is an expression borrowed from Daniel 7:13-14 where it refers to the Messiah as the future ruler of the earth. Jesus applied that same meaning in this passage in Matthew 24.

iii The Bible does not say that Jesus and believers return to heaven following the rapture. In fact, the Bible seems to indicate that they do not return to heaven. First of all, there is no statement that Jesus and believers return to heaven.

Secondly, Jesus uses the same word (parousia, Greek, ) in Matthew 24, to portray both the rapture of the Church (verses 37 and 39) and His return to the earth (verse 27), indicating one trip toward the earth, not two. The use of this word in verses 37 and 39 show that Jesus’ coming begins unexpectedly (with the rapture)—without a sign—but it concludes with a sign at the end of the tribulation period (see verses 29-31), seven years later. It is the same coming (or trip from heaven to earth), though the return spans a seven-year period. (For an excellent presentation of this view, see Zane C. Hodges, Jesus: God’s Prophet (Dallas, TX: Kerugma, Inc.), pp. 15-32.)

iv It may appear to some that the flood did not begin until seven days after Noah entered the ark (cf. Gen. 7:7-10); however, the flood actually came seven days after God gave Noah the command to gather the animals and provision into the ark. It could have taken Noah seven days to organize everything into the ark. If so, then Noah and his family may not have entered the ark until just prior to the coming of the flood. Certainly, Jesus links the two events (entering the ark and the coming of the flood) to the same day.

v Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, F. Wilbur Gingrich, and Frederick Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1980), s.v. , p. 619.

vi For the use of airo in Matthew 24:39, Bauer, Arndt, Gingrich, and Danker provide this definition: “take away, remove with no suggestion of lifting up,” which indicates a very different meaning than the use of paralambano. Ibid, s.v. , p. 24.