As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
Matthew 24 is the longest discussion we have from Jesus about how “this present evil age” (Gal 1:4) will transition to the next. It’s important. It’s also difficult to follow. This article is my best attempt to simply explain what Jesus is saying.
“When a Silicon Valley billionaire starts hosting sold-out lectures on the antichrist, you know we’ve entered strange times. But for those of us who grew up in the 1970s, it’s not just strange; it’s strangely familiar.” - TGC
“Jesus told us that what would shock people about his return is not the drama that’s leading up to it…but the ordinariness.” - C.Leaders
“Harold Lee Lindsey died on Nov. 25, just a couple of days after his 95th birthday. He is survived by his wife, three daughters, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, according to an obituary on his ministry’s website.” - WORLD
Also:
In the last article, we examined the strange vision from Daniel 7. Here, we look at what this vision means.
“John declares, ‘It is the last hour’ (1 John 2:18). So the last hour has been ticking over for two millennia…. Can we say we’re in the last days of the last days, or the final minutes of the last hour?” - TGC
What is Jesus saying at John 14:2-3? What is “my Father’s house?” Where is it? When will Jesus take believers there? In the last article, we examined the theory that it refers to being “up there” in heaven, and that Jesus takes believers there at an event called the pre-tribulational rapture. We concluded this idea isn’t supported by the text and gave it a “D” rating for probability. That doesn’t mean the pre-tribulation rapture is false—it just means to “see” it in John 14:2-3 you must smuggle it in from elsewhere.
In Part 2 of this series, we presented four options for understanding what Jesus meant at John 14:1-3:
We also suggested a grading scale for evaluating these options:
In the first article, we set out to study what Jesus meant at John 14:1-3. Some Christians believe this passage speaks about the pre-tribulational rapture of the church to heaven, clearing the way for the tribulation here on earth. Is that right?
Many American Christians have been raised in a church culture that stresses that Jesus will return to “rapture” or snatch away “the church” before the Great Tribulation. They believe “the church” is a different people than ethnic Israel, with a complementary but distinct future.1 Because this great tribulation is “a time of trouble for Jacob” (Jer 30:7), it is not for “the church.” Therefore, the rapture is the point where “the church” slips out the door just before this tribulation begins.
Discussion