Prophecy

Intro Prayer

Father, I pray that you open our hearts, open our minds, open our ears to this message. Speak through me Holy Spirit. Have your way in this room. In Jesus name Amen

Prophecy- God’s Plan Revealed Ahead of Time

7 Reasons why End Times Prophecy is so important

It’s in the Bible- Covers over 1/4 of it

Statistics on Prophecy

28% of the Bible contains prophecy

1/30 verses contain prophecy

8000 total verses contain prophecy

23/27 New Testament books speak on the Return of Christ

For each verse that mentions the first coming of Jesus, there are 8 verses that mention his second coming

There are 333 prophecies concerning Christ. Of those, 109 were fulfilled at his first coming leaving 224 yet to be fulfilled

According to Jesus, every word and letter of Scripture will eventually come to pass

Matthew 5:18 “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.”

Revelation is 95% prophecy

Authors tend to consider the best ways to impact the reader at the end of the book.

God doesn’t want his children uninformed

“Ignorance leads to weakness, and weakness gives way to fear, anxiety, uncertainty, and makes us vulnerable to misleading information”- Jeff Kinley

The times in which we live now

Noticing the signs of the end times

While nobody knows the day nor hour of Jesus’ return for us, we will be somewhat aware of the time (1 Thessalonians 5:1–4 “Now concerning how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters, we don’t really need to write you. For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape. But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief.”) Have someone read verse 4 out of NIV

What it does for us as believers

Bible Prophecy understanding gives you...

Clarity- 2 Thessalonians 2:1–3 “Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him. Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us. Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction.”

Confidence

Faith- Revelation 4- faith in what is to come, faith in our place in Heaven.

Hope- Titus 2:13–15 “while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds. You must teach these things and encourage the believers to do them. You have the authority to correct them when necessary, so don’t let anyone disregard what you say.”

Love for Jesus- Revelation 19:10 “Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said, “No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers and sisters who testify about their faith in Jesus. Worship only God. For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus.”” Immediately following this verse is the second coming of Jesus Christ.

“Bible Prophecy is an essential part of our spiritual nourishment”- Todd Hampson

The Timeline

Church Age (where we are now), Rapture, Gap Period, Tribulation, Return of Christ, Millennial Kingdom, Final Judgement, Eternal State

Rapture

It is Imminent. All Believers taken to meet Jesus in the air, and go with him to Heaven

John 14:3 “When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.”

1 Corinthians 15:52 “It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.”

1 Thessalonians 4:15–18 “We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So, encourage each other with these words.”

Gap Period

The time before the treaty

A treaty between Israel and the Antichrist begins Tribulation

Daniel 9:27 “The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.”

Logic demands a gap period

Could be minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or years (probably a couple days)

Gog and Magog War (Ezekiel 38-39)

Post Rapture grab for power

Russia, Turkey, Libya, Ethiopia, and Sudan (All in partnerships right now for the first time in history) make a push for Israel

Ezekiel prophesies future attack will take place after Israel has been a wasteland with people having to be brought back from other nations (Ezekiel 38:8 “A long time from now you will be called into action. In the distant future you will swoop down on the land of Israel, which will be enjoying peace after recovering from war and after its people have returned from many lands to the mountains of Israel.”)

During the Diaspora (Die-as-poor-uh) (the dispersion of Jews around the world in 70 AD) and until Israel became a nation (1948) it was a wasteland. Today the land has millions of Jews.

Israel- 8th most powerful nation in the world.

This attack will be for the sole purpose of stealing things of value (Ezekiel 38:12 “I will go to those formerly desolate cities that are now filled with people who have returned from exile in many nations. I will capture vast amounts of plunder, for the people are rich with livestock and other possessions now. They think the whole world revolves around them!’”).

For the first time in history, Israel is energy independent. A Houston-based company, Noble Energy, exploring for natural gas in deep waters off Israel’s Mediterranean coast, made its first major discovery in the year 2000 of one trillion cubic feet of gas, called the Mari-B. Noble began producing gas for sale in Israel in 2004, and five years later it found the Tamar field, which was eight times larger! Now Israel is even exporting Natural Gas.

The Beginning of the Tribulation

Not for us! We are saved from the Wrath of God by the Blood of the Lamb!

Have somebody read out of the NKJV!

Revelation 3:10 ““Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world.” In the Greek translation of this verse the word “apo” which translates to “out of” or “away from”. Read the verse literally translated.

We do not belong to this world! You and I are simply passing through.

We are now in the church age. When the Church disappears God’s focus will turn from the Church, back to the Jews

Amidst the chaos aftermath of millions disappearing, a so called “answer” will appear

A world leader claiming to have all the answers. He will possess personality, charisma, political backing, and a vision to restore world order

A “One World Government”

He is the Antichrist, and he will sign the treaty to begin the tribulation. This treaty will include permission for the Jews to rebuild the Jewish Temple on the Mount in Jerusalem.

RIGHT NOW, the blueprints, builders, equipment, is all ready to build this temple. They’re just waiting on the green light, and it’s coming soon!

The Midpoint of the Tribulation

At the exact midpoint (Daniel 9) the Antichrist will break his covenant with Israel and turn on the Jews. Tear down the temple and attempt yet another genocide of the Jews

This will make the Holocaust look like a cake walk

The first half of the Tribulation will be terrible for unbelievers, but the second half will be much, much worse!

BUT, there will be protection of a number of Jews who turn to Christ

The Second Coming

There are common misconceptions on the second coming, and the rapture

Some believing they are the same event, this is incorrect, and here’s why

Differences between the Rapture and Second Coming

Rapture

Jesus comes in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17)

Jesus comes for his own (John 14:3)

Delivers from Wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:10)

God only knows when (Matthew 24:36)

The purpose is Deliverance

Second Coming

Jesus touches the ground (Zechariah 14:4, and Acts 1:11)

Jesus comes with his own (us) (1 Thessalonians 3:13, Revelation 19:14)

Brings Wrath (Revelation 6:12-17, 19:15-21)

Exactly 7 years after the treaty (Daniel 9)

The purpose is judgement

The Millennial Kingdom

Satan is bound for 1,000 years

Jesus rules the world from Jerusalem

We serve as elders of Jesus

Ends with 1 final battle where Satan is easily defeated and cast into the Lake of Fire

The Great White Throne Judgement

The Books are opened

The Book of Life and The Book of Life

All non-believers throughout history will stand before Jesus and be judged (A common misconception is that God in the Judge but Jesus is in fact the final Judge- John 5:22-23). Because of their choice of not choosing Jesus, they will be judged by their deeds and sent into the Lake of Fire

Believers will not be judged during this time because with Salvation we have chosen to have our names listed in the book of Life (Revelation 20:11–15 “And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.”)

New Heaven and Earth

All of creation is renovated. All evil, sin, and decay is removed with new features replacing them. The New Jerusalem is a heavenly city that is heavily detailed in Revelation. Hebrews 11:10, 16 calls it the center of activity.

What About Now?

Study the word, spend time with the father in his presence and pray

Deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit

He is the Comforter, your Helper, but not your handyman

He must make a miraculous change in you first before he can do miraculous things through you

The gifts of the spirit are just as relevant and available to us today as when they were first written about. The question is, are you available to them?

Live in the spirit constantly. Realize that Satan only has over you the power than you allow him to have. After the Battle of Armageddon, where Satan is bound and thrown into the Lake of Fire, we will stand before him and Isaiah says that we will ask, “Is this he who deceived the world? Is this he who shook the earth and made the kingdoms of the world tremble?”

Titus 2:12–14 “And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.”

Prayer:

Father, I thank you for this time we have had tonight. I thank you for your Son. I thank you for your Word. I thank you for the Holy Spirit. I pray that you help dissipate the confusion when reading Bible prophecy, bring it alive for us and make it alive in us. Make way in us Holy Spirit for you to do miraculous things in us, so that you can do miraculous things through us. We pray for continued healing and protection in these last days. Help us be ready, with our hand to the plow, when you come back for us. Continue to manifest yourself to us every day Holy Spirit. I pray protection over everyone on their way home and throughout the week. In Jesus name Amen.