“But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.  ‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5:4‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.” ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭3:3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

While it is not possible to set specific dates, it is possible to establish, without much doubt, that human history will soon enter into the most tumultuous years that mankind has ever experienced.

This is a scary thought. This is guaranteed to disturb you. But it is also guaranteed to delight you, as you see God’s plan unfold, and recognize that you are most probably going to be part of the grand finale of his Great Plan that He established before creation of the world. And, as the two verses above indicate, it is possible to prepare for this event.

In the verses above, the apostles  Paul and John’s intent is not to disturb us, but to prepare us.  To be prepared we need to:

• Be clear on salvation, what Jesus says about his gift of everlasting life which He offers to all.
• Be clear on what He has done to save you from eternal death, and what He tells you to believe. (ref Appendix F)
• Establish a clear vision of the future that God has planned for humanity, as described in scripture.
• Assess our condition and preparedness. To assess our position in Christ. (ref post 5.1)
• To build the attitude of reliance, to trust our leader’s words and to follow His wishes first of all, and to consider our own interests secondary. To be prepared to drop our worldly agendas.
• Obtain an insight into the enemy’s tactics and propaganda to derail us.
• Building hope and resilience in times of discouragement and weakness. How to keep our spirits alive and engaged with God.
• Cultivate spiritual fitness and endurance and avoid panic, an ability to face hardship without falling apart. How to take full advantage of the resources, strengths and armor described in scriptures that are available to us.
• Envisage the battle scenario as far as possible. Be prepared for any envisaged eventuality, with a backup plan A and B, so everyone is clear on what to do if we are surprised.
• Envisage the timing, the prophesied  ‘Day of the Lord’.
• Provide help to struggling or wounded mates.

Why is it so pertinent now?

This study originated from my realization that ‘end-times’ was a vague subject to me, even after many years as a Christian. It is probably common among many evangelical Christians that, despite having read the end-time scriptures such as Revelation and parts of Daniel, and a number of books on end times, that there is little coherence and clarity on what the bible teaches. However, for me, there was a shift one day and my interest was kindled. Someone had said something arbitrary but useful about their own approach to Revelation. Revelation 1-5 and 20-22, the beginning and the end chapters, are simple to understand, hence there is no reason for not understanding and studying these. This is a simple but valid statement. In addition, he mentioned, there is a promise in chapter 1 that there is a blessing for those who would read Revelation seriously.

So I did, I repeatedly read these chapters. And certainly there was a blessing. The vivid descriptions of Jesus in these chapters, as well as the many images of heaven’s glory, are most inspiring and still assist me when I need to re-focus, press into God and worship Him.

Before this realization, during my early twenties, the first exposure to end times skewed my thinking. This occurred during my university years, late in 1973. It was during the first year of my engineering degree. Every day of the week was packed with lectures, tutorials and labs. There was little time for much else for those of us who took our studies seriously. On this particular day, in the 8:00 am computer science lecture room, we found that each student had a cartoon booklet on their desk. The lecturer was late and everyone started reading. It was soon apparent that these were end time rapture and tribulation stories, in cartoon format, distributed by the Christian Students Association. I remember that everyone was quite engrossed in these booklets. There was even some swapping of the various booklets. Nobody had come across something like this before. Although the content was challenging, no one took offense either; it was simply discussed briefly during the course of the morning, but soon forgotten in the business of life. However, these pictures, especially of the tribulation, judgement and hell were quite graphic, and had an effect on me. The catastrophic events and the many people doomed to hell in these portrayals still lingered in my subconscious somewhere.

I was invited to a gospel church two years later, now being in my third year, where I answered an altar call. Subsequently I joined a bible study group and it wasn’t long before end times came up. At that time ‘The Late Great Planet Earth’ by Hal Lindsay was in circulation. I bought a copy; it may even have been the first Christian book I bought.

The hype with which some authors approach the ‘end times’ was foreign to me. The cultural need in the west to ‘make it’ in this world or doing something ‘great for God’  may cause many of us to over-dramatize this subject. For me, the hype was mildly irritating and distasteful. I had nothing to compare Hal Lindsay’s opinions with as a new Christian, so I did not pursue it further. I was still left with a big question mark. Hal’s approach may even have put me off further reading on end times.

However, the shock factor embedded in the events as mentioned in Revelation once again lingered and remained unresolved.

I realized much later that the book of Revelation is not meant to shock, but is a book of encouragement, meant to give us perspective for when we go through difficult times or are persecuted.

We have a lady from Lithuania in our home group. They faced persecution by the Stalin regime for 15 years. Her dad was a pastor and the family were shunned by the community. They never knew when and if dad would come back from his dangerous mission trips into Communist Russia. They faced starvation, being on their own. They had to fend for themselves, foraging for food, living from day to day. The hardships were shocking. But, what she remembers clearly is that Dad’s favorite book was Revelation, and the Old Testament book of Daniel.

Because he was regularly facing death for his faith, the knowledge that Jesus is the Victor, as proclaimed in these two books,was his supreme encouragement.

Translating this back to my experience, and many others of our generation, it seems that we have had a false start with the end times. We may have to go back to the starting blocks, and acknowledge that hope, and not fear, has to be our starting point.

This hope starts with the knowledge that Jesus, our Savior, will take over rulership of this world, in person, for a glorious 1000 years. A simple prayerful reading of Revelation 20 will convince you of this. In this blog/book I will attempt to give you the tools to conclude that we, in this generation, are likely to be witnesses to this event. We may perhaps even partake in the millennial reign of Jesus Christ.

By focusing on the horror events in Revelation, as with popular books and movies, we feed a spirit of fear rather than faith, and are in danger of missing the full blessing promised us in Revelation chapter 1, verse 1.

The intent of this study is to rely on the voice of the Spirit speaking to us, as we study scripture.

This is best achieved by letting the Holy Spirit enlighten the scripture verses presented, allowing Him to enlighten us, so that the scriptures speak for themselves. Where my interpretation is presented, judge for yourself whether this is according to the whole  of scripture. In addition, you may well be lead to a even clearer interpretation of what is presented here, as you explore the Word.

He is called “the Word,” because in Him “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,” and by His word and Spirit He reveals them to men. Jesus is “the Life” and “the Light,” because He has in Himself life and light, and graciously imparts this enlightenment of the scriptures to us, His creatures, as He rewards the seeker and delights in us.

Let’s ask Jesus for His insight, His light and His wisdom as we proceed with the study.

Also note, in order not to distract from the main objective of this study, which is the preparation of our hearts for the end times, some subjects are less pertinent or relevant. These will be explained in more detail in the future. These may be background topics and subjects (for example: creationism and ancient history) which all help to complete the big picture, but are not essential.  Hence a continuing development of this study is likely, to supplement the overall ‘birds eye -big picture’ view of the Millennium and the lead-up to it.

Paul refers to the mystery of God’s plan. God’s declared purpose is to place everything in heaven and earth under the rulership of King Jesus.  Ephesians 1:10 puts it this way:”…that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth” (NKJV). It is my view that this gathering includes the literal reign of Christ on this earth after His coming on the clouds of heaven, at His second coming. During this millennium that follows, He is the source of restoration for this wounded and abused earth.