The end times are a fascinating subject for many people, including those outside of faith of the God of the bible, and rightly so. Who wouldn't want to know how life as we know it will end? The entertainment industry has profited much on the subject with movies like Armageddon and 2012, which show that the population at large has the end times on their mind. Now the purpose of this study isn't to go into all of that detail, but to look at what the bible says will happen in the future. As part of the body of Christ, believers in God giving us His only Son to save us from sin and death should be aligned on what God says will happen. I will explore views on the timing of events, concerns about when the Tribulation will be, who is the Antichrist, who are the 144,000 witnesses, and more. The goal of this again is to get us thinking not on what our presuppositions are, but letting God speak for Himself in the bible and opening our minds and hearts to what He has to say.
In order to understand the timing, we need to come to an understanding of history as the bible presents it. Understanding the two most recent programs God has with mankind is critical to understanding the end times. What two programs are those? Please see my study which I've called the Two Gospels at this link: Two Gospels.
Knowing the difference then, that Paul's gospel is the one for today, will essentially erase all doubt as to when the Tribulation will take place. There are three major viewpoints for those that believe there will be a rapture event. The rapture is the event as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
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.
The word there for "caught up" is from the Latin verb rapire (literally rapiemur in verse 17) and is where we get the term rapture from. However, I choose to go back to the Greek for the purposes of study since the New Testament was originally written in that language. It is my belief that the Greek is the inspired Word of God and not the Latin. However if we call it "The Harpazo," or really "The Harpagesometha" it just doesn't have the same ring to it. So if I say rapture, or rapture event, please know that I'm referring to this time of being snatched away and brought together with all the dead in Christ to meet the Lord in the air as written in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.
Those three major viewpoints I alluded to are Pre-Trib, Mid-Trib, and Post-Trib. Those words might look silly to some of us, but they refer to the occurrence of the rapture in relation to the Tribulation period. The words were coined by those who believe that there will be a rapture, but are in disagreement on when it will take place. Pre-Trib proponents believe the rapture will happen before the Tribulation. Mid-Trib proponents believe it will happen 3.5 years into the Tribulation, which is the middle of the 7-year Tribulation period. Post-Trib proponents believe that the rapture will happen after the Tribulation. Before jumping straight to the answer to which of these is correct according to scripture, I want to show the verses cited that proponents of each viewpoint use in support of their claim. I'll work backwards from my list and start with the Post-Trib viewpoint.
I have seen it said that if events described in different passages of scripture can be identified as the same event, then it will prove that the event is one and the same. This approach is good, that is, using scripture to interpret scripture, but there is one element that is missing which would be the key to knowing if the interpretation is good. The answer can be summed up in one word: context. If passages are taken out of their context to support a claim, the interpretation will be false. For the purposes of this study, the argument, or proofs as they are cited, for the Post-Trib view is as taken from a website entitled The Berean Christian Bible Study Resources:
Proof #1:
Mt 24:43,44 associates "Thief in the Night" with the post-trib coming of the Lord
1Thess chapters 4 and 5 associate the "Thief in the night" coming with the Day of the Lord and with the Rapture which Paul anticipated for himself and the Thessalonians, were they to live that long.
Now unless there are two "thief in the night" days of the Lord, this proves not only that there will be a post-trib rapture, but also proves that there can be no pre-trib rapture, unless we believe Paul and the Thessalonians are excluded from that resurrection and rapture.
Besides there being no scriptural evidence of two "thief in the night" days of the Lord, both taking people by surprise, if there were two then the first would have already alerted people to the circumstances. Thus it seems reasonable that there could only be one such coming of the Lord. Thus since there is such a day associated with his post-trib coming in Mt 24, this disproves a pre-trib rapture.
Now this looks like a good point, doesn't it? If the "Thief in the Night" concept is the same between Matthew 24 and 1 Thessalonians 4 and 5 the argument would be sound, but let's look at these scriptures a bit closer and in their context.
Matthew 24:43-44
43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Taking these two verses out of their context can certainly lead to the conclusion that the Tribulation period will happen before any rapture event were to occur. But what is the context of Matthew 24:43-44? To answer that we need to ask the questions, why was Jesus talking about the hour that the Son of man was coming? And who was Jesus talking to? Take a look back at Matthew 24:1-4a
Matthew 24:1-4a
1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
4 And Jesus answered and said unto them...
Jesus had led into a discussion on the end of the existence of the temple building. This triggered His disciples to seek Him out privately to ask three questions as shown in verse 3. When will the temple be destroyed? What will be the sign that Jesus will come again? What is the sign of the end of the world? The rest of Matthew 24 is Jesus answering those questions. Now remember, Jesus Himself said that "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel," in Matthew 15:24. Let me reiterate. He was sent to the house of Israel. His disciples at the time of Matthew 24 were all Israelites who believed God and followed the rules God gave them at that time, which was called the Law of Moses. They knew of the coming promised kingdom from 2 Samuel 7. They knew that Messiah would restore Israel to prominence because of the promise in Exodus 19:6. Everything here has to do with Israel and they knew that the Tribulation needs to happen before the kingdom is established. For more on that, prayerfully study Daniel 9:20-27 and all of chapter 12.
Now having said that, let's look at the other scripture cited in "Proof #1" These would be the rapture verses of 1 Thessalonians 4, but also includes some verses in chapter 5.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-5:2
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
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.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
Everyone get ready for a language lesson. See the first word of 1 Thessalonians 5:1? It's the word but. What does that word mean? It means there's a contrast coming up. Everything stated in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 is about to be contrasted with something. "Comfort one another with these words, BUT of the times and seasons..." The chapter break may be doing some injustice to what's going on there but I think that argument is superfluous. This should be quite obvious when stopping to look at the words on the page. Paul just got done saying how Jesus Christ Himself will descend from Heaven and snatch away all believers at that time. Why would he say to comfort with these words? Because they were concerned that their brothers and sisters who died in Christ may not be with them right away.
1 Thessalonians 4:13
13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
Paul was correcting them in that they didn't have to be sorrowful for those they love who have died in faith, and certainly not to think as those who don't believe in Christ since unbelievers do not have such a hope. Believers of the message given to Paul have a blessed hope, which is a heavenly hope. That word hope there does not indicate any chance, as if something may or may not happen. It is an expectation; just an unknown time. I could cite other scripture, but let's take a look back in the same epistle to chapter 1. I'll leave off a few verses of introduction, but know that the subject are the believers in the gospel of grace at Thessalonica and Paul is the author:
1 Thessalonians 1:6-10
6 And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:
7 So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.
8 For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.
9 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;
10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
Verse 6 indicates that they followed Paul and his message, which is the gospel of grace. Verse 9 is proof from those outside that these people in Thessalonica are true believers in Christ. Now look at verse 10. Believers are to wait for his Son from Heaven, Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. Wrath to come? What's that? What are the saints of the gospel of grace delivered from?
First, an interesting fact about that word wait in verse 10. It is the Greek anamenó, which means I await (one whose coming is expected) according to Strong's concordance. Are you starting to see the correlation? Believers in the gospel of grace have an expectation, or hope, of God's Son from heaven, as verse 10 is very clear. This hope is that Jesus delivered us from the wrath to come. So what does this heavenly hope look like? It's described in chapter 4:16-17. Take some time to look back at those verses, and then let's ask the question what is this wrath to come? That brings us back to the "but" in 5:1.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-2
1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
Contrasting the heavenly hope of Jesus snatching away believers, Paul now is talking about something different. This something different is entitled the "times and the seasons" and that apparently the Thessalonian believers know all about it already. I can't see any other interpretation of the "ye have no need that I write unto you" Paul adds to the "times and seasons." So what are these times and seasons? Paul begins to write about it in verse 2. This is the day of the Lord. What is that? I'll leave that up to the reader to research, but that phrase the day of the Lord is spoken throughout the Old Testament and always refers to the day of God's wrath, which is the Tribulation period. If it's not clear enough, go back and prayfully study Matthew 24 and see that Jesus is very plainly talking about Daniel's 70th week, also called the Tribulation (see especially verse 15).
Now that we see that 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2 are talking about 2 different events, let's go back to those statements entitled "Proof #1" of the Post Tribulational Rapture.
*Mt 24:43,44 associates "Thief in the Night" with the post-trib coming of the Lord - This is a true statement, as we know Jesus would return to the Mount of Olives where He ascended from (Acts 1:11).
*1Thess chapters 4 and 5 associate the "Thief in the night" coming with the Day of the Lord and with the Rapture which Paul anticipated for himself and the Thessalonians, were they to live that long. - This is not true, as we've seen that there is a clear difference of the rapture event in chapter 4 and the Day of the Lord in chapter 5. Little words are very important, and in this case is the word "but," which is "de" in the Greek. We'd have to agree with this proof if the Greek was "kai" which would mean "and," but that's just not what's written there.
*Now unless there are two "thief in the night" days of the Lord, this proves not only that there will be a post-trib rapture, but also proves that there can be no pre-trib rapture, unless we believe Paul and the Thessalonians are excluded from that resurrection and rapture. - There are no two "thief in the night" days of the Lord. There is the heavenly hope of those saved under Paul's gospel and an earthly hope of those saved under Peter's gospel. Both hopes are expectations of Jesus. Those under Paul's gospel will go to heaven to be with Jesus and to be saved from the wrath to come. Those under Peter's gospel may endure the wrath, but will be delivered from it at the end of the Tribulation (Matt 24:13, etc).
*Besides there being no scriptural evidence of two "thief in the night" days of the Lord, both taking people by surprise, if there were two then the first would have already alerted people to the circumstances. Thus it seems reasonable that there could only be one such coming of the Lord. Thus since there is such a day associated with his post-trib coming in Mt 24, this disproves a pre-trib rapture. - Again, Matthew 24 and 1 Thessalonians 4 are talking about two different events. From the explanation above, this proof falls apart quickly.
Let's take a look at another Proof cited at this website.
Proof #2:
1Cor 15:51,52 Indicates that there will be a resurrection and a rapture at the last trumpet.
Paul uses the word "we" indicating that resurrection and rapture will be that which he and the Corinthians would partake.
The last trumpet in Revelation is the 7th trumpet of Rev 11:15, which is post-trib.
This disproves the pre-trib rapture, unless we are to believe that the resurrection corresponding to that rapture would not include the early church.
This one is answered simply. Who was the book of the Revelation written to and about? How can we be sure to associate the trumpet stated by Paul with the 7th trumpet in Revelation? There is no proof whatsoever in these statements that a pre-trib rapture can't exist since the compared verses are not the same in context. The problem is that statements like this look good at first and can be deceiving if they are just taken as fact. But when they are looked at more closely and in prayer, the truth becomes obvious. Remember that Paul spoke of the heavenly hope of the believer in his gospel? In 1 Thessalonians 4:16 we have the verbiage that there will be a trumpet to sound at the time of the rapture event. This is consistent with Paul's message on the resurrection of the believer mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52. Paul would have carried a consistent message, and we would expect there to be differences between Paul's message and the book of the Revelation, since the apostle John wrote the book of the Revelation wrote it to those under the gospel of the kingdom. Let's move on.
Proof #3:
2Thess 2 refers to the coming of the Lord in which Paul believed he and the early Church would be "gathered to him". Notice the phrase "our being gathered to him".He indicates that their being gathered to the Lord would not occur until after the antiChrist is revealed and after the apostacy (Yes it's literally "apostasia" in the Greek) Jesus alluded to the apostacy in Mt 24:10 "At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other." And consistent with 2Thess, Jesus continues in Mt 24 by speaking about the antiChrist, all of which constitute elements of the great tribulation. Then Jesus speaks of the gathering in Mt 24:31 "And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other." But if Paul was talking about a different gathering which occurred prior to these events then he would have simply told the Thessalonians that the reason why they should know that gathering hadn't occur is because they had not been raptured. This proves that the rapture/resurrection of which Paul anticipated for himself and the early church would occur after the tribulation had started, and as such disproves a pre-trib rapture.
Right in the first sentence we have an error in translation of the English. I need to show 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 in the English, then the Greek to fully understand what Paul is talking about here.
1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
The translators took the liberty to put the word "Christ" in verse 2 when in the Greek it is really translated "Lord". Observe in verse 2 that the phrase is hemera tou Kyriou, which is literally "Day of the Lord" and not "day of Christ." Let these verses say what it says. Verses 1 and 2 says that Paul doesn't want his Thessalonian brothers and sisters in faith to be alarmed that Jesus Christ had already raptured them away and that now was the Day of the Lord. Do you see why that would be alarming? Paul had just preached in 1 Thessalonians 1:10 and 4:16-17 that they would not endure the wrath, and now they're thinking they missed the rapture and will endure the Tribulation. Paul reassures them in verse 3, which is where this Proof #3 is in error.
2 Thessalonians 2:3
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;
That word for "falling away" there in the Greek is apostasia. Literally translated, this means a departure as shown in this definition from HELPS Word Studies - "leave, depart," which is derived from 575 /apó, "away from" and 2476 /histémi, "stand") – properly, departure (implying desertion); apostasy – literally, "a leaving, from a previous standing." Think about that. What leaving from a previous standing does Paul consistently talk about, especially to the Thessalonians? Wouldn't that be the rapture event? Paul is saying that until that rapture happens, the Day of Lord shall not come. I'm jumping ahead of myself here in dispelling all other views of when the rapture takes place, but I have to point out simply what scripture says. It's almost painful in how clear scripture is that the church, the body of Christ, will absolutely not go through the Tribulation. Otherwise Paul wasn't very nice to say "comfort one another" since he first said they were delivered from the wrath to come (1;10) and then turn around and say they had to endure the wrath of God. I wouldn't exactly consider that comforting. And we have several testimonies from Paul that his messages were from Jesus Christ Himself (Romans 9:1, Gal 1:12, 1 Thessalonians 2:13, etc) except when he would deliberately say that it was from him (1 Corinthians 7:6, 10, 25).
Back to the Proof #3, we cannot associate the apostasy of 2 Thessalonians 2 with Matthew 24:10 because there is no apostasy or departure mentioned in Matthew 24:10. The verbs in Matthew 24:10 are skandalisthēsontai, paradōsousin, and misēsousin, which if you visit those definitions are much different than apostasia. It's almost funny in that the Proof #3 alludes to the gathering Jesus mentions and the gathering Paul mentions as proof for a post-trib rapture, but Paul is speaking that the apostasy hadn't happened as proof that the Day of the Lord was not here yet and the rapture (same event as the apostasy in 2 Thess 2) had not occurred. Interesting that the same verse is cited to try and prove both points, but of course only one can be true. As I've shown, scripture is on the side of a rapture before any Tribulation. There's one more Proof on the website, and then we can take a look at those in favor of a mid-trib point of view.
Proof #4:
The Rapture is associated with "the day of the Lord". (1Thess 5:2 "for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night." for example which corresponds to the rapture mentioned in 1Thess 4:16,17.) But while I agree that the day referred to may extend over a period of time, there are verses which indicate certain events to preceed the start of that day. Notice Joel 2:31 says, "The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD." (And Peter quotes this in Acts 2 as applying to the church) And 2Thess 2:2,3 "not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed." Since the raptures occurs on the day of the Lord, and since the day of the Lord doesn't start until after events associated with the great tribulation occur - the rebellion/apostacy, the revealing of the antiChrist, the sun turned to darkness - this disproves the idea of a pre-trib rapture.
I hope by now the reader can see that there are several verses taken out of their context to try and prove a point. Please, please, please, just let scripture say what it says. The kingdom program was put on hold when God concluded Israel in unbelief (Romans 11). The church at Jerusalem in Acts 2 was under the kingdom program and is not the same as the church, the body of Christ under the grace program. God is not fulfilling prophecy as yet, but it will all be fulfilled in the right time (Matthew 5:18). It comes from understanding history as scripture records it, that the departure, or rapture happens first, then the Antichrist is revealed and the Tribulation takes place. Peter did allude to the prophecy of Joel coming true, but Israel didn't believe in God sending Jesus as the Messiah as a nation, so they were set aside until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in (Roman 11:25). Rebellion is another unfortunate translation error in the English. Apostasia should mean standing away from in it's most literal form, but understand that to stand away would be to stand in another place. Believers in the gospel of grace as given to Paul will no longer be standing on earth when Jesus descends with a shout, we will all be in Heaven with our Lord and Savior forever.
By examining just these four statements that favor a post-trib view, it should be clear that scripture doesn't support it. In fact, scripture overwhelmingly supports the pre-trib concept. In any case, let's take a look at some things that are cited to prove a mid-tribulation rapture.
I found a website that does a pretty good job up front in trying to have scripture interpret scripture. It is that website that I will investigate the reasoning given for a mid-trib rapture viewpoint. The website can be found here.
I have a serious problem with point number 2 in the outline on the basis of scripture. This sentence here...
The signs of the end will inaugurate the tribulation, described in Revelation as the seven seals and the seven trumpets (Rev. 5-9). The tribulation will involve suffering and difficulty for believers and unbelievers alike, although Christians will be spared the wrath of God (Rom. 5:9)
...is not understanding the scripture. Romans 5:9 does in fact say that believers in Paul's gospel will be spared from God's wrath. But take a few minutes to read through Revelation 5-9. It is very clear that only Jesus Christ is able to open those seals, but what happens when they are opened? It could be argued that the riders in chapter 6 aren't specifically God's wrath since there have been conquerors in the past, different nations have killed one another, and famines and economic crises have happened before. Even so, look at the end of chapter 6
Revelation 6:12-17
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
How can this not be part of God's wrath that the body of Christ is not saved from? We have looked at the promise several times that the church which is the Body of Christ is saved from the Tribulation period because the Tribulation period is exclusive to the nation of Israel and the program of the coming kingdom. How can we draw the line saying that stars falling from heaven and every mountain and island were moved out of their places is not God's wrath? How is this kind of tribulation okay for the Body of Christ to go through? And this is just chapter 6. Even if we pretend that these verses are for the Body of Christ, then why is there mention of the tribes of Israel in chapter 7 when we know there is no difference between Jew and Gentile in the Body of Christ? If there is no difference, shouldn't God include Gentiles in that list of 144,000 sealed? At least the writer on this website is true in that the first half of the Tribulation is 3 and a half years long. The second paragraph in point number 2 of the outline errs in that scripture we have already looked at is very clear on what the start of the Tribulation is: the rapture of the church, the Body of Christ. Then the Antichrist is revealed and so forth. Determining how far into the Tribulation may indeed be hard to say, but we know what the midpoint is, the abomination of desolation (Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15).
I think a good question to ask someone who believes in the mid-trib viewpoint is if you're using prophecy to show when this rapture of the Body of Christ will take place, why is the rapture never prophesied? Wouldn't Daniel have been shown this? Wouldn't it be clear in the Revelation? The reason you don't find it there is because the message given to Paul was hidden from all mankind until it was given to Paul. Please prayfully study Ephesians 3:1-9 to understand this.
Mid-trib rapture proponents have to wrestle with bending prophecy to fit Paul's message of grace or bending Paul's message of grace to fit prophecy. Either way, this is not rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). Paul is quite clear in Ephesians 3:1-9 that his message was not known before his time. It was hid, it is unsearchable, and it was not made known unto the sons of men in other ages. Therefore, if we believe in the inerrancy of scripture, we must take to heart that Paul's message is different, although God is the same throughout all ages. For a quick lesson in right division, observe what Jesus says in Luke 4:17-21.
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
The scripture He quotes is Isaiah 61:1-2. There are minor discrepancies since Isaiah was written in Hebrew and Luke was written in Greek.
Isaiah 61:1-2
1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
Do you see that Jesus stopped at the comma in verse 2 during His quote in Luke 4? He stopped in mid sentence of the prophet. Why? Because "the day of vengeance of our God" was not yet proclaimed. He first came to get Israel ready for that day, but we have hindsight to see that they didn't believe as a nation and were set aside in unbelief. Jesus rightly divides the word of truth and so should we since we are commanded to in 2 Timothy 2:15.
I hope I have shown that scripture clearly points out that every member of the church, the Body of Christ, will not go through the Tribulation period. As such, we should not concern ourselves with who the Antichrist may be and when the events of the Revelation will take place, because that will happen after we're in Heaven. We don't know how long God's grace will remain, so we should focus on redeeming the time, for the days are evil, and knowing what the will of the Lord is (Ephesians 5:16-17). His will is that every man be saved, come to the knowledge of the truth, and our sanctification (1 Timothy 2:4,1 Thessalonians 4:3). So I encourage every believer in Christ with these words:
2 Timothy 4:2-5
2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
Keep on keeping on for our Lord Jesus Christ!
