Contents

Preface/Introduction
Ch 1: Ezekiel’s War
Ch 2: The Tribulation
Ch 3: 3rd Temple Built
Ch 4: The Great Tribulation
Ch 5: The Wrath of God
Ch 6: The Return of Christ
Ch 7: The Resurrection of the Dead in Christ
Ch 8: The Rapture
Ch 9: Armageddon
Ch 10: The Millennium
Ch 11: The Judgment
Ch 12: The New Creation
Ch 13: Conclusion
Ch 14: Summary
Glossary

Preface 

After some 30 years of studying the End Times, I’ve decided to try to make this subject something that anyone can grasp without spending as much of their life in it as I have. 

Early on, when I was a young man, I found out that what I was being taught in church about the End Times was not what I was reading in the Bible. It was a bit upsetting. So I set out to learn what the Bible actually says about this with only my Bible, my wits, and the Holy Spirit. I quit listening to contemporary pastors and authors and stuck to the scriptures. I let the Bible lead the way – and only the Bible.

We’re going to zip through these things pretty quickly and not dwell too much on the small details that are not important to an overall understanding of these End Times, or Last Days, or what we call Eschatology (literally, study of the last things).

If you don’t already know, pretty much all of the subjects we’re going to study contain, or are, areas of contention among believers.  That’s too bad, because we really should be able to understand what the Lord has told us in His Bible about these last days. If you already know that you hold a different view than my position on something that we look at here, please stay with us until you can see the entire discussion on the issue. Be patient and open-minded. Also, we should never break fellowship over the smaller things that have little or no bearing on our salvation.

Eschatology is an important area of study for the believer, since it includes what we should all believe – that Jesus will come again, and that He will be united with us forever and ever. These two statements should NEVER be disagreed upon by believers. They are core beliefs of the faith. 

Introduction

In an effort to make a complicated study simpler and easier to follow, we’re going to look at the issues in an organized manner, starting with a timeline of these events.

Here it is:

If this timeline looks different than what you are used to, don’t worry, it will all be explained with Bible verses so that you can clearly see how it was put together. 

Each of the items in the timeline will have its own chapter in the study. Even though Armageddon is the final battle of Ezekiel’s War, it is significant enough to have its own chapter. This should help us keep things straight in our minds as we proceed chronologically (mostly).  However, feel free to skip to a chapter that catches your eye. I’ll try to write this in such a way as to make that possible, without getting you lost.

If it’s all too much, maybe this simplified version will help:

You may notice as we proceed that I am using a method of Bible interpretation (hermeneutics) that is known as the “plain meaning” method. We don’t exactly take everything literally, but we don’t allow everything to be symbolic either. Biblical authors use all kinds of methods for getting their story told: Metaphors, colloquialisms or figures of speech, poetry, societal references, juxtapositions, similes, historical references, and so forth. The list is long and it is up to us to try to understand what the author was trying to convey. Quite often, the words are to be taken literally. Our approach is to go for the most obvious meaning, however difficult to swallow. We do this by keeping everything in context with the rest of scripture.

So, as we go through this study, we are going to follow these simple guidelines:

1. The Bible is true and does not contradict itself.
2. The difficult, vague or unclear verses are interpreted or understood in light of the clear ones. 
3. A “plain meaning” interpretation is favorable over all other approaches. 
4. Exegesis over eisegesis, which just means that we are going to take the Bible for what it says, rather than try to force our preconceptions onto it.
   (There is a GLOSSARY for some of the vague or difficult terms.)

All of the events that we study will be future events. This is known as the futurist model, or futurism. This just means that these things have not happened yet. For example: the destruction of the 2^nd temple in 70 AD could not have been done by the antichrist (since Jesus will kill him when Jesus returns) and there must be another temple constructed in the End Times in which the antichrist reveals himself. 

Another example would be that ALL of the events described in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24-25, Mark 13, and Luke 21) are also future events – not events that have been occurring over the centuries since the first advent (appearing) of Jesus.

Also, my view does not see a distinction between Israel and the Church as believers. While I embrace that the Church is no longer Jew or Gentile (Gal. 3:28), I also acknowledge that the covenants made to Israel will be fulfilled as prophesied (see Romans 11, especially verse 16: “And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy—just as the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too.”).

I agree that the Church has been grafted-in to Judaism (Rom. 11:17), but reject the notion of replacement theology, which claims the Church has replaced Israel as God’s people. 

The problem with many of these categories of doctrinal thought is that there is much confusion or obfuscation throughout most (if not all) of them. For this reason, one should know the positions in total before jumping onto their respective bandwagons. It may be that you only agree with part of a view, and not the whole thing.

It should also be pointed out that the “End Times” or “Last Days” began when the Lord ascended into heaven and will end when He triumphantly returns with His angel armies (Acts 2; Hebrews 1:2; 2 Timothy 3:1; James 5:3, etc.). This is the time called by some “The Church Age” or “The New Covenant Era”. Some believe it began at Pentecost, with the giving of the Holy Spirit, while others, like me, say it began with the ascension of Jesus (or end of the First Advent). At this point, some two thousand years later, it makes no difference which beginning marker we use. And whether we pin it to the presence and ministry of the Holy Spirit or Christ’s two advents, the end of this time will be the same – when the Lord returns and establishes His millennial kingdom. (However, I do not buy into the concept of a “Church Age”, since the term implies an end to it. The Church will never end. So it does not have an “Age”, per se. However, I believe that all of His saints will be picked during the current age, before His setting foot on Earth at Bethany.)

While the apostles may not have known that this age (End Times) would be as long lasting as it has been, they must have understood that it would end with the Lord taking His rightful place on the throne of Earth. I say this because of their question to Him on the Mount of Olives, “… what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (Mt 24:3) His answer seems to confirm this interpretation, as He ends His Olivet Discourse with the Second Advent and the gathering together of His elect.

The Three-Fold Nature of the Jews

I think it may be helpful to understand the different ways to look at the Jews, Israelites, or Israelis (however you wish to refer to them). 

1. The Jews are a RACE. They are descended from their father, Jacob, also known as Israel. 
2. The Jews are a NATION with geographical borders, now called Israel.
3. The Jews have their own RELIGION. Judaism is arguably the only religion established by God (with Christianity being a relationship, not a religion, and as an addendum to Judaism).  God first offered a relationship to Abraham through faith (and by extension to all others who believe), and later introduced religion, through the Law of Moses, to show how much we need the relationship. Paul discusses this in Romans 4 and Galatians 3.

As we go through this study, it will become important to distinguish between these three natures of the Jews and how each is treated by God in the Bible, specifically regarding prophecy.

For instance, as a race, the Jews still retain the covenants established between their forefathers and God (the patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). They will continue to be “His People” on into the millennium.  

Ezekiel 39:²⁵ “So now, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will end the captivity of my people; I will have mercy on all Israel, for I jealously guard my holy reputation! ²⁶ They will accept responsibility for their past shame and unfaithfulness after they come home to live in peace in their own land, with no one to bother them. ²⁷ When I bring them home from the lands of their enemies, I will display my holiness among them for all the nations to see. ²⁸ Then my people will know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them away to exile and brought them home again. I will leave none of my people behind. ²⁹ And I will never again turn my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit upon the people of Israel. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!” (NLT)

As a nation, certain events will come upon them, which will affect all inhabitants of their land. 

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. ⁹ You and all your allies—a vast and awesome army—will roll down on them like a storm and cover the land like a cloud. (NLT)

As a religious body, the Christians have been grafted-in to their number, though we do not use the sacrificial system nor depend on the Law of Moses for atonement. 

Romans 11:¹⁷ But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. ¹⁸ But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root.

¹⁹ “Well,” you may say, “those branches were broken off to make room for me.” ²⁰ Yes, but remember—those branches were broken off because they didn’t believe in Christ, and you are there because you do believe. So don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen. ²¹ For if God did not spare the original branches, he won’t spare you either. (NLT)

Also important to their religion is how it was profoundly changed by Christ and His cross. The Law of Moses is no longer viewed as effective for the atonement of sin (making us “right” with God) by God’s elect; only the cross of Christ is sufficient for that. Therefore, the current true Judaism is Christian, insofar as salvation into sainthood is concerned. We gentile believers may not follow the law of Moses, but it still shows us why we are unable to earn salvation through observing it (or through any other “good” works).  No religion can save you into sainthood, not even Judaism. Only accepting the cross of Christ as a substitutionary atonement for your sinful standing before God can save you to that degree. And this must come with repentance and surrender to Jesus. Salvation into the Nations is another matter altogether.

At the end of each chapter, we will have a few questions to ponder. This will also help the reader to consider some of the more important parts of the study and help to facilitate group discussions.

Here’s an example:

Questions to Ponder

1. Are we (all believers) saved by faith or by religion?
   See Romans 4:4-5 and Galatians 3:11
2. Is there one saving faith for Jews and another for everyone else?
   See Romans 10:4, 9-13 and Ephesians 4:4-6

Answers

1. By faith
2. There is only one faith for all people to be made right with God.

NEXT PAGE

Your servant in Christ,

Gary Wentz
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