Last Things, page 2

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

52 questions answered, showing 18 on page 2 of 3. About this doctrine · All topics

• With Chuck SmithWhat does it mean that the gifts and calling of God are without repentance (Romans 11:29)?Chuck Smith read the verse in its setting, about Israel: "God is not changing; He still loves these people." The promise to the nation stands because God does not take back what He gives: "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance" (Romans 11:29). Read Chuck on Romans 11:29 in the reader. Chuck Smith commentary used by permission of The Word For Today.
• Whosoever WillWhat does Zechariah 12:10 mean, 'they shall look upon me whom they have pierced'?Whosoever Will, The Missing Link: Zechariah 12:10. "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son." This verse describes Israel's national mourning at the Second Coming: the moment the nation recognizes the one they rejected. Fruchtenbaum's Israelology documents this in meticulous detail: Israel's national salvation is a future event, triggered by a specific historical moment, involving the literal descendants of Abraham in the literal city of Jerusalem. Romans 11:26. "And so all Israel shall be saved." Not spiritual Israel. Not the Church. Israel: the same word Paul has used throughout Romans 9-11 to mean the Jewish people. The salvation is national, literal, and future. It is the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant, the Davidic Covenant, and the New Covenant simultaneously: all three finding their terminus in the moment described in Zechariah 12:10. Scripture, King James Version: Zechariah 12:10, "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn."; Romans 11:26, "And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:".
• Whosoever WillWhat happens after death? Is there life after death?Yes. At death the believer's soul goes at once to be with Christ, "absent from the body... present with the Lord" (2 Cor 5:8); the unbeliever's to conscious separation (Luke 16:22-23), awaiting the resurrection of the body and final judgment.
• Whosoever WillWhat happens to believers who die before the rapture?They are with the Lord immediately, "absent from the body... present with the Lord" (2 Cor 5:8), and their bodies rise first at the rapture: "the dead in Christ shall rise first" (1 Thess 4:16). The soul is with Christ now; the body is raised then.
• With Chuck SmithWhat happens to Christians at the rapture?Chuck Smith named Paul's mystery plainly: "This is the event called the rapture, when all of us will be changed and this corruption will put on incorruption; this mortal will put on immortality." Paul: "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye" (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). Read Chuck on 1 Corinthians 15:51 in the reader. Chuck Smith commentary used by permission of The Word For Today.
• With Chuck SmithWhat happens to unsaved loved ones left behind after the rapture?Chuck Smith, The Tribulation and the Church, chapter 11: Once we've been caught up, many of our loved ones who have been hassled by our witness and upset with our testimony will realize that they've actually missed the opportunity of being raptured with the Church. As a result, they'll become dead serious with God and will choose to be martyred during the Great Tribulation period by refusing to take the mark of the beast. They'll choose death in preference to the mark and, thus, they'll be saved (Rev. 20:4). Because of the teaching of Paul in II Thessalonians some doubt that anyone who has rejected the truth now will be able to believe the truth then. It definately is a question and when my eternal destiny is at stake I do not want any questions, only certainty. Scripture, King James Version: Revelation 20:4, "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.". From Chuck Smith's books, used by permission of The Word For Today.
• With Chuck SmithWhat is replacement theology, and why does it matter for the rapture?Chuck Smith described the view that the promises to Israel "are now fulfilled in the church," then named its cost: "immediately it places the church in the Great Tribulation." Paul still speaks of a future for Israel: "And so all Israel shall be saved" (Romans 11:26). Read Chuck on Jeremiah 31:1 in the reader. Chuck Smith commentary used by permission of The Word For Today.
• With Chuck SmithWhat is the abomination of desolation?Chuck Smith, The Final Curtain, chapter 2: What is the "abomination of desolation" that Daniel the prophet speaks about? The Antichrist will make a covenant with the nation Israel. As part of that covenant, he will grant the Israelites the right to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem and will promise to bring them peace. Then, after three and a half years, the Antichrist will violate this agreement and cause the daily sacrifices and oblations to cease. He will stand in the holy place of the rebuilt temple and declare that he is God, and demand to be worshiped (2 Thessalonians 2:4). This is the abomination (a horribly disgusting act) that causes the desolation (the making of a holy place wretched). The word desolation also means "great agony or emptiness," and is used to refer to the Great Tribulation. At this point the eyes of the Jews will be opened and they will see that they have been deceived by the Antichrist. Many will then flee to sanctuary in southern Jordan. From that day it will be only 1,290 days until Jesus comes again in power and glory. Scripture, King James Version: 2 Thessalonians 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.". From Chuck Smith's books, used by permission of The Word For Today.
• Whosoever WillWhat is the battle of Armageddon?Armageddon is the final gathering of the world's armies against Israel at the end of the tribulation, in the valley of Megiddo, crushed by Christ at His return (Rev 16:16, 19:11-21).
• With Chuck SmithWhat is the blessed hope in Titus 2:13?Chuck Smith on the blessed hope: "It's a purifying hope. Knowing that Jesus is coming at any time, live righteously, live godly." Paul names the hope as a Person: "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13). Read Chuck on Titus 2:13 in the reader. Chuck Smith commentary used by permission of The Word For Today.
• Whosoever WillWhat is the difference between the rapture and the second coming?They are two distinct events about seven years apart. At the rapture Christ comes in the air for His church (1 Thess 4:17); at the second coming He returns to the earth with His church to judge the nations and set up His kingdom (Rev 19:11-16).
• With Chuck SmithWhat is the difference between tribulation and the Great Tribulation?Chuck Smith, The Tribulation and the Church, chapter 2: It's important to make a clear distinction about tribulations as taught in the Bible. There are two different types of tribulation. (1) The Great Tribulation referred to by Jesus and Daniel and detailed by John in the Revelation. (2) The tribulation that Jesus promised would come to the Church. Speaking to His disciples in John 16:33 Jesus said, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." The Church will have tribulation in the world. It's important to notice that the "tribulation" faced by the Church originates from the world and comes from the world system controlled by Satan. Satan is behind all the attacks on the Church. Scripture, King James Version: John 16:33, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.". From Chuck Smith's books, used by permission of The Word For Today.
• With Chuck SmithWhat is the gap between Daniel's 69th and 70th week?Chuck Smith saw the break in the text itself: "he did make a definite break between the sixty-ninth and the seventieth week," and taught that the last week "will not be fulfilled until the church is taken out of here." Messiah is "cut off" after the sixty-two weeks (Daniel 9:26); the "one week" of 9:27 is still to come. Read Chuck on Jeremiah 31:1 in the reader. Chuck Smith commentary used by permission of The Word For Today.
• Whosoever WillWhat is the Great White Throne judgment?The Great White Throne is the final judgment of the unsaved dead, after the millennium, where they are judged by their works and cast into the lake of fire (Rev 20:11-15). Believers are not judged here; they were raptured and rewarded long before.
• Whosoever WillWhat is the judgment seat of Christ (the bema)?The judgment seat of Christ is where believers are evaluated for rewards, not condemnation, after the rapture. "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body" (2 Cor 5:10). It decides rewards, not salvation.
• Whosoever WillWhat is the mark of the beast? Is 666 here now?The mark of the beast is a coming requirement during the tribulation to worship the beast and receive his mark to buy or sell (Rev 13:16-18). It is a future event, tied to the antichrist's rule, not present technology.
• Whosoever WillWhat is the millennium? Is the thousand-year reign literal?The millennium is the literal thousand-year reign of Christ on earth after His second coming, promised to David's throne and centered in Jerusalem. Revelation 20 names the thousand years six times.
• Whosoever WillWhat is the rapture? Is the rapture biblical?The rapture is the catching up of the living and dead in Christ to meet the Lord in the air, before the tribulation. "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" (1 Thess 4:16-17).