NOTES ON THE RETURN OF THE KING: THREE GRAND PHASES OF THE END OF THE AGE – PART III: THE GRAND RECONCILIATION

SCRIPTURE. “But in those days, ‘after’ that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send His angels, and ‘gather together His elect’ from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.” – MARK 13:24-27, NKJV

Selah.

QUOTATIONS

NOUWEN. “Is God present or is he absent? Maybe we can say now that in the center of our sadness for His Absence we can find the first signs of His Presence. And that in the middle of our longings we discover the footprints of the One who has created them. It is ‘in the faithful waiting’ for the Loved One that we know how much He has filled our lives already.” ― Henri J.M. Nouwen, ‘Out of Solitude: Three Meditations on the Christian Life,’ 2004; edited

PERCY. “True, most people he knew seemed reasonably sane and happy. They played golf, kept busy, drank, talked, laughed, went to church, appeared to enjoy themselves, and in general were both successful and generous. Their talk made a sort of sense. They cracked jokes. On the other hand, perhaps it is possible, especially in strange times such as these, for an entire people, or at least a majority, ‘to deceive themselves’ into believing that things are going well when in fact they are not, when things are in fact farcical. Most Romans worked and played as usual while Rome fell about their ears.” ― Walker Percy, ‘The Second Coming,’ 1980; edited

GRAHAM. “The Second Coming of Christ will be so revolutionary that it will ‘change’ every aspect of life on this planet. Christ will reign in righteousness. Disease will be arrested. Death will be modified. War will be abolished. Nature will be changed. Man will live as it was originally intended he should live.” ― Billy Graham, ‘Billy Graham in Quotes,’ 2011; edited

1. FIRST THOUGHTS

Very possibly the most talked about event in the history of mankind is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to the earth after an absence of nearly 2000 years. And yet there has descended upon the American Church A GREAT SILENCE, the likes of which I have never experienced in my over 40 years of following the Jewish Messiah.

It is a ‘Spiritual Paralysis’ of sorts that refuses to recognize, confront and speak out about the most critical human event in all of our history, or at least since Christ’s First Advent: THE RISE OF ANTICHRIST, His mortal foe, written of by the Law and the the Prophets and the Apostles and the Messiah Himself, centuries ago.

it was only a few years ago in the 1980s and 90s when you could hardly visit a church in the Evangelical and Spirit-filled communities where there wasn’t an excited buzz about the Lord’s Return. Today there is still an excited buzz, but it’s not about the Parousia.

Today it’s all about how we can ‘Make America Great Again!’

And further, to ensure that Donald Trump’s version of Christian Nationalism (an oxymoron) is enshrined tight inside the belly of a surreptitious agenda to keep pushing an agenda of ‘supreme moral authority’ in the national life.

But virtually nothing about the need for Churchwide Repentance in preparation for the Lord’s Return. Selah.

ALCORN ON CHURCH SILENCE. The prolific Christian author, Randy Alcorn, wrote a scathing warning about voting for President Trump in 2016, and published a prescient essay a year before that which speaks powerfully to my present argument. Titled, “The Trend in the Church Toward Silence,” he quotes British pastor and author ANDREW WILSON of Kings Church in a broadside at Evangelicals in both countries.

“I’ve heard rumours of ‘a silent trend’ beginning to take hold in some city churches in the UK and the US. I don’t just mean a trend that takes hold silently; presumably most trends do that. I mean a trend towards silence: ‘a decision not to speak out’ on issues that are considered too sticky, controversial, divisive, culturally loaded, entangled, ethically complex, personally upsetting, emotive, likely to be reported on by the Guardian or the New York Times, uncharted, inflammatory, difficult, or containing traces of gluten.” – ‘Eternal Perspectives Ministries,’ Mar. 30, 2015; edited

Alcorn published this a little after the GEORGE BARNA GROUP trumpeted a similar warning across the bow of American Christianity’s flailing barque in his blockbuster report that only about 7% of American pastors were willing to speak out on anything challenging our controversial. There is only one word to explain such timidity:

COWARDICE. Crisply defined by the brilliant lexicographer, NOAH WEBSTER as: “The want of courage to face danger; timidity; pusillanimity; fear of exposing one’s person to danger; a poltroon; a timid or pusillanimous man.” – ‘American Dictionary of the English Language,’ 1828; edited

And lest we forget what God thinks of such a person: “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control].” – 2 TIMOTHY 1:7, AMP

Of this passage, noted theologian CHARLES ELLICOTT thunders: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear.’—Or better, perhaps, ‘the spirit of cowardice’—that cowardice which manifests itself by a timidity and shrinking in the daily difficulties which the Christian meets within the Warfare for the Kingdom of God. (Comp. John 14:27, and Revelation 21:8.) ‘Hath not given us,’ in this particular case, refers to the time when Timothy and St. Paul were admitted into the ministry. The Holy Spirit is no Spirit, be it remembered, which works cowardice in men … It is a grave reminder to Christians of every age and degree that all cowardice, all dread of danger, all shrinking from doing one’s duty for fear of man’s displeasure, proceeds not from the Spirit of God.” – ‘An Old and New Testament Commentary for English Readers,’ 1878, 1897; edited

Cowardice found everywhere, beloved, in ill preparation for our Lord’s soul-shattering Return.

1. THE DAY OF THE LORD

SCRIPTURE. “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision (judgment)!
For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision [when judgment is executed at Jehoshaphat] … And they (demons) gathered the kings and armies of the world together at the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon (Armageddon).” – JOEL 3:14; REVELATION 16:16, AMP

One of the first things we must understand is that the Return of Jesus Christ is simultaneous with the Judgment of the Nations at what is traditionally known as, “Armageddon,” but more specifically and accurately identified as “The Valley of Jehoshaphat,” regarded by most scholars as the Kidron Valley.

While debate still takes place about the seeming contradiction between those two terms and locations, I found one excellent source that seems to resolve the apparent difference quite nicely.

MARK FOWLER does proper homage to the scholar from whom he borrows this interpretation, “Professor J,” more accurately known as JEFFREY VAN HATTEN, who holds a degree in Biblical studies and writes especially in the area of the timing of the Rapture of the Church.

“What once was an enigma to me – prophecy teachers teaching that the End-times ‘Battle of Armageddon’ was in the Plain (or Mountain) of Megiddo, and yet Scripture repeatedly attesting that this Battle would be waged near Jerusalem – has been made clear now from my own studies and my friend Jeff Van Hatten’s excellent article, ‘The Meaning of “Armaged[d]on.”’

I would add, though, that it is quite possible that many of the nation’s armies may very well ‘go through’ the Plain of Megiddo on their way to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; but the Battle itself, Scripture makes very clear, will not be waged there.” – “The Valley off Jehoshaphat and ‘Armageddon,’” ‘Faith Writers,’ Mar. 28, 2021; edited

Having resolved that reasonably, therefore, let’s turn now to an equally reasonable interpretation from a leading theologian, Methodist JOSEPH BENSON who wrote the following commentary.

“[JOEL 3:14-15]. ‘Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!’ — As though he had said, ‘See what astonishing numbers are brought together for their destruction!’ The sentence, thus abrupt and broken, is very strong and emphatical. The place is called ‘the valley of decision,’ because in it the cause would be decided between God and His enemies, and there He would execute Judgment upon them. Houbigant reads, ‘the valley of excision,’ that is, of ‘cutting off:’ and Chandler, ‘the appointed valley,’ namely, where God had appointed to execute His Judgments. ‘The sun and the moon shall be darkened’ — States and kingdoms shall be overthrown; ‘and the stars shall withdraw their shining’ (see the Sixth Seal, Rev. 6:12-17) — Kings and princes shall be cast down from their state of dignity and pre-eminence, and shall be deprived of their power and glory. Or the meaning is, This particular Judgment shall be a forerunner of the General One, when the whole frame of Nature shall be dissolved …

[REVELATION 16:15-16]. ‘Behold, I come as a thief’— Suddenly and unexpectedly! Observe the beautiful abruptness; ‘I, Jesus Christ. Hear Him!’ Thus, when it is foretold that these evil agents will use great art and address in support of their bad cause, the Spirit of Wisdom adds a useful caution, warning the faithful servants of Christ to ‘be on their guard’ against the emissaries of Hell, lest they should be deceived to their own destruction. ‘Blessed is he that watcheth’ — That looks continually for Him that comes quickly; ‘and keepeth his garments on him’ — Which men usually put off when they sleep; that is, that keepeth himself clothed with the robe of righteousness, the garment of salvation; lest he walk naked, and they see his shame — ‘Lest he LOSE the graces which he takes no care to keep,’ and others see his sin and punishment. ‘And He gathered them together’ — The true construction is: And they gathered them together; that is, the evil spirits and agents … into a place called, in the Hebrew tongue, ‘Armageddon’ — That is, the ‘Mountain of Destruction.’” – ‘Notes on the Holy Bible, 5 vols., 1811-1818; edited

SUMMARY. With just a little help from the ‘Got Questions’ online commentary, I would summarize this overwhelming, planet wide and quite catastrophic ‘Day of the Lord’ in this way:

The phrase “Day of the Lord” usually identifies events that take place at the End of History (Isaiah 7:18-25) and is often closely associated with the phrase “That Day.” One key to understanding these phrases is to note that they always identify a span of time during which God personally intervenes in history, directly or indirectly, to accomplish some specific aspect of His Redemptive Plan. While in a general sense it refers to the entire 7 Year Tribulation Era, it more ultimately denotes the precise ‘Moment’ (or indeed, ‘Day’) in human and eschatological history when God’s Wrath literally explodes upon the world scene.

I personally view that “Moment” as the instant Jesus Christ tears open THE SIXTH SEAL in Heaven, releasing in full measure ‘The Day of God’s Terror.’

“I looked when He (the Lamb) broke open the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth [made] of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, like a fig tree shedding its late [summer] figs when shaken by a strong wind. The sky was split [separated from the land] and rolled up like a scroll, and every mountain and island were dislodged and moved out of their places. Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the military commanders and the wealthy and the strong and everyone, [whether] slave or free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne, and from the [righteous] wrath and indignation of the Lamb; ^‘for the great day of their wrath and vengeance and retribution has come,’ and who is able to [face God and] stand [before the wrath of the Lamb]?” – REVELATION 6:12-17, AMP

After four decades of study, I promise you on reasonably sound authority, ‘That Day’is now rolling toward us with increasing speed and thunderous force, and only those who are truly, fully ‘in Christ’ shall be able to stand.

And, beloved, ‘able to Rise!’ Selah.

1. THE TEACHING

SCRIPTURE. “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.” – MARK 13:24-27, NKJV

As always (as is my habit), we go straight to the KEY TERMS that best define and delineate this powerful passage.

• ‘AFTER’ TRIBULATION. Here we begin with an absolutely vital distinction in the Text. The Holy Spirit made it unquestionably clear that the things described here and following take place after the Time of Jacob’s Trouble. The Greek term used here is, ‘Meta’ [μετά]: An adjective used variously as an index of being “with, among, or after; in company with; behind, beyond, strongly implies contiguity or more specifically, ‘a succession of order,’ one thing following quickly after another, implying a transition or transposition or changeover of some kind.”

• GATHER ELECT. As the Son of Man quite literally explodes upon the scene in the clouds such that the very heavens are shaken violently, He shouts the command to His mighty angels to “gather together His elect,” or ALL those saved by the very One who at this moment commands the attention of the entire Cosmos. The Greek term used here is, ‘Episunagó’ [ἐπισυνάγω]: “To collect or gather together besides; to bring together to others already assembled; to gather together against [God’s foes]; to gather together in one place [‘in the sky’].”

• FROM WINDS, EARTH & HEAVEN. Now it is precisely here where it becomes utterly fascinating beloved. (1) The elect are gathered first “from the four winds” [‘Anemos,’ ἄνεμος]: “Properly, a gust of air (wind); (figuratively) something with gusting, storm-like force; as with a violent agitation in a stream of air.” (2) Second, “from the uttermost parts of the earth” [‘Gé,’γῆ]: “The earth, soil, land, region, country, inhabitants of a region.” And (3) “From the farthest part of heaven” [‘Ouranos,’ οὐρανός]: “The visible heavens: the atmosphere, the sky, the starry heavens, the spiritual heavens, up to and including God’s abode in Third Heaven.”

WILLIAM MACDONALD. “‘After that tribulation,’ there will be startling disturbances in the heavens. Darkness will shroud the earth both by day and by night. The stars of heaven will fall and the powers in the heavens (the forces that keep stellar bodies in orbit) will be shaken. Then the awestruck world will see the Son of Man returning to the earth, not now as the lowly Nazarene but as the glorious Conqueror. He will come in the clouds, escorted by myriads of angelic beings and of glorified Saints. It will be a scene of overwhelming power and dazzling splendor. He will dispatch His angels to gather together his Elect, that is all who have acknowledged Him as Lord and Savior during the Tribulation. From one end of ‘the earth’ to the other- from China to Columbia- they will come to enjoy the benefits of His wonderful thousand- year Reign on earth. His enemies, however, will be destroyed at the same time.” – ‘Believers Bible Commentary,’ 1995, p. 1356; edited

Selah. Selah.

Now then beloved, as I studied these familiar passages again in preparation for this Commentary, it’s as if my eyes we’re opened in a simple clarity that I had not experience before. I will therefore use the Next Section of our discussion to somewhat systematically present what I saw – for your prayerful and thoughtful consideration. And debate.

1. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ESCHATON

ESCHATON. “[Literally] ‘The Last.’ Used in theology to refer to the world’s state during the Post-historic Era of God’s overt (Apocalyptic) reign, immediately preceding and including The End of the world and history as we have known them.

I must confess a certain degree of excitement for what I am about to present. Every now and then in the life of a scholar, there comes a Moment when information accumulated over a long period of time coalesces or in a fresh yet extraordinarily cohesive manner. We use several terms to describe such a Moment.

Secular writers CHIP AND DAN HEATH penned a work they directly call, ‘The Power of Moments’ published in 2017. Their basic premise is that human beings occasionally experience ‘defining moments’ that shape or reshape their thinking and ultimately, their very lives. Theologians refer to such instances as an ‘Epiphany,’ or a moment of sudden revelation or insight.

I dare to say I think this is possibly one of those moments. So here we go.

THREE STAGES OF THE RETURN OF THE KING. I began this series by positing Three Grand Phases of the Return of Messiah at the End of the Age: (I) Birth Pangs; (II) Great Tribulation; (III) Grand Reconciliation. Tucked painfully inside that template is the ongoing furious debate about when the rapture takes place, the entire pre-post tribulation confusion, and the rancor that often accompanies all of it.

Permit me to present a simple Three Stage Model of what is known as in the Greek as ‘The Parousia of Jesus Christ.’ all three Scriptures rendered in the New King James Version.

1. RAPTURE. “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore ‘comfort one another’ with these words” (1 THESS. 4:15-18). DK: To restate it, this monumental, worldwide and fully Catastrophic Event takes place just prior to Christ’s tearing open The Sixth Seal of Revelation 6:17-23. indeed, just a Moment before “God’s Wrath” explodes upon the entire planet.

• RECOMPENSE. “For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be. And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days” (MARK 13:19-20). DK: To restate it, this is direct reference to the seven-year long Time of Jacob’s Trouble, the most intense period of which will be the last 3 1/2 years, after Antichrist desolates the temple in his unprecedented “Abomination” of it. The Church Age Saints, the Bride of Christ, are in Heaven with the Messiah for what I expect will be a seven-year long Wedding Feast (cf. Rev. 19:7-10).

• RETURN. “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven” (MARK 13:24-27). DK: To restate it, this is the Moment where Christ fully ‘Returns to earth’ with the Armies of Heaven, including angelic beings and the resurrected Bride of Christ gathered “from the four winds … to the farthest part of heaven,” along with Tribulation Saints gathered “from the farthest part of the earth.” This is, my dear friends, what I have joyfully labeled: The Grand Reconciliation of Christians and Jews.

NOTE. What I love about this particular Model is that it clearly indicates that there is technically and definitively ‘Only one Rapture of the Church,’ the Bride of Christ. Not two! As I argued before, the Church Age Saints are not the same as the Tribulation Saints. A considerable number of classical theologians and Bible scholars all agree upon this distinction.

The careful theology of the EDITORS at ‘Got Questions’ clarify the point, though they speak to a Pre-Tribulation rather than the Pre-Wrath position (ret. Sep. 13, 2022; edited).

“The Tribulation Saints are, quite simply, saints living during the Tribulation. We believe that the Church will be Raptured before the Tribulation, but the Bible indicates that a great number of people during the Tribulation will place their faith in Jesus Christ. In his Vision of Heaven, JOHN sees a vast number of these Tribulation Saints who have been martyred by the Antichrist: ‘There before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands’ (Rev. 7:9). When John asks who they are, he is told, ‘These are they who have come out of the great tribulation;’ they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb’ (verse 14).”

Beloved, there is only one royal Bride! The Messiah and His angelic armies, with His Bride – all on horseback – come to (1) Rescue the Tribulation Saints and (2) Destroy the forces of Antichrist and all enemies of God’s Kingdom. This is a huge theological and doctrinal point that I had not fully appreciated before doing this study. I believe it to be an exquisitely clarifying interpretation, though you may disagree.

• LAST THOUGHTS ON THE END OF THE AGE

One more thing that I’ve never done before is to outline the SEVEN LAST EVENTS in their orderly, Chronological Sequencethat must take place for the End of the Age to be fully completed. Let’s close therefore, with these ‘Last Seven Things’ lying just before us.

1. BIRTHPAINS. Long story short, we’re in them! These are the events highlighted in Mark 13:3-13 and their counterpart found again in Revelation Chapter 6’s First Five Seal Judgments – Antichrist, War, Famine, Pestilence, and Martyrdom (vv. 1-11).

• RAPTURE. Following the culmination of the 5th Seal Judgment, this will be the next event on the Lords Eschatological Calendar, when Paul prophesied that “we shall be caught up together with them [the dead in Christ raised first] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess. 5:17). Paul closes by reminding us that we shall thus always be with the Lord, and to be greatly comforted by that.

• WRATH. Following the Rapture of the Church that taken alone will send the planet into unprecedented chaos, comes an even more devastating event: God’s Wrath thundering across the planet as described by the 6th Seal in Revelation 6:12-17. Suffice for now to say the physical elements will be shattered and shaken at this point as the world begins to descend into the Great Tribulation consisting of the last 14 Trumpet and Bowl Judgments that very nearly annihilate the earth’s population and destroy the earth itself.

• RETURN. As stated earlier, here the Lord Jesus Christ, the Armies of Heaven comprised of the angelic host and the Bride of Christ straddling what can only be considered as warhorses at this point, explode upon the scene to lay waste all the wickedness of the entire history of the human race, and rescue the righteous Jews and Christians on the earth. In a Single Day! Then an Angel “standing in the sun” loudly shouts a gruesome Declaration to all the birds that fly in heaven to devour the flesh of kings, of captains, of mighty men and their horses, indeed the flesh of all people free and slave both small and great ‘who opposed Almighty God’ (Rev. 19:17-18).

• MILLENNIUM. Following that Great War, the Lord prepares all things for a 1,000 Year Rule from the throne in Jerusalem after dispatching Satan in chains to the Bottomless Pit, having thrown the Antichrist, his False Prophet and all followers into the eternal Lake of Fire. Thus commences the nearly perfect Millennial Earth completely absent of any demonic influence. The EDITORS of ‘BibleStudyorg’ describe it this way (ret. Sep. 14, 2022):

“The Millennium will be an unparalleled and unbroken period of Peace and Prosperity. Satan will be spiritually bound for the entire time (Rev. 20:1 -3) and therefore unable to deceive mankind. Jesus and His Resurrected Saints will rule the earth from Jerusalem (Zech. 8:20-23).” Scripture also tells us of a great multitude of Tribulation Martyrs who were beheaded who shall be brought back to life to remain “before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple” (Rev. 7:13-15). NOTE: The Royal Bride of Christ, the Church, shall co-rule with the Messiah, while these Tribulation Saints will personally minister to Him for Eternity in some important ways.

• REBELLION. Mysteriously, nearly incomprehensibly, Jesus releases Satan from the Bottomless Pit for a short time at the end of the Millennial Era. “Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth” (Rev. 20:7). Thankfully, after Satan leads one last massive worldwide force to surround Jerusalem, JOHN tells us: “They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them” (v. 9). After which it is now Satan’s turn to be pitched into the Lake of Fire where the Antichrist, the False Prophet and all their followers shall be burned and tormented forever (v. 10).

NOTE. The clear indication of the Text argues that all those Apostates in the ‘Great Falling Away’ preceding Antichrist’s unveiling, plus those who subsequently took his Mark during his rule, are included in this accursed company. YAHWEH HIMSELF SUMMARIZES:

“He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” – REV. 21:7-8, NKJV    

• INFINITY. Now here once again I completely fail in my ability to express what comes next: That which shall last forever and ever and forever. But we still can gain rich and even prudent insight by looking at a simple passage in Paul’s Letter to Timothy: “If we endure, we shall also ‘reign with Him.’ If we deny and disown and reject Him, He will also deny and disown and reject us” (2 TIMOTHY 2:12, AMPC). REIGN: From the Greek word, ‘Sumbasileuó’ [συμβασιλεύω]: “To reign together with co-rule; metaphorically, to possess supreme honor, liberty, blessedness, with one in the Kingdom of God; to become co-regent; a joint air to a throne or monarchy.” The APOSTLE PAUL taught that in our glorified condition, we shall have been raised so high that we will judge even the angels 1 Cor. 6:3). But we are never to assume we are in any way equal to God (cf. ‘theosis heresy’).

PRE-POST RAPTURE RECONCILIATION. [PRE-WRATH]“For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be ‘caught up’ together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” – 1 THESSALONIANS 4:15-18, NKJV

[POST-WRATH] “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will ‘gather together’ His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” – MATTHEW 24:29-31, NKJV

This is for me, beloved, a final Doctrinal Rapprochement that it has taken me over 40 years to discover. I find it too elegant and symmetrical to think otherwise. Selah.

CODA. You’ll forgive me for a rapid descent from heady visions of Eternity to the basement level of the fictional cartoon character of Buzz Lightyear from ‘Toy Story’ (1995), whose now famous catch phrase is: “To Infinity and beyond!” And yet that sweet little line captures a child’s wonder for the Ultimate Unknown.

This Grand Idea beloved, has fascinated this old man since the day in the 1950s when my mom and dad bought me a 10-volume set of ‘World Book Encyclopedia’s, and the first thing I turned to was: “Space!” Fast forward about 25 years as this young convert was walking across the campus at University of the Pacific in Stockton, California on a sunny day, when I heard one of the first “Words” from the Lord I’ve ever heard:

“You will see those stars someday, son.”

The very term, “Eternity” challenges human understanding from even Biblical Perspective. WILLIAM STRONG (1895) defines it in the Greek as, ‘Aiónios’ [αἰώνιος], meaning: “Age-long, and therefore: Practically eternal, unending; partaking of the character of that which lasts for ‘an [ageless] Age,’ as contrasted with that which is brief and fleeting; without beginning or end, that which always has been and always will be.” SPIROS ZODHIATES (1995) struggles to elaborate: “Not belonging to that which is transitory, but rather to which is constant, abiding, without beginning nor without end. Forever and ever.”

CODICIIL ON BUTTERFLIES. Some time ago I wrote a Special Commentary on what is known as “The Butterfly Effect.” Here is a brief definition followed by what I believe it means for us today: “(In Chaos Theory), the phenomenon whereby a minute localized change in a complex system can have large effects elsewhere.” – ‘Oxford Dictionary,’ Sep. 15, 2022

The Application. The decisions we are making today for Christ, for Donald Trump, for our choice of lifestyle, and for what we think is true and right, will hold staggering and Eternal Consequences for The Eschaton, when Christ Returns to raise the True Church and judge the False Church and the nations.

To state it in the simplest of terms: ‘Get it right Today, and thereby ensure the joy and wonder of all your Tomorrow’s – Forever and Ever.’ Selah.

Ever your servant, DK

YOUTUBE VIDEO