What Does The Future Hold?

As we prepare to close one year and open another, it is a good time to realize we have only a few more years here on Earth until Christ returns. When you consider how close we are to the establishment of the Kingdom of God on Earth, it should make the start of each year more exciting than the previous one.

Everyone has a theory, or at least an idea, about when Jesus is to return. When Jesus left, the angels declared Jesus would return.

And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Acts 1:10-11

We were given a glimpse into the future in several passages, but the passage I like the best about the coming of the Lord is found in 2Thessolonians 2.

Let’s take a closer look at verses 1-12 and see what is soon to happen.

2Thessolonians 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,

The coming of our Lord is His second coming when He actually touches His feet on the Earth again. Prior to that event there is a gathering of the church out of the earth before the tribulation.

Check the book of Revelation. Where do you find the church? From chapter 4 until chapter 22:16 the church is not mentioned. Why? We are not here. We have been gathered out.

Our gathering together unto Him is the event depicted in 1Thessolonians 4:16-17

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1Thessolonians 4:16-17

The fact that we are reading the newspaper before it happens should not scare us, as we are encouraged in the next verse:

2Thessolonians 2:2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

Jesus’ return to earth, when He actually touches the Earth, will not happen until there is an anti-revival. There will be the form of religion but people will actually be moving away from the true Christ. People will be teaching others to know about God without knowing God.

The second event to happen before Jesus returns to Earth is that the Beast (the man of sin) is revealed. At a particular point in time the Beast will be revealed as the one world ruler. The ruler of the one world government will also rule the one world religion.

Buddhists will see him as the reincarnation of Buddha.
http://peacejournalism.com/ReadArticle.asp?ArticleID=7018

Islam will see him as the 12th Imam.
http://www.al-islam.org/masoom/bios/12thimam.html

Jews will see him as the messiah and the “Christians” (who are not true Christians but only in name) will see this beast as the returned Jesus.

2Thessolonians 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Thessolonians 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

Notice that this beast will be sitting in the temple of God. There isn’t a temple today, but there are plans for one.

When it comes to looking for the return of Jesus, I like to look for the return of the third Temple. The building of the third temple will be after the gathering (rapture) of the church so the closer the temple gets, the gathering of the church to Christ is even closer.

Here are some sites I like to watch for this event:

http://www.jewishmag.com/16MAG/TEMPLE/temple.htm
“It is, therefore, worth dedicating a few minutes to consider how the Temple relates to us today. By this, we mean, of course, the Third Temple, whose re-building and long-awaited presence will usher in the Messianic Era.”

http://www.templemountfaithful.org/
“…the home page of the Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement. The goal of the Temple Mount Faithful is the building of the Third Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem in our lifetime in accordance with the Word of G-d and all the Hebrew prophets and the liberation of the Temple Mount from Arab (Islamic) occupation so that it may be consecrated to the Name of G-d.”

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=24662
“In what could trigger further violence between Jews and Palestinians, an Israeli organization says it has rescheduled earlier plans to "lay and anoint" the cornerstones for the "Third Temple of Israel."”

http://www.thirdtemple.com/photogallery.htm
Third Temple Photo Gallery

http://www.templemount.org/
http://www.templemount.org/tempprep.html
Preparations for a Third Jewish Temple

http://www.thesanhedrin.org/en/
This website is about the re-established Jewish Sanhedrin.

http://www.templeinstitute.org/
http://www.templeinstitute.org/events.htm
“In these days leading up to the celebration of Chanukah - the rededication of the Holy Temple in the days of the Maccabees, The Temple Institute is pleased to unveil two new exciting projects: the construction of a new, state-of-the-art kior - brass laver, and the building of King David's Lyre.”

We are living in exciting times!

Just remember, while the Holy Spirit is here, He is holding back the evil that can not have full power until He is taken out of the way. Since we are sealed with the Holy Spirit – His removal is when we will be leaving to meet the Lord in the air.

2Thessolonians 2:5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
2Thessolonians 2:6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
2Thessolonians 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

After this, the beast will finally be revealed for the Antichrist he really is:

2Thessolonians 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
2Thessolonians 2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

Those who currently are not Christians and have heard the word of the truth, can only come to Christ before this event. After this event they are doomed to receive the recompense of their decision.

This takes care of anyone who says they will wait until after the Lord returns to receive Him as Savior. If you wait – you will loose the opportunity.

Every person refusing Christ now, left behind after the gathering, will be forever dammed.

2Thessolonians 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2Thessolonians 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Thessolonians 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Now is the time we need to get busy and win as many as possible to the Lord. Time is passing faster than we choose to believe it. Let us not grow weary in well doing.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.