Last Things

The blessed hope, the pre-tribulational rapture, and where the story ends.

52 questions answered, showing 18 on page 1 of 3. About this doctrine · All topics

• Whosoever WillAre the seven churches of Revelation a prophecy of seven church ages?They were seven real churches that received seven real letters (Rev 1:11). Many have also read them, in the order Christ gives, as an outline of seven ages of church history, from Ephesus leaving its first love to Laodicea, the lukewarm church of the last days: "because thou art lukewarm... I will spue thee out of my mouth" (Rev 3:16). The reading is a pattern, not a stated claim of the text, but the order and the character fit.
• With Chuck SmithCan someone who takes the mark of the beast be saved?Chuck Smith, What the World Is Coming To, chapter 8: The Antichrist is going to make an image of himself, and the false prophet will demand that the earth worship this image (Rev. 13). These two have the power to put to death anyone who refuses to worship this image (Rev. 13:15). However, an angel is going to fly through the midst of the heaven saying unto the people, "Don't take the mark of the beast. Don't worship him or his image. If any man worships his image, there is no hope and he is condemned to Gehenna" (Rev. 14:9-11). There is no possibility of salvation for anyone who takes the mark of the beast, worships the beast, or worships his image. Many will refuse to take the mark and will turn to Jesus Christ. Scripture, King James Version: Revelation 13:15, "And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed."; Revelation 14:9-11, "And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.". From Chuck Smith's books, used by permission of The Word For Today.
• With Chuck SmithCan the rapture happen at any moment, or must something happen first?Chuck Smith taught imminence: the Lord intends "that His church in all ages live in anticipation of His imminent return." He answered the usual objection from Mark 13:10 ("the gospel must first be published among all nations"): it is "not a prerequisite to the coming of Jesus for His church." Read Chuck on Mark 13:8 in the reader. Chuck Smith commentary used by permission of The Word For Today.
• With Chuck SmithDoes "all Israel shall be saved" (Romans 11:26) mean the church?Chuck Smith read Romans 11 as a promise to the nation: "God in spite of all things is yet going to show forth His mercy and His grace upon these people." Paul sets the blindness "in part" against a time limit, "until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in," and then "so all Israel shall be saved" (Romans 11:25-26). Read Chuck on Isaiah 59:20 in the reader. Chuck Smith commentary used by permission of The Word For Today.
• With Chuck SmithDoes Revelation 3:10 teach the church is kept out of the tribulation?Chuck Smith read the Philadelphia promise as "the promise of being kept from the Great Tribulation, because we have kept the word of His patience." The promise is to be kept "from the hour," the hour "which shall come upon all the world" (Revelation 3:10). Read Chuck on Revelation 3:10 in the reader. Chuck Smith commentary used by permission of The Word For Today.
• With Chuck SmithDoes the falling away in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 mean the rapture?Chuck Smith, The Final Curtain, chapter 2: The term "falling away" is an interesting translation of the Greek word apostasia. The root verb from which apostasia comes means "to depart from." This verb is used fifteen times in the New Testament and only once translated "fall away." In other instances it is translated "to depart from" or "to leave from." William Tyndale, one of the first people to translate the Bible into English, and many other early translators of the New Testament, rendered apostasia as "a departure." If this is the case, this verse can be read, "For the day shall not come, except there come a departure first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition." This "falling away" could very easily refer to the departure, or rapture, of the Church. Scripture, King James Version: 2 Thessalonians 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;". From Chuck Smith's books, used by permission of The Word For Today.
• With Chuck SmithHow should Christians live while waiting for the Lord's return?Chuck Smith, The Final Curtain, chapter 2: The message of Scripture is clear. We're coming down to the final curtain. But this raises a crucial question. What kind of a people ought we to be? First of all, we should be spiritual people. God is going to shake this earth until everything that can be shaken is shaken - until only that which cannot be moved out of place will remain (Hebrews 12:25-27). If our lives are invested in the spiritual, we won't lose a thing. This being so, we should be more concerned with spiritual issues than material things, with spiritual investments rather than material pursuits. We should also be diligent. The Lord told us to "occupy" until He comes (Luke 19:13). We must make it our aim to live fully each day to please Him. As we look at the world today, it would appear that the coming of the Lord is close at hand. Yet we do not know when it will be. It could be that the Lord will wait a little while longer; therefore, we must occupy till He comes. Scripture, King James Version: Hebrews 12:25-27, "See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain."; Luke 19:13, "And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.". From Chuck Smith's books, used by permission of The Word For Today.
• With Chuck SmithIs God finished with Israel?Chuck Smith: "No, the church is not Israel. And God is yet going to deal with the nation of Israel, as He has promised." Paul answers the question directly: "Hath God cast away his people? God forbid" (Romans 11:1). Read Chuck on Luke 19:8 in the reader. Chuck Smith commentary used by permission of The Word For Today.
• With Chuck SmithIs Lot's escape from Sodom a picture of the rapture?Chuck Smith pointed to the order in Jesus' own words: the fire fell "the same day that Lot went out of Sodom" (Luke 17:29). He called Lot "a classic sign of God's ability to deliver the righteous while reserving the ungodly for the day of judgment," the point Peter makes in 2 Peter 2:9. Read Chuck on Luke 17:29 in the reader. Chuck Smith commentary used by permission of The Word For Today.
• With Chuck SmithIs the rapture in the book of Revelation?Chuck Smith read Revelation 4 as the church's exit from the earthly scene: "as we enter then into the fourth chapter, we enter into the post-church era upon the earth." He held this as a conviction drawn from the pattern, not a stated proof text. John hears a trumpet voice say "Come up hither" (Revelation 4:1). Read Chuck on Revelation 4:1 in the reader. Chuck Smith commentary used by permission of The Word For Today.
• With Chuck SmithIs the word rapture in the Bible?Chuck Smith, The Tribulation and the Church, chapter 4: Some people would ridicule the idea or concept of the Rapture of the Church. They declare that the word "rapture" isn't even found in the Bible. It all depends on which version of the Bible you're reading. The phrase "caught up" in I Thessalonians 4:17 is the Greek word harpazo, which actually means "to be snatched away with violent force." The Latin equivalent of harpazo is the verb rapio, "to take away by force." In the Latin Vulgate, one of the oldest Bibles in existence, the appropriate tense of rapio appears in verse 17. Raptus is the past participle of rapio, and our English words "rapt" and "rapture" stem from this past participle. Although "rapture" isn't in the King James Bible, the basic word does appear in the Latin Vulgate. Scripture, King James Version: 1 Thessalonians 4:17, "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.". From Chuck Smith's books, used by permission of The Word For Today.
• With Chuck SmithIsn't the pre-trib rapture just escapism?Chuck Smith answered the "escapist" charge from the text, "He has not appointed us unto wrath," and from the parable that forbids idle waiting: "We're to occupy, we're to keep busy until He comes." The command is "Occupy till I come" (Luke 19:13). Read Chuck on Luke 19:13 in the reader. Chuck Smith commentary used by permission of The Word For Today.
• Whosoever WillWas the AD 70 destruction of Jerusalem the tribulation? (Answering preterism)No. Luke 21:20-24 describes AD 70, and Josephus records it fulfilled in detail, but the tribulation and the coming in glory (Matt 24:29-31) were not fulfilled then. The Olivet Discourse has a near horizon and a far one.
• With Chuck SmithWhat are Daniel's 70 weeks?Chuck Smith, The Final Curtain, chapter 2: The sixty-nine sevens have thus been accounted for, but the angel said there are seventy sevens determined upon the nation Israel. The seventieth "week" of Daniel has not yet been fulfilled. The end of the seventieth seven will bring the completion of all the visions and prophecies, the most Holy place will be anointed, and Jesus will establish God's eternal, righteous Kingdom. Jesus Christ was cut off without receiving His kingdom. He did not bring in the age of everlasting righteousness, as is so evident today as we look around and see the world in which we live. The most Holy has not yet been anointed. Therefore, all the prophecies in Daniel have not yet been fulfilled. We have yet to complete the seventieth seven-year period. From Chuck Smith's books, used by permission of The Word For Today.
• Whosoever WillWhat are the seven churches of Revelation?The seven churches are seven real congregations in the Roman province of Asia that the risen Christ addressed by name through John: "send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea" (Rev 1:11). Each received its own letter in Revelation 2 and 3.
• Whosoever WillWhat are the signs of the end times?Jesus gave them in the Olivet Discourse (Matt 24): wars, famines, earthquakes, deception, and the gospel preached to all nations, with the regathering of Israel as the key sign, the fig tree putting forth leaves (24:32-34).
• Whosoever WillWhat do the twelve gates and twelve foundations of the New Jerusalem mean (Revelation 21:12-14)?Whosoever Will, The Names on the Walls: Twelve gates. On them, the twelve tribes of Israel. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, and the rest. Jacob’s sons. The nation. Two verses later: “And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” Twelve foundations. On them, the twelve apostles. Peter, James, John, and the rest. The men Christ built His church on, the church that began at Pentecost and is Abraham’s seed by faith. One wall. Israel’s names on the gates. The church’s names on the foundations. Both carved into the same city, in the same eternal state, by the same God. Neither erased, neither absorbed, neither standing outside. This is the picture the whole question turns on, and it is worth stating what it does and does not show. It does not show two cities. There is one New Jerusalem. It does not show two peoples kept apart. Gates and foundations are parts of one wall. It shows two names. Israel is still Israel, twelve tribes, on the gates. The church is still the church, twelve apostles, on the foundations. God kept what He said to Jacob’s sons and God kept what He said to Peter, and the city carries both sets of names forever. Scripture, King James Version: Revelation 21:12-14, "And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.".
• Whosoever WillWhat does "the Israel of God" mean in Galatians 6:16?Whosoever Will, The Names on the Walls: Galatians 6:16, “the Israel of God.” The strongest text, and it is one verse with a disputed conjunction. Paul blesses “as many as walk according to this rule... and upon the Israel of God.” The Greek kai can mean “and” (two groups blessed: Gentile believers, and believing Israel) or “even” (one group, renamed). The KJV reads “and.” The whole letter has been distinguishing Jew and Gentile in the one body while insisting neither is saved by law; a closing blessing on both fits Galatians exactly, and it is the plain reading of the conjunction. One disputed kai in a benediction cannot carry a doctrine that the twelve gates of Revelation contradict. Scripture, King James Version: Galatians 6:16, "And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.".