Many believe the rapture is imminent and nothing more has to happen before Jesus Christ comes and gathers us. But there are things that still have to happen before the coming of our Lord Jesus and our gathering to him.
In Luke 21:25, immediately after the trampling of Jerusalem by the Gentiles in verse 24, we read about the signs in the sun, moon, and stars, and it says the nations will be perplexed by the roaring of the sea and waves. We haven’t seen the roaring of the sea and waves and the heavens being shaken from Luke 21:26. We have to see these things before Jesus comes in verse 27. There’s nothing in Scripture that says Christ will come before these signs. Jesus appears after the signs in the sun, moon, and stars, as we read in Revelation 6:12-17. These events happen on the day of the Lord.
Men will flee to caves in the rocks and holes in the ground, away from the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty, when He rises to shake the earth. (Isaiah 2:19)
Let’s begin in Luke 21:
There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places, along with fearful sights and great signs from heaven. (Luke 21:11)
Some of these things are happening now to a degree. Before Christ returns, we have to see the antichrist (the 1st seal), the desolation of Jerusalem, the signs in the sun, moon, and stars, the roaring of the sea and waves, and the heavens being shaken.
For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. (Haggai 2:6)
At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth, but heaven as well.” (Hebrews 12:26)
Let’s continue in Luke 21:
For these are the days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. (Luke 21:22)
Jesus says to fulfill “all that is written.” The scriptures that pertain to Jesus’s suffering were fulfilled (see Luke 1:1, 18:31, and 22:37). But not all the scriptures have been fulfilled, such as Psalm 83, Isaiah 17 (the oracle on Damascus), verses in Jeremiah 50 and 51, Ezekiel 38 and 39, and Zechariah 14, in which the destroyers of Jerusalem are destroyed.
Let’s read this scripture:
They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luke 21:24)
This scripture is talking about 70 AD and a future event. Have the times of the Gentiles been fulfilled yet? Were the times of the Gentiles fulfilled after the Roman Army destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD? These things are how we know that Jesus is talking to us today. Jerusalem and other cities like Bethlehem are still being trampled on by the Gentiles.
In the Olivet discourse, some might use the following scripture to say that Jesus is talking about the first century only:
Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened. (Luke 21:32)
We have to keep this verse in context with the next verse:
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away. (Luke 21:33)
Jesus’s words still haven’t passed away, and these scriptures are never wrong because one day there will be a “this generation” that will not pass away. The following scriptures are still speaking to us today as well:
41 The men of Nineveh will stand at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now One greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and now One greater than Solomon is here. (Matthew 12:41-42)
In verse 42, Jesus says “the judgment with this generation.” Has the judgment happened yet? Let’s look at this scripture:
Then Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God arrive with power.” (Mark 9:1)
The words of Jesus are still speaking. Again, these scriptures will never be wrong because there will be a generation that will not taste death. There will be those who are alive who remain when Jesus returns. Here’s Jesus again:
You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky. Why don’t you know how to interpret the present time? (Luke 12:56)
We live in the present time. Do we know how to interpret the present time?
THE TIME OF THE GENTILES AND JACOB’S TROUBLE
There’s nothing in Scripture that says Jacob’s trouble is seven years long, but we have the final week, the 70th week. We know the time of the Gentiles and the time of Jacob’s trouble have not been fulfilled. Let’s listen to the apostle Paul:
Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. (Romans 11:25)
Are the “times” of the Gentiles and the “fullness” of the Gentiles the same thing or something different? Whatever the case, the fullness of the Gentiles is an appointed time by God, and some believe it’s when the last person believes, and that’s possible:
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14)
But God already knows when the last person will believe, so it’s an appointed time, and we don’t know when that is. We try to interpret the present time while waiting on the appointed time.
Be on your guard and stay alert! For you do not know when the appointed time will come. (Mark 13:33)
Regarding the ‘appointed time,’ let’s read what the evil spirits say to Jesus in Matthew 8:
“What do You want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have You come here to torture us before the appointed time?” (Matthew 8:29)
Even these demons know there’s an appointed time, and again, only God knows when that is. Let’s go to the book of Daniel:
And the two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for still the end will come at the appointed time. (Daniel 11:27; see also verse 35 and 8:19)
Let’s use the following scripture as an example that there’s a time for everything:
So, the four angels who had been prepared for this hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. (Revelation 9:15)
The apostle Paul speaks of the last trumpet in 1 Corinthians 15:52. Is the last trumpet the seventh trumpet from Revelation 11? This is important because we know that the seventh trumpet fulfills the mysterious plan of God:
At the time when you hear the seventh angel blow his trumpet, the mysterious plan of God shall be fulfilled, as he promised to his servants the prophets.” (Revelation 10:7)
The mysterious plan of God could be fulfilled in Revelation 11:15. This might coincide with the times of the Gentiles being fulfilled in Luke 21:24. Let’s read the scripture again:
They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luke 21:24)
Now let’s compare this scripture to Revelation 11:2:
but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. (Revelation 11:2)
In these scriptures, we see Jerusalem being trampled on by the Gentiles (or nations). But is this forty-two month period the first or second part of the final week (seven years)? Thirteen verses after Jerusalem is trampled by the Gentiles in Revelation 11:2, the mysterious plan of God is fulfilled:
Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices called out in heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 11:15)
This is also when the times of the Gentiles could be fulfilled, and this happens before Revelation 12, the woman and the male child. Because the text needs space to write things out, chapters 11 and 12 could happen very rapidly. But just because God’s plan is fulfilled at this point doesn’t mean things are over. There are still the 7 bowls of God’s fury to come on those who take the mark of the beast.
The time of the Gentiles seems to be fulfilled at half the week of Jacob’s trouble.
God’s wrath and the rapture of the faithful happens at around half the week. In Daniel 9:27, half the week could be at the beginning of Revelation 8, right before God’s wrath begins with the seven trumpets.
Whatever happens in these last days, let’s avoid the fate of hell by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and savior and turning from evil. Let’s do the right thing in life and receive God’s promise of eternal life. Let’s keep the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ no matter what happens in this rapidly dying world.
Futile World 