Page 140 - Eschatology - Student Ebook

My parents used to warn me against doing certain things when I was a teenager. They would say, “Make
sure you don’t involve yourself in anything that you would be ashamed of if the Rapture occurred.” Of
course, Jesus knows everything we do, say, think and feel. But the admonition from my parents was
good for me to think about as I became a teenager and then, a grown man.

Our curiosity is awakened as we watch the world events around us. As we have seen from Scripture,
there are no signs leading up to the Rapture. Many believers are confused about this issue. The Bible is
clear that the signs Jesus gave in Matthew 24-25 are signs leading up to the Second Coming of Christ,
not the Rapture.

The only thing we can do is observe our world as it prepares for the Tribulation Period. There are certain
things we can observe and conclude. We do know that our world is now more prepared for the
Tribulation Period than it was several decades ago.

Allow me to illustrate what I am saying. In western culture the stores begin to prepare for Christmas in
October and November, putting up Christmas decorations, playing Christmas music, and advertising
Christmas gifts. The stores are trying to get everyone in the Christmas mood early so that they will buy
more and more Christmas gifts. When we observe this preparation for Christmas in October, we are
reminded that Christmas is coming. We also know that the Thanksgiving holiday is celebrated one
month before Christmas. While there are a very few preparations for the Thanksgiving holiday in the
stores, the Christmas preparation reminds us that because Christmas is so close, the Thanksgiving
holiday is closer!

As we observe things happening in our world which could be preparations for the Tribulation period, we
can assume the Rapture is getting closer still.

General Preparations
During the Tribulation period, we will see an extraordinary increase in catastrophes. Some of them will
be things we are already experiencing, but to a greater degree during the Tribulation period. Others will
be clearly supernatural judgments sent by God to get people’s attention. Our earth is already
experiencing greater activity, both in number and in intensity, of things like earthquakes, hurricanes,
volcanic eruptions, flooding, weather extremes, etc.

Newly developed technology increases the possibility of certain events prophesied to occur during the
Tribulation period. The Bible reveals that the antichrist will be able to control commerce all over the
earth through his one-world government. This is now technically possible with internet economic
transactions.

Revelation 11 reveals that the two witnesses will be killed at the middle point of the Tribulation and the
whole world will watch and celebrate as their bodies lay on the street in Jerusalem. Today, live satellite
technology allows people all around the world to watch an event occurring almost anywhere in the
world.

Revelation 13 reveals that unless people take the identifying mark of the beast on their forehead or the
back of their hand they cannot buy or sell. The technology of each person having an implantable chip on
their forehead or the back of their hand, which will be used for identification and financial transactions,
is already developed and ready for use. In the US, we plant chips in dogs to locate them should they run

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