2. Crucial Terms & Concepts

     We’ve talked about the important role that imagined “scenarios” play in End Times issues, but there is another crucial issue that plays just as important a part in this matter.  The essential elements in every scenario are the individual items, terms, and concepts that are embraced and then arranged into a chronological order of events.  Pre-packaged end-times scenarios may create and assign a particular meaning to one or more topical items, but it is these various topical items that may be our only means of evaluating the scenario.  Here are some examples.

     The most “popular” end times scenario in Western Christendom, especially since 1948, has been Premillennial Dispensationalism (Hal Lindsey, the "Left Behind" books, etc.).  This view is built upon several key assumptions: (1) that national Israel is the central focus of God’s plans, (2) that God intends for national Israel to have a glorious Messianic kingdom age upon this earth, (3) that Jesus came the first time intending to establish and rule an earthly Jewish Messianic Kingdom but was unable to do so because He was rejected, thus the intended earthly Jewish Messianic kingdom had to be postponed and the “Church” was put in place as an unpredicted “gap-filler” until Jesus can return.  (4) Because of this “kingdom postponement,” the final 7-years of Daniel 9:24-27 await a still future fulfillment as the “7-year tribulation period.”  (5) The “2^nd Coming” is viewed as a multiple-stage/phase series of events - Jesus will, first, secretly come to remove Christians (the “Rapture”) so that they do not have to endure “the tribulation.”  Then will follow the 7-Year Tribulation period, during which “Antichrist” will arise to govern Europe, make and violate a 7-year covenant with Israel, persecute Jews and Christians (post-rapture converts), and begin WWIII (the “battle of Armageddon”), which Jesus will end with His visible glorious return.  All of these assertions and assumptions can be investigated through exegetical and topical Bible studies.

     Here we have some propositions to investigate with deductive logic - Is national Israel the focus of God’s program for this earth?  Is an earthly Messianic monarchy God’s intention?  Did Jesus really come the first time intending to establish an earthly Messianic monarchy and was He forced to postpone this because He was unexpectedly rejected - Is God or Israel in control of the larger program?  Is the New Covenant Church era really unknown and unpredicted in the Old Testament?  Why/what/when is: the antichrist, the “Man of Lawlessness,” the Beast of Revelation 13?  What does the Bible teach us about God’s “Kingdom” intentions?  Is Christ’s return a single “event” or several events separated by a number of years?  What are the “signs of the times”?  What does the Bible teach about “tribulation”?  What is the “1000 years” of Revelation 20:1-6?

     Each of the topics above is built upon (or relates to) a number of Scripture passages.  The meaning you embrace for each of these goes a long way towards either building a scenario or supporting one you have adopted from some other source.  The best route is to do good exegesis on each passage (what does each passage really teach?) and then analyze and harmonize what you found into a sound understanding of each topic, then what you have learned about all of these topics needs to be used to build (or evaluate) a scenario.  When you adopt a scenario from some other source, open-minded re-evaluation of each crucial topic will go a long way in allowing you to evaluate the soundness of the scenario you have adopted.  Don’t be afraid of such a study, for if you have adopted a good scenario from another source, then it will look even better after you have evaluated the topics involved.  If your scenario is not really what the Bible is teaching, then such a study will help you to realize that there is a problem.  Several topics, like the role and place of “Israel” and the “Kingdom of God,” are so crucial and involve so much material that they will be the subject of separate chapters.  For now, let’s look at some other key phrases and terms that will reveal the importance of topical studies in sorting out the “end-times” mess that exists.

What are the “Signs of the Times”?

     In popular eschatology, the “signs of the times” are usually linked to “wars and rumors of wars” and hailed as “signs of Christ’s return.”  The first problem with that connection is that there happen to be 8 chapters between these two items and context does not seem to link them to the same things and probably neither refers to the 2^nd Coming.  The phrase “signs of the times” appears only once in the Bible and it is at Matthew 16:3, where Jesus is criticizing “sign-seekers” for their inability to recognize them (16:1-4).  If the “signs of the times” refer to the 2^nd coming, then why is Jesus criticizing them for not being able to recognize them - how could they, since that is centuries away from their time?  On the other hand, if the “signs of the times” are the already present evidences identifying Jesus as Messiah (they came requesting even more signs), then we can understand Jesus’ criticism of these boys for failing to read them as well as they could read the weather.  The probable parallel for this in Luke 12:54-57 takes all of the mystery out of it - “why do you not analyze this present time.”  According to Biblical context and usage, the phrase “signs of the times” pertain to the first coming of Christ and is never used in reference to the second coming of Jesus!  Jesus’ illustrations describing the 2^nd Coming (Matthew 24:35 - 25:13) emphasized the single point that there will NOT be any last-minute warning signs just prior to His return!

     We will deal with this in detail later, but Jesus’ comment later on about “wars and rumors of wars” appears in Matthew 24:6 and that also did not refer to the second coming, but things that would precede the destruction of Herod’s Temple in 70 AD, which they had just asked about (Matthew 24:1-3).

What does the Bible teach about “Tribulation”?

     For English Bible readers, part of the problem with this topic is Bible translation.  The “original” New Testament writings came to us in Koine (common) Greek.  Our ability to do “word/topical studies” in English depends on the consistency of translators to reflect Greek words in English (or any other language).  Proper “translation” involves portraying the grammar and word meanings as accurately as possible, but sometimes there is no perfect word in English to represent the meaning of a Greek word, so translators must find the best word(s) available to represent the original language.  If there are numerous synonymous (mean about the same thing) Greek words used, the choice of words might be difficult, especially in different contexts.  However, if there is one Greek word used, why not select the closest English equivalent and use that word everywhere the Greek word appears, if it fits ok?  If this were done, then English Bible readers might be able to get a much better picture of a topic.

     “Tribulation” is a good case in point.  For end-times studies, the term “tribulation” has picked up a lot of theological baggage and for premillenialists it is a “code word” for a seven-year period of terrible suffering, antichrist’s political reign, and the Battle of Armageddon right before Jesus returns.  While the NIV translated the often-used Greek word as “tribulation” only at Revelation 7:14, I think this was based on theological presupposition and fails to give English readers a recognition of how much more the New Testament tells us about “tribulation.”

     The Greek New Testament word for “tribulation” is thlipsis (lit. “pressure”) and this word is used in a number of places that must be included in any study of this topic.  In the Gospels, Matthew tells us that it is in times of thlipsis that people fall away from the faith (13:21).  In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus said that many of His followers would suffer before the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. (24:9), which would be a time of suffering in Judea like none other (24:21).  After the thlipsis of Jerusalem's fall in 70 A.D., Israel would suffer national downfall, but the "sign of the Son of Man" would appear in the sky and the saints would be gathered from all over the earth (24:29-31).  In John’s Gospel, Jesus told His disciples that thlipsis was something they should expect in this world, but they should take comfort in His victory (John 16:33).

     In the book of Acts, Joseph and his brothers suffered many and "great thlipsis" in Canaan and Egypt (Acts 7:10-11).  Paul told the believers in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch that it was "through many thlipsis that we must enter the kingdom" (Acts 14:22).  The Holy Spirit told Paul that he would face thlipsis (Acts 20:23).

     Concerning thlipsis in his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote that everyone who does evil will encounter it (2:9), that it produces perseverance as saints encounter it (5:3), that these cannot separate us from the love of Christ (8:35), and that we should persevere in them (12:12).  In 1Corinthians, in the context of questions about marriage in difficult times, Paul said that saints would have thlipsis in this life (7:28).  In 2Corinthians, Paul said that God comforts us through them (1:4), that apostles were experiencing them (1:8; 2:4; 6:4; 7:4), that they are producing in us greater glory (4:17), and that the churches in Macedonia were experiencing them (8:2).  The term thlipsis also appears in Ephesians 3:13; Philippians 1:17 & 4:14; Colossians 1:24; 1Thessalonians 1:6 & 3:3,7; 2Thessalonians 1:4,6; Hebrews 10:33; and James 1:27.  Thus, the one thing that is hard to escape is that Jesus and His Apostles understood thlipsis (pressure, tribulation) to be something that all believers could/would/do face in this life.

     When we come to the use of thlipsis in the book of Revelation, we are again in for a surprise.  The word appears in 1:9 (at least in Greek) with a definite article - "the tribulation" - and now my mouth waters, "ok, what is 'the tribulation'"?  Surprise!  "The tribulation," in John's understanding, was NOT a seven-year period centuries away, but something that he and his readers were already participating in together as he wrote - in the late first century A.D.!!!!  The church in Smyrna was experiencing thlipsis (2:9-10), as would the false prophetess in Thyatira (2:22).  The final use is found in 7:14, where John saw the souls of those who "are coming out of" (erchomenoi - present participle) "great tribulation" as he watched and wrote.  The Greek phrase for "great tribulation" (thlipsis megale) appears in four places (Matthew 24:21; Acts 7:11; Revelation 2:22; 7:14), but none of these give any evidence of being during the second half of a seven-year period just before Jesus returns.

     Conclusion - According to Scripture, "tribulation" seems to be something (pressure) that all Christians face in this world, during the entire Church Age.  The one thing I could not find was a single New Testament passage where "tribulation" was associated with a "7-year period" just before Jesus returns - not once!  Only by chopping Daniel 9:24-27 and inserting a “church-age gap” between verses 26-27 can Dispensationalists find anything to support this notion.  Again, the “7-year tribulation period” notion seems to be a notion that you have to learn from a popular scenario elsewhere and then "read into" a few proof-texts - I doubt that anyone would come up with this idea from their own reading of Scripture!

Living in the "Last Days"

     Many schemes of prophetic interpretation are built upon the notion that the "last days" (Isaiah 2:1-4) is a brief period just prior to the return of Christ.  Salem Kirban^[1] defined it this way,

Our reference to the Last Days means the days immediately prior to the "Rapture" of the saints and the ushering in of the Tribulation Period of 7 years.

It is characteristic of the "sign-seekers" that they want to focus all attention on the period just prior to Christ's return, because that is when all of their "signs" allegedly come into play.  The problem is that, according to its Biblical usage, the phrase "last days" does not refer to a brief period at the end of the Church age, but to the entire final/Messianic/Church age - the period between the first and second comings of Christ.  It seems that many sensationalists like to pull Biblical phrases (like “signs of the times” or the “last days”) out of their literary context and put their own definition and context to them.  It is no wonder that many people learn to "trust" the famous “prophecy experts,” for a good deal of their beliefs are based on what these folks teach rather than things anyone can easily find and read in their own Bibles.

     Biblical Usage - The Old Testament phrase “latter days” most commonly pointed to the entire Messianic age, but it could also be used in a general sense as a way of saying "in the future" or "later on."  It can only be understood when seen with its counterpart, the “former days,”^[2] which simply referred to the past or all of the time prior to one’s own.

     The Hebrew phrase of interest here is "end of the days" or “the latter days” (acharith hayamim - ~ymiY"h; tyrIx]a;B.)^[3] and the Greek phrase "the last days" (evsca,tou tw/n h`merw/n).<sup>[4]</sup>  The one thing that comes through loud and clear is that the New Testament writers clearly perceived of the "last days" predicted in the Old Testament as being the entire Messianic Age, which commenced with Jesus' first coming!  Jesus said that all Old Testament predictions about Him were about to be fulfilled in his crucifixion and resurrection in Jerusalem (Luke 18:31-33; cf. Acts 13:28-29).  On Pentecost (30 A.D.), Peter declared that Joel's prediction of the "pouring out of God's Spirit" and the attendant events (Joel 2:28-32) was now finding fulfillment (Acts 2:16-21).  The writer of Hebrews described God's speaking through Jesus as occurring in "these last days" (evsca,tou tw/n h`merw/n, 1:1-2), as well as putting Christ's first coming for sacrificial purposes at the "end of the ages" (suntelei,a| tw/n aivw,nwn, 9:26; cf. Matthew 13:39-40,49).  Paul told the Corinthian church that Israel's historic failures (1Corinthians 10:1-10) were a lesson for Christians "on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come" (te,lh tw/n aivw,nwn, 10:11).  Peter placed the first coming of Jesus in "these last times" (evsca,tou tw/n cro,nwn, 1Peter 1:20) and John spoke of his time as being the "last hour" (1John 2:18).  It is on good scriptural authority that we declare the predicted "last days" to refer to the entire Messianic age, the period between Christ's first and second coming.  The summary of C. F. Keil^[5] is noteworthy,

For "the end of the days" does not denote the future generally, but always the closing future of the kingdom of God, commencing with the coming of Messiah...By the phrase "at the end of the days," which always denotes the Messianic era when used by the prophets.

     The recognition of the Biblical meaning of the "last days" carries with it some serious ramifications for any theory that emphasizes warning signs just prior to Christ's return and any conception of another earthly age to follow the present age, but prior to the New Heaven and Earth!  If the "last days" refer to the entire Messianic Age (or the Church Age), then how many more ages can there be for this earth after the "last" one?  Simple, none!  Thus, along with what the Scriptures say about the "last days," if we take the comments in 1Corinthians 10:11 and Hebrews 9:26 seriously, then the age which commenced with Jesus first coming to die for sin has to be the last one for this earth and there is no room for another "earthly kingdom/millennium" for this earth between the Church Age and the "new heaven and earth" (Isaiah 65:17-25; 2Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1 - 22:6).  I suggest that this is why Jesus (Matthew 24:35-42) and Peter (2Peter 3:3-13) both associated the return/coming of the Lord with the destruction of the present heaven and earth to be followed by the "new heaven and earth."  Similarly, Paul (1Corinthians 15:20-26) saw Christ's return as bringing on the resurrection of the saints and "the end," when Jesus, rather than commencing an earthly kingdom age," ends His reign with the defeat of the last enemy (death) and turns the kingdom back over to the Father!

     The Harlot/Great City of Revelation - The book of Revelation is rarely allowed to speak for itself, but it’s symbolism is “interpreted” to fit some pre-arranged scenario.  The vision employs a number of symbolic images with an extensive connection to the Old Testament Prophetic books and Israel’s history.  Central to the book is the imagery of Daniel 7 (Revelation 13:1-9) and the “Great City/Harlot Babylon” (14:8; 17-18).  The book of Revelation identifies the “great city” with the “Harlot/Babylon” (Revelation 17:18) and enough information is provided that we shouldn’t have any trouble recognizing who/what was originally meant.

     (1) The “Great City” is mystically (not literally!) called “Sodom/Egypt” and is “where the Lord was crucified” (11:8).  The identity of the Great City should be obvious from the “crucified” comment alone, but the Prophets provided the foundations for understanding the mystical label “Sodom” as referring to unfaithful Jerusalem.^[6]

     (2) The “Harlot/Babylon” is another label for the “Great City” (Revelation 17:18; 18:10,16) and we find that this city is known for persecuting/killing saints and prophets (Revelation 16:5-6; 17:6; 18:24).  The rest of the New Testament clearly identifies the city that persecutes/kills prophets (Luke 13:33-34; Acts 7:51-53; 1Thessalonians 2:13-14).  Using a Concordance, it soon becomes evident that the term “harlot” when figuratively applied to a city in the OT Prophets almost always (only a couple of exceptions out of around three dozen instances) refers to unfaithful Jerusalem and the Jews.  This symbolism strongly suggests to me that the downfall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., as a judgment from God (Daniel 9:26; Luke 21:20-22), is a central issue in the vision recorded in the book of Revelation.  There are many other term/phrase links in the book of Revelation to things in the writings of the OT Prophets, so the Old Testament Prophetic books are probably a much better source for  understanding the book of Revelation than current newspapers and prophecy paperbacks.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Charles E. McCoy

09/11/2006