A journey through prophetic Scripture reveals the truth about the rapture of the church

Preface  Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Revelation 3:10  The righteous perishes, and no man takes it to heart; merciful men are taken away, while no one considers that the righteous is taken away from evil. Isaiah 57:1

Introduction  This presentation presents in chronological order many passages on end times and the return of Christ.  Beginning in Daniel and ending in Revelation with minimal emphasis added and almost no commentary, the Word of God speaks for itself.  I pray God blesses each reader and strengthens His body for what is to come.

The Old Testament

Daniel 7  21 … the same horn (anti-Christ) was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them,  22 until the Ancient of Days came… and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.  25 He (the anti-Christ) shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time.

Daniel 8  17 …"Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.”  23 "And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their fullness, a king (anti-Christ) shall arise, having fierce features, who understands sinister schemes.  24 His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; he shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive; he shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people.

Daniel 11  31 And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress… and place there the abomination of desolation.  32 …but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.  33 …yet for many days they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering.  35 And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time.

The New Testament

Matthew 24  7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.  9 Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  15 "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand)  16 … flee to the mountains.

Matthew 24  29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, 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.

Mark 8  34 "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it.

Mark 13  24 "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;  25 the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.  26 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

Luke 17  26 And (as evil) as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:  28 Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot:  29 … but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.  30 Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed (return of Christ).

John 16  33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

I Corinthians 3  16 You yourselves are God’s temple and God’s Spirit lives in you  17 … God’s temple is sacred and you are that temple.

I Corinthians 15  51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed--  52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.

Ephesians 6  13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

I Thessalonians 5  2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.  4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.  6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.

II Thessalonians 2  3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin (anti-Christ) is revealed, the son of perdition, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

II Timothy 3  1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:  13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.

II Peter 3  10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

Hebrews 9  28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.  [“a second time”… singular; i.e., there is only one ‘second coming’]

Hebrews 12  26 …but now He has promised, saying, "Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven."  27 Now this, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.

Revelation 6  9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.  10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"  11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

Revelation 7  9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,  13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?"  14 And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Revelation  10:7 but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel (the 7 th and LAST TRUMPET), when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets. [Recall I Cor. 15, where Paul first spoke of this ‘mystery’ in connection to ‘the last trumpet’!]  11:15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!"

Conclusion  Friends, the Scripture reveals a different picture than what many theologians have been teaching for two centuries.  Jesus, Himself, said in both Matthew 24 and Mark 13, “After the tribulation… then you will see the Son of Man coming…”  The seventh trumpet of Revelation IS THE LAST TRUMPET of which Paul spoke in I Corinthians 15 as the moment Christ would return. It occurs at the end of the tribulation for God’s people.

 The believers will endure many trials, and it will be for purification to holiness. Out of fire comes purest gold.  Pray for the people of God to stay on their knees, and to live surrendered lives filled with the Holy Spirit. He is our comfort and strength.  Hold fast to what you know, for Jesus warned many deceptions will come before His return.  Finally, ‘put on the whole armor of God that we may be able to withstand in the evil day.’ Amen.