After the rapture there will be the Great Tribulation. It is expected that the war of Ezekiel 38, will create a need for a treaty to be signed that will bring peace to the world. There will be so much chaos. During that time we will see a heightening of many situations that are already present today. That is about the sum of what many people understand about this prophecy.
Today I want to back track a little. Before getting into the Great Tribulation as a series. I want to show that there is a dynamic that we need to understand in the Bible:
- parallel times
- parallel universes
- what to pray for
PARALLEL TIME PERIODS
Let us go back to Ezekiel 38 and to Matthew 24. You probably think this is a strange topic. I have not heard anyone speak of this, parallel times in the Bible. Parallel times occur in differ ways. We read in the Present about the past that speaks about the future. One example is that we are told to pray for specific things concerning the end.
Pray that your flight will not occur in the winter or on the Sabbath. For at that time there will be great tribulation, unmatched from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again. Matthew 24:20-21
A number of times I read what Jesus is saying at that point in time but is really addressing something in the future. Many people downplay Jesus as a prophet while others try to box him in as only a prophet.
Sometimes he speaks like in a movie, when the actor looks directly at the camera and speaks to the viewers. He is giving a message with a double audience. Woody Allen was the first to do this in a movie. Jesus is doing this, He is speaking to the disciples but He is speaking to mankind at the same time.
And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
In verses 20 and 24 Jesus is speaking of something in the future. He knows that the disciples will be persecuted. But He says, pray that your flight. Even though Jesus does not know when the rapture will occur, He does know when the disciples will die. Your flight is not for the disciples. Jesus is speaking on two levels of time.
He is speaking to two audiences. This is a simple way for me to explain the parallel times being addressed in the Bible. Prophecy is in a number of ways like this too.
PARALLEL UNIVERSES
That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9
What it means is that everything is being repeated. The root cause of any situation can be traced back to something that already existed. One example is in Matthew 24:37-40. Jesus said:
As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. And they were oblivious, until the flood came and swept them all away. So will it be at the coming of the Son of Man. 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.
Here the context is that people would not expect the rapture. They will be busy about normal life. They will be oblivious which is the 3rd person plural of to not know.
Today many people do not expect the rapture. They do not believe in it. They will be surprised. The reason for this is that there are many false teachings, false teachers. This leaves room for the church to loose credibility in the world today. People will have false beliefs. Not only will the church not know but those in the world will be surprised.
The foundation of evil has already been established. The strategies might change. The format in how a lie will be told will be different depending on its target, but the devil is the author of the lies and his goal is to:
- lead man away from God (Genesis 1:26)
- lead man so far away from God they no longer look like God, e.g. the giants.
- through their ways, different to Jesus
- through their practises that are unclean
- through science
- through education and desensitisation of the value for life
- cut off the relationship between man and God (Genesis 3:15)
- because God put enmity between man and the devil in one instance.
- The other instance is that God brought Jesus between man and the devil.
- take over the people so that God has no people to call His own. (Jeremiah 31:3)
The devil wants to take over our lives and everything we do for God. He knows he will not win but wants to deceive as many people as possible. All through history I can see that the devil has been trying to accomplish his goals. What he did up to the time of Noah he continues to do again. But it gets worse each time. Jesus says that in the Great Tribulation many will be fooled. Today we are seeing this already.
For at that time there will be great tribulation, unmatched from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again. Matthew 24:21
At the time of the Great Tribulation people will be killed and hunted down. There will be a reason given for this. Can you imagine a reason given for simply killing people?Today and in the past, people have been hunted, killed and massacred. Laws will be changed to allow this and all the other goals the devil has in mind will be pursued.
Science and technology will play its part in this too. Just as the Jews who had to flee from Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, Christians will have to flee from society. They will have to go underground as did the church after the death of Christ. I personally think the underground church started with Peter’s denial.
Jesus warns us that people will claim to be prophets, they will claim to be Him and they will claim signs and wonders. People will be sent to find Jesus in different places. They will be so desperate. Jesus says do not be fooled! There will be traps set to find the people who will not follow the devil. This has happened in the past and will happen then. The left behind must understand that Jesus will not come until seven years after the Ezekiel 38 war.
The ones I refer to as the left behind are the saints who experience the Great Tribulation. They did not make it in the rapture due to a lukewarm Christian faith or becoming saved after the rapture. Jesus warns us 2000 years before of this. He is ensuring that within the 2000 years it becomes common knowledge. But He is showing us that it’s related events. Too often we look at issues in isolation.
The changes to be made in Israel are already starting to occur. This new government is one to change the order or ways that existed. Same as was done in USA. Same mantra. Same laws are changing. It sets the stage for the Great Tribulation period.
This period is the coverage of peace given by the treaty to end the pre-Tribulation war. Count when it is signed and know that in 1260 days the devil will establish himself in Jerusalem and claim he is God. This will confuse some people but it will expose the truth to others simultaneously.
The parallel universes are three fold:
- what happened in the past will repeat
- what is happening now is an extension of the past
- what will happen in the future is what happened in the past and continued through the current period into the future
There is nothing new. Just done differently. Our current situation in the world is a trial to see what can be done and how much better it can be done. You can read more on my concept if you like on this link.
PRAY FOR THESE THINGS
We already know that we have to pray for ourselves, each other, and to spread the gospel. But Jesus said pray for those who will have to face the Great Tribulation.
And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face against Gog of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws, and bring you out with all your army—your horses, your horsemen in full armor, and a great company armed with shields and bucklers, all brandishing their swords. Persia, Cush, and Put will accompany them, all with shields and helmets, as well as Gomer with all its troops, and Beth-togarmah from the far north with all its troops—the many nations with you.Get ready; prepare yourself, you and all your company gathered around you; you will be their guard. After a long time you will be summoned. In the latter years you will enter a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and all now dwell securely. Ezekiel 38:1-8
Not only are we to pray according to this word, we are to prophecy and speak against what is being done, pray for the people who will become believers, and against the evil that is coming. During the Great Tribulation, those who believe in Christ will have to defend Israel.
I pray you are not discouraged. I pray you grow in faith and strength. I pray your family and loved ones are saved. I pray that the ones who remain behind are saved and courageous in Jesus name.
Dear Heavenly Father,
I ask you to forgive my sins in knowledge or ignorance. Please forgive me. I accept Jesus as my Saviour. I ask that Jesus comes into my life as I live to be a witness for Him. Please change my life and make me into the person you want me to be. Guide me in these times so I can be used by you to help others in Jesus name I pray. Thank you.
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