Weekly Devotional 10-1-18 A Soon to be Study of Revelation
In the near future, we at Transforming Power; The Work of God on Behalf of man, will be writing a series of studies on the Book of the Revelation and related Scriptures. The Book of Revelation is about the last seven years of this present dispensation, a time that follows the end of the church age and a time in which God will restore Israel to its Land. As we shall learn, there will be great resistance to this. At the beginning of this seven-year period, Satan will enter into a man who he will use as the leader of that resistance. How soon might this be? No one knows for sure, but signs all over the earth indicate that it may be soon. The greatest sign of this, however, is that Israel, as a nation, is back in the Land that God had promised Abraham 5,000 plus years ago (See Genesis 13:12-15 and Chapter 15). Israel became a nation in 1948. The Jewish people have been flowing into Israel since that time. There are other signs, but they will be considered in the midst of our studies.
However, there is one event that must occur before the commencement of the seven years. It is the rapture, the catching up into the air of the church. Another sign that will be soon after the catching up of the church is the aforementioned leader of Satan’s resistance will be revealed. Consider 2nd Thessalonians 2:1-8. “1Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. 5Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.”
In these verses, Paul is refuting the claim of false teachers that the Day of the Lord had already occurred. He had written in his first letter to them that the day of the Lord would come like a thief in the night (1st Thessalonians 5:2). Many were being led to believe that they were in the midst of the time of Jacob’s trouble, in the midst of the Great Tribulation spoken of by many of Israel’s prophets. But, Paul assured them that that time was not yet. There are many other things that we might add to this little work concerning the catching up of the church and the second coming of Jesus Christ to establish His kingdom on the earth, but our intent here is to prepare you for articles from our coming series of studies.
Blessings
stevelampman@comcast.net stevelampman.com
Transforming Power; The Work of God on Behalf of Man
Scripture usage if from the NKJB