The Aaron Papers  www.the-aaron-papers.net 

SECTION 2

-ESCHATOLOGY OVERVIEW-

POSTMILLENNIAL / TRIBULATIONAL UNDERSTANDINGS AND PROBLEMS

(Includes A-millennial, and Dominion Theology)

Part  three -SOME ESCHATOLOGICAL RECAPITULATION-

AS a review, this event is necessary for the fulfillment of the promise made in Rev.3:10 to the Christian Church at Philadelphia: Again, God is speaking—"I will also keep you from the hour of trial, that hour which is to come upon the whole inhabited world, to try them that dwell upon the earth."

I continue to believe that the problems that we are having with the differing views on eschatology is a very serious matter.  The problem is in the way in which the differing views directly influence our interpretation of the Scriptures.  That is, that our eschatological understandings often dictate how we interpret many other Scriptures. 

We must also consider this aspect of our interpretation: Are we seeing the Scriptures in their historic light or in their prophetic light?  It is very interesting how a single Scripture, that is interpreted in a particular way, can affect the way we see and interpret all of the other Scriptures.

Once again, this is seen in the way in which Rev.20 influences all of the Premill /Pretrib interpretations: As it is also seen in the understanding that the Post-mills hold concerning the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, and the A-mills interpretation of the one final resurrection on the last day.  Our understandings must be verified by the witness of the Scriptures, and must also be consistent and compatible with the entire Bible.

But by the Scriptures, we do know that there is A DAY in the future when our God will pour out His righteous indignation (in the form of tribulations) upon those who are excluded from the pre-Armageddon gathering of His hidden priesthood.  God is taking vengeance (1) on those who do not know God, and (2) on those who do not obey the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Which is, by the way, their just punishment.

These selected exhortations have been brought forward from CHAPTERS VI an VII of this study—as a comfort for all those elect Christians who have their eternal hope fixed on our blessed Lord's return and our being gathered up to be with Him forever in glory:

-THE PROMISED ESCAPE - predicted for the hidden elect priesthood -

“Your dead shall live; my dead body shall arise.  Awake and sing, you that dwell in the dust; for your dew is as the dew of (light), and the earth shall cast forth the dead.  Come, My people, enter into your chamber, and shut your doors about you: hide yourself for a little moment, until the indignation is overpast.” (Isa.26:19 and 20)

“And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call upon the name of God shall be delivered.  For in Mt.Zion, and in Jerusalem, there shall be those who escape, as God has said.  And among the remnant (that remnant which comes out from visible Israel), those whom God calls (from the Nations as well).” (Joel.2:32)

“It may be, you will be hid in THE DAY of God's anger.” (Zeph.2:3)

“At that time (My) people shall be delivered (slip away), every one that shall be found written in the book.  And many (not all) of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake. (Dan.12:1 and 2)

The righteous parish, and no man lays it to heart, and merciful men are taken away, and none consider that the righteous are taken away from the evil to come.” (Isa.57:1)

“For this is what God of Hosts says: yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land, and I will shake all the nations, and the precious things of all the nations shall come, and I will fill this house with glory, says God of Hosts.” (A heavenly house.) (Hag.2:6 and 7)

“For this says the High and Lofty One that inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy.  I dwell in the High and Holy place, and with Him, them also that are of a contrite and humble spirit.” (Isa.57:15)

“God is exalted, for He dwells on high.  He fills Zion with righteousness.” (Isa.33:5)

“He that walks righteously and speaks uprightly: He that despises the gain of oppressions, that shakes his hand from taking a bribe, that stops his ears from hearing of blood, and shuts his eyes from looking upon evil.  He shall dwell on high, his place of defense shall be the munition of rocks, his bread shall be given him, and his water shall be sure.  Your eyes shall see the King in His beauty.  They shall behold a land that reaches afar.” (Isa.33:15-17)

From the very beginning of my experience within the Scriptures, I have believed that the gathering that is pictured in Mat.24:31, Mk.13:27, and Lu.21:28; along with 1Thes.4:15-17 and 1Cor.15, was representative of a gathering picture of principally those elect saints from this dispensation of grace, as well as some of the Old Testament saints from under the Rev. 6 alter.

More precisely, the collective priesthood who will ultimately make-up God’s hidden kingdom.

-THE GATHERING-

“And He (Jesus) shall send forth His angels with a great sound of trumpet, and they shall gather together His ELECT from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (Mat.24:31)

“And then shall He (Jesus) send forth the angels, and shall gather together His ELECT form the four winds, from the uttermost part of earth to the uttermost part of heaven.” (Mk.13:27)

“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying:  Come forth, My people, out of her, that you have no fellowship with her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues.” (Rev.18:4)

This specific promise of translation was not as clearly defined in the Old Testament [Dan.12:1 and 2] as it is in the New Testament.  Termed a mystery: Which we might define as something once hidden, but now revealed.  Where the Old Testament only hinted towards the translation of living saints, the New Testament clearly explains this incredible mystery.

“Christ the Firstfruits, then they that are Christ's at His coming: Then comes the end, when He shall deliver up the Kingdom to God.” (1Cor.15:23 and 24)

This Scripture is clear and very much to the point:  THE KINGDOM — THE HIDDEN PRIESTHOOD, after being gathered together in their incorruptible bodies, is being delivered up to God.

(a) This means the priesthood will be delivered up from off the earth.

(b) This also means that the hidden priesthood will be delivered up into heaven where God resides.

To understand the tangible state of our promised heavenly rest, we must understand this mystery that God has so graciously given to His elect priesthood.

           “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep (die), but we shall be changed (translated), in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye; at the last trump.  For the trump shall sound;

(a) And the dead shall be resurrected incorruptible.

(b) And we (the saints who are alive) shall be changed (translated.)

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1Cor.15:51-53)

**Those who have mistakenly interpreted 1Cor.15 as the final resurrection and the end of history—that the kingdom in this passage is the final kingdom: Must remember that the final kingdom is not delivered up into heaven, but, as the New Jerusalem, the final Kingdom comes down from heaven.  (Ref. Rev.21)

“(We) who have the firstfruits of the Spirit; even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for our adoption, to wit, the redemption of our bodies.” (Rom.8:23b, Ref. Jas.1:18)

“For Jesus Himself shall descend from heaven; with a shout; with the voice of an archangel; and with the trump of God: And the dead in Christ shall rise first, then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with Jesus.” (1Thes.4:15-17)

“**Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.” (1Cor.15:50)

“Then shall two men be in one field; the one is taken, and one is left: Two women shall be grinding at the mill; one is taken, and one is left.  Watch therefore, for you know not on what day your Lord will come.” (Mat.24:40-42)

“I say to you: In that night there shall be two men in one bed; one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.  There shall be two women grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.  And they answering, said unto Him: Where?  And He said unto them: Where the body (soma) is, there also will the eagles be gathered together.” (Lu.17:34-37)

The Scripture here in Lu.17:34-37 is pointing back to v.24 - The revelation (apokalupto) of Jesus.  The things preceding v.37 would appear to be the gathering.  Could the body of v.37 be the body of Christ; our Jesus?  Ref. SOMA: Eph.1:23; Col.1:18, 22, and 24.  [Parallel Scripture: Mat.24:28]  Wheresoever the carcass [potma] is, there will the eagles be gathered together.  Pointing to v.27 - The revelation (parousia) of Jesus.

[Define] POTMA - That which is fallen:

[a] The slain Lamb.

[b] The crucified One.

The eagles would represent the gathered saints:

Isa.40:31—“They shall mount up with wings as eagles.”

Rev.12:14—“Given two wings of a great eagle.”

It is not clear why these two Scriptures use different words in pictures that I believe are describing the same thing—Jesus.  Lu.17:25 has added to this picture: "But first He must suffer many things, and be rejected from this generation."  While the Mat.24 account makes no such reference.  The word carcass (potma) may be representative of the previously accomplished sufferings that we see predicted in Lu.17:25.

-THE COMPLETED GATHERING-

“I saw, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne (of God) and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands, and they cried with a great voice, saying: Salvation unto our God who is sitting on the throne, and unto the Lamb.” (Rev.7:9 and 10)

-Corporeal state-

“These who have the white robes on; these are they that came out of (escaped) the Great Tribulation, and they washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  Therefore are they bodily before the throne of God.” (Rev.7:13a-15a)

It must be especially noted, that those whose presence is pictured here in heaven, are no longer identified as souls.  This is true, because those who are pictured here are now in their resurrected bodies.  The soul condition was that pre-resurrection condition; the intermediate condition that all the deceased elect saints were in before the completed Kingdom was delivered up to God.

-Heavenly pictures-

“The Lamb standing on (the heavenly) Mt. Zion; and with Him, a hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name, and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.  These were purchased from among men, to be the firstfruits unto God and unto the Lamb.” (Rev.14:1-4; Ref. Rev.5:9 and 10; Rom.8:23; 1Cor.15:23; and Jas.1:18)

“The victorious ones standing by the sea of glass, having the harps of God.  And they sang the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb.” (Rev.15:2-4; Ref. Rev.4:6)

“The marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife has made herself ready.  Blessed are they that are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” (Rev.19:1-9)

v.8 “tells us that these were clothed in fine linen, clean and bright.  The confirmation of the state of those who were clothed in the white robes.” Rev.7

The question that is raised by the Premill /Pretribs with respect to the resurrection of Mat.25 is a valid one.  If the gathering of the saints that is pictured in 1Thes.4, along with 1Cor.15. Mat.24, Mk.13, and Lu.21 (Those invisible elect priests who are being caught up from off the earth to meet their Lord in the clouds, and forever to remain with Jesus) are, as the Post view seems to imply, part of the general resurrection, why would we, the members of the body of Christ, who were clearly separated when we were caught up into the clouds to be with Christ, need to be separated again as the sheep are separated from the goats?  The scriptural proof for the separate resurrection for the elect priesthood from the conclusion of this dispensation of grace, might well be found in Jn.11:24-27a.

(1)A separate resurrection for the elect saints from this dispensation.

(2)The general resurrection: The resurrection of the last day.

Later we see Martha talking to Jesus about Lazarus:

(2)"I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."

(1)(Then) Jesus said to her: "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he die, he shall live."  "And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. (Ref.Jn.5:25)  Do you believe this?"  She said unto Him, "Yes Lord".

(1 - This special promise that is given is only for the elect priests who are saved throughout God’s reconciliation.) 

(2)Martha still did not understand what the Lord had told her, as she expresses this in v.39: Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been (there) four days."  Jesus replies to Martha in v.40:

(1)"Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God (Lazarus in his glorified resurrected body)?"  To confirm that He was the resurrection and the life, He resurrected Lazarus.  Martha is talking about the resurrection of the last day—which is the only resurrection that she understood: While Jesus is attempting to explain something new and wonderful.  It is because the resurrection of the last day is being discussed by Jesus in these passages, that causes me to believe that Jesus, within this portion of John, very well might be defining a distinct difference between the resurrection of those who live and believe in Him and those of the collective who are resurrected on the last day.

The gospel of Matthew seems to show a two stage coming of our Lord:

1. The first stage is seen in Mat.24:30 — The sign of the Son of Man appears in the heavens.

2. The second stage is seen in Mat.25:31 — Jesus comes in judgment to sit on the throne of His glory.

Definition:

(1) It is during the first stage when only the sign of the Son of Man appears in the heavens.  Mat.24:31 tells us that this is the time when the elect priests of God are gathered together in the clouds of heaven—to be with their Lord forever.

(2) Then it is during the second stage, as we can clearly see in Mat.25:32-46, that the general resurrection and the final judgment would takes place here on earth.

This Generation: 

This generation of Mat.24:34, Mk.13:30, and Lu.21:32, must also be thoroughly examined for context:

1. This generation is defined by some as the generation of the first century: Those of physical Israel who were slaughtered in the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

2. This generation should represent that generation of the parable of the fig tree: The generation that is represented by the budding leaves that are put forth. (Mat.24:32-34; Mk.13:28-30; and Lu.21:29-32)

3. Because the gathering of the hidden priesthood is being pictured here in Mat.24, Mk.13, and Lu.21, this generation would most likely be representative of the composite Kingdom throughout its development to its completed state.

This is also consistent with 1Pe.2:9 /Ex.19:6 “You are an elect race (generation), a royal priesthood, a holy nation,”  It is because this is a Spiritual generation pictured here, that it would need to continue on from the Garden of Eden through to the Trumpets of Revelation.

Each time this parable is given in these gospels, it ends with "Assuredly, I say unto you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things are fulfilled (take place Mk.13)."  Which is followed by "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My word will by no means pass away."  And an additional warning is inserted for all to watch, because no one has exact knowledge of that day or hour when we will all be standing before the Son of Man. (Ref. 2Cor.5:10; Rom.14:10)

Some speculate that the time text here is controlled by the ** phrase —all these things, these things, and all things.

Ref.

*   Mat.24:33  "see all these things"

**  Mat.24:34  "these things are fulfilled"

*   Mk.13:29   "see these things happening"

**  Mk.13:30   "all these things take place"

Lu.21:22   "all things which are written may be fulfilled"

Lu.21:28   "these things begin to happen"

*   Lu.21:31   "see these things happening"

**  Lu.21:32   "all things are fulfilled"

           Lu.21:36   "escape all these things" 

Any interpretation therefore, which is made with respect to time, must be made in the light of all of these Scriptures.  And since the Gospel of Luke uses this phrase five times, it is only logical that the Gospel of Luke be used as the primary defining Scripture.

Mat.24:35 and 36, along with Mk.13:31 and 32, tells us that heaven and earth will pass away, but not God's word: And each makes the statement that no one can know the day nor the hour of this event: Only God has this knowledge.  The event that is in view is the coming (parousia) of Jesus to gather-up His holy priesthood — Mat.24:30, Mk.13:26 and 27, and Lu.21:27 and 28.

The Luke account differs slightly from the Mat.24 and Mk.13 accounts: "Then they will see the Son of Man coming (appearing) in a cloud with power and great glory.  Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near. (Ref. Rom.8:23)  Following the parable in the Luke account, we are again told: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Word will by no means pass away.  But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come on you unexpectedly.  For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.  Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and stand before the Son of Man." (Lu.21:33-36)  

We must conclude by these Scriptures from the Gospel of Luke, that escape is not only possible but also necessary for the elect priests of God.

key words:

1. THESE THINGS

2. REDEMPTION

3. ESCAPE                   

4. KINGDOM OF GOD           

5. COMING

6. GATHERING

7. JUDGMENT

A SUMMARY OF THE FINAL EVENTS:

Note: The seventh = The third woe:

Legend: 

a. <#> = The numbered ordering of the sequence of events.

b. }—{ = A Scripture change is indicated.

“The seventh angel sounded, and there followed great voices in heaven, and they said: The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of God, and of His Christ: And He shall reign for ever and ever.  And the twenty-four elders, who sit before God on their thrones, fell upon their faces and worshipped God, saying: We give You thanks, O God, the Almighty; who was and who is, because You have taken Your great power, and did reign.  And <1> the nations were angry, and <2> Your wrath came, and <3> the time for the dead to be judged, and <4> the time to give their reward to Your servants: The prophets, the saints, and to them that fear Your name; and <5> to destroy them that destroy the earth.  And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple, the ark of the Covenant;}—{and there came forth a great voice out of the temple from the throne; saying: IT IS DONE:}—{And the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the alter and cast it upon the earth.}—{And there were LIGHTNINGS, and VOICES, and THUNDERS, and there was A GREAT EARTHQUAKE, such as was not since there were men upon the earth; so great an earthquake; so mighty.  Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.  And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.  And GREAT HAIL, every stone about the weight of a talent (about.60 lbs.), came down out of heaven upon men.  And men blasphemed God because of the plagues of the hail; for the plagues thereof are exceedingly great.” (Rev.11:15-19; 8:5a; 16:17-21) Amen.