PRÉCIS ON THE DAY THE EARTH SHOOK AND THE SUN WAS DARK: AFTERTHOUGHTS OF APRIL 8, 2024

SCRIPTURE. “But keep alert at all times [be attentive and ready], praying that you may have the strength and ability [to be found worthy and] to ‘escape’ all these things that are going to take place, and to stand in the presence of the Son of Man [at His coming].” – LUKE 21:36, AMP

KEY IDEA: “KEEP ALERT!” From Greek root words, ‘Agrupneó’ [ ἀγρυπνέω]: “To be sleepless, i.e., ‘to keep awake, or keep watch;’ especially, remaining extremely watchful, careful; ‘staying vigilant’ without taking unnecessary time away from one’s duty; to be circumspect, ‘attentive [to the signs of the times’]; fully ready; signifies a state untouched by any slumberous or beclouding influences, and thence, one that is guarded against advances of drowsiness or bewilderment; a term for wariness (cf. νᾶφε καί μέμνασ’ ἀπίστειν) against spiritual dangers and beguilements.” 

QUOTATION. “Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), ‘be vigilant and cautious at all times;’ for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour.” – PETER THE APOSTLE, Book 1, Chapter 5, verse 8; Amplified translation

COMMENTARY. “‘Christ tells his disciples to observe the signs of the times, which they might judge by.’ He charges them to look upon the ruin of the Jewish nation as near [penned c. 60 AD]. Yet this race and family of Abraham shall not be rooted out; it shall survive as a nation, and be found as prophesied, when the Son of Man shall be revealed.

‘He cautions them against being secure and sensual.’ This command is given to all Christ’s disciples: ‘Take heed to yourselves, that ye be not overpowered by temptations, nor betrayed by your own corruptions.’ We cannot be safe, if we are carnally secure. Our danger is, lest the day of Death and of Judgment should come upon us when we are not prepared. Lest, when we are called to meet our Lord, that be the furthest from our thoughts, which ought to be nearest our hearts. For so it will come upon the most of men, who dwell upon the earth, and mind earthly things only, and have no converse with heaven. It will be a terror and a destruction to them.

‘Here see what should be our aim, that we may be accounted worthy to escape all those things.’ That when the Judgements of God are abroad, we may not be in the Common Calamity, or it may not be that to us which it is to others. Do you ask how you may be found worthy to stand before Christ at that day? Those who never yet sought Christ, let them now go unto Him; those who never yet were humbled for their sins, let them now begin; those who have already begun, let them go forward and be kept humbled.

‘Watch therefore, and pray always!’ Watch against sin! Watch in every duty, and make the most of every opportunity to do good. Pray always! Those shall be accounted worthy to live a life of praise in the other world, who live a life of prayer in this world. May we begin, employ, and conclude attending Christ’s Word, obeying His Precepts, and following His example, that whenever He Comes we may be found watching.” – MATTHEW HENRY, Exposition of the Old and New Testaments, 6 vols., 1708-1710; edited

DK. There is a mountain of Theology and Eschatology in this passage, and the key to all of it is found in the term, “ESCAPE.” This Promise from Christ Himself is defined by the Greek word, ‘Ekpheugó’ [ἐκφεύγω]: “To flee away, flee out of or from; to seek or find safety in flight; to flee from and avoid; to get out of the way; to shun; to obtain security from; to pass without harm; as, to escape danger.”

There are THREE POSITIONS on this matter if we reduce the most prevalent Models to Simple Structure.

1. PREMILLENNIAL. This View argues that Christians will not pass through any of the 21 Judgments in the Book of Revelation, positing that the Church is taken out at Chapter 4:1 when the “voice” commands the Apostle to “Come up here!”

• POSTMILLENNIAL. Another nearly totally opposing View is that the Church must endure the entire 21 Judgments detailed in the Book, being Raptured  only at the End of the Tribulation Era of Seven Years (cf. Daniel 9:27).

• PRE-WRATH. A Third View with a few interpretive variations is this one by my account in The Sixth Seal II (2024) based on 1 THESSALONIANS 5:9: “‘For God did not appoint us to wrath,’ but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Its literal meaning is that all true Christians who wait in faithfulness and obedience will endure the First Five Seal Judgments but ‘Escape’ the Trumpet and Bowl Judgments beginning at the Sixth Seal specified in Revelation 6:12-17, when the “Wrath of the Lamb” shall explode upon the whole Earth.

CODA. This is a massive Super Story of course, deserving of a much deeper treatment than that given here. It is the Center of my Book on Revelation mentioned above, and I urge you to consider purchasing one for the full overview of the  Political Eschatology introduced here.

Suffice for now to say, we shall certainly pass through the thick of what Jesus Christ labels as “Birth Pangs” (Ch. 6:1-11), including the Rise of Antichrist, Wars proliferating the planet, Economic Collapse, Plagues and widespread death, and finally, Martyrdom of a limited number of Christians at the brutal hands of the Antichrist.

Therefore: Prepare to ‘endure hardship,’ but Rejoice that you are ‘pardoned from God’s fierce Wrath.’ Selah.