When the end of the world comes according to the Bible - interpretation of prophecies

Bible Questions and Answers

Published 09/06/2011

If you really want to understand when the world will end according to the Bible, then this article is for you. In this article, the author examines the prophecies contained in the New and Old Testaments, then coming to conclusions. Many people want to get the exact date of the end of the world, but let's not rush, but rather take a deeper look at this issue.

When we read passages in the Bible (Gospel of Matthew chapter 24), we can immediately assume that Jesus is talking about His Second Coming and prophecies about the coming of the end of the world. This assumption may be based on the questions that the apostles asked Him, as written in Matthew 24:3 “And while He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately and asked: Tell us, when will this be? and what is the sign of Your coming and the end of the age?” Also, the very wording of answers, such as these, pushes us to this conclusion:

“And suddenly, after the tribulation of those days, the sun will darken, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, 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 see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; and He will send His angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other” (Matthew 24:29-31).

Wow! Jesus must be describing the end of the world, right? Let's not rush to conclusion.

When will the world end according to the Bible?

If we look at the parallel passages in the Gospels of Mark and Luke, we see some differences that can become significant. Let's start with the questions the disciples asked Jesus in those verses and look at the answers He gave them. Let us remember the basic rule of hermeneutics (Bible interpretation) - complex passages should be interpreted in the light of simple passages, and not vice versa. Therefore, it is better to begin with Mark's account, which is written to a pagan audience in Rome, and then continue with Luke's account, which is addressed to a wider circle of pagans. After studying these parallel passages, it will be much easier for us to understand Matthew's account, which is undoubtedly more difficult to interpret. The difficulty is that Matthew uses Jewish terminology to a greater extent, because Jews were his target audience when he wrote his Gospel.

Last fight.

7. When the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, and gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 8. And they went out into the breadth of the earth, and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. 9. And fire fell from heaven from God and consumed them... (Revelation of John the Theologian 20:7-9)

At the end of 1000 years, the devil will be released from the prison in which he was placed after the Battle of Armageddon and will begin to deceive people again. And no matter how surprising it may be, people who lived in a perfect kingdom, where God himself rules, where there is prosperity, peace, no diseases, well, in a word, everything is perfect, many will still be dissatisfied. And the devil will gather them for the last battle, it is written that their number is like the sand of the sea, I think we can easily assume that there will be millions or even hundreds of millions of them. I can’t understand how a person who lives in an ideal world is still dissatisfied!?

I think the outcome of the battle is clear to all of us: God won, the devil has already been thrown into the lake of fire forever, and people who did not believe and did not accept Jesus are going to trial.

Mark chapter 13 and Matthew chapter 24 - parallel passages

So, we begin with Mark 13, the text of which we present below to make it easier to understand the specifics of the passage.

And when He left the temple, one of his disciples said to Him: Teacher! look at the stones and the buildings! Jesus Christ answered him: Do you see these great buildings? all this will be destroyed, so that not one stone will remain here upon another. And when He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew asked Him privately: tell us, when will this happen, and what is the sign when all this should happen?

Answering them, Jesus began to say: Beware that no one deceives you, for many will come in My name and say that it is I; and they will deceive many. When you hear about wars and rumors of war, do not be dismayed: for [this] must happen, but [it] is not the end yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be earthquakes in places, and there will be famines and turmoil. This is the beginning of illness. But take heed to yourselves, for you will be handed over to courts of justice and beaten in the synagogues, and you will be presented before rulers and kings for My sake, as a testimony before them. And the Gospel must first be preached to all nations.

When they lead you to betray you, do not worry in advance what to say to you, and do not think about it; but whatever is given to you in that hour, then speak, for it is not you who will speak, but the Holy Spirit. Brother will betray brother to death, and father will betray his children; and the children will rise up against their parents and kill them. And you will be hated by everyone because of My name; he who endures to the end will be saved.

When you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing where it should not be - let the reader understand - then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains; But if anyone is on the housetop, do not go into the house or enter to take anything from your house; and whoever is in the field, do not turn back to take your clothes.

Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who suckle in those days. Pray that your flight will not happen in winter. For in those days there will be such tribulation as there has not been since the beginning of creation, which God created, even to this day, nor will there ever be. And if the Lord had not shortened those days, no flesh would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect whom He chose He shortened those days.

Then, if someone tells you: behold, here is Christ, or, behold, there, do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. You must be careful. Behold, I told you everything in advance.

But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will darken, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with much power and glory. And then He will send His angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

Take a similar example from a fig tree: when its branches become soft and put out leaves, you know that summer is near. So when you see something coming true, know that it is close, at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things happen. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

No one knows about that day or hour, neither the heavenly angels, nor the Son, but only the Father. Watch, watch, pray, for you do not know when this time will come. It is as if someone, going on a journey and leaving his home, gave his servants authority and each his own business, and ordered the gatekeeper to watch. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the owner of the house will come: in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning; 36 Lest he come suddenly and find you sleeping. But what I say to you, I say to everyone: stay awake. (Gospel of Mark 1:1-37)

Here we can see that Mark records two questions of the apostles, and not three, as Matthew does. Jesus predicted the destruction of the temple, in response to which the apostles asked: “When will this happen? And what will be the sign that all this will happen soon? They had a question about time (when will this happen?) and a question about signs (how to understand that this will happen soon?). Both questions refer to the events of the destruction of the temple that Jesus predicted. In Mark's version, the second coming or the end of the world is not mentioned by the apostles.

The events preceding these comments are Jesus' observations at the end of Mark 12 concerning the poor widow. She placed her last coins in the temple treasury. Jesus wanted to make sure that the disciples did not miss the lesson that the widow had taught them by example. So he called the disciples and said to them: Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all those who put into the treasury, for everyone put in out of their abundance, but out of her poverty she put in all that she had, all her food (Gospel of Mark 12 :43-44). Not only were they apparently not shocked by what He said, but they felt the need to correct Him by subtle hint. “And when He left the temple, one of his disciples said to Him: “Teacher! look at the stones and the buildings!” (Gospel of Mark 13:1) Luke describes this event even more clearly - they wanted Jesus to remember that the temple was built with the help of the donations of the rich, and not with the pennies of poor widows. This led Jesus to predict the complete destruction of the temple in the not too distant future. Material things may be very impressive to people (even to supposedly spiritual people), but they mean absolutely nothing to the King of glory! We cannot afford to omit this lesson when trying to understand a difficult passage of Scripture.

Jesus begins to answer the apostles' two questions by recounting events that are not signs of the impending destruction of the temple. These are the appearances of false Christs (verses 6-13). These are wars and revolutions (verses 7-8). These are natural disasters (verse 8). These are persecutions and persecutions (verses 9-13). Then, beginning in verse 14, He moves on to what will be a sign of the imminent destruction of the temple. The first thing He mentions is the “abomination that makes desolate.” This sounds like something scary, doesn't it? – like something similar to the end of the world. But if Jesus were really describing His Second Coming and the end of the world here, then the warnings in the following verses simply would not make sense. When Jesus returns, how could anyone want to go back to their home to get a coat or anything else, and where would they find the time to do so? In another passage that apparently describes the Second Coming, we see that everything related to the return of Christ will happen quickly - and just very quickly!

“Listen, I will tell you this secret truth: we will not all die, but we will all be changed in the twinkling of an eye when the last trumpet sounds. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will rise incorruptible, and the rest will be transformed.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)

The blink of an eye will not be enough to start descending from the roof, and you certainly won’t be bothered by the weather, whether it’s winter or not! Jesus Christ spoke about a great disaster, and He advised to flee from it. No man will be able to escape when Christ returns and the end of the world comes. Notice in verse 20 it says that the Lord is going to shorten those days of trouble. When God sent the Roman army to destroy the temple and all of Jerusalem in 70 AD, He actually shortened those days to protect the Christians of Jerusalem and Judah. During the siege of the city, which lasted almost a year, the Roman general Cestius Gallus returned to Caesarea for a larger army. This break in the battle allowed the Christians, who understood Jesus' prophecy, to leave the city. Josephus, a Jewish historian and eyewitness to what happened, says that they fled from Jerusalem, while other Jews remained in the city with the determination to fight until their death (and so they died). Jesus then moves on to the question of when all this will happen (verses 24-32). Here Jesus is using what we call "apocalyptic" language, He is using symbols to describe this time of upheaval. However, this passage is likely to be misunderstood and misinterpreted by someone unfamiliar with this type of language in the Old Testament. For those familiar with the books of the OT, it is clear that this type of symbolic language was often used to describe God's judgment of the nations. We should take the time to give a few examples to make sure this point is clear.

Armageddon / Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

13. And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs: 14. These are demonic spirits that perform signs; they go out to the kings of the earth throughout the universe to gather them for battle on that great day of God Almighty. 15. Behold, I come as a thief: blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his robe, lest he walk naked, and lest they see his shame. 16. And he gathered them to a place called in Hebrew Armageddon. (Revelation of John the Evangelist 16:13-16)

My opinion: (I assume that this will most likely happen, but this is not a fact) when people experience all the judgments of God (and there will be many of them, one after another), people, as always, will want to find someone to blame for “their troubles . And at this time, their super leader will be furious in destroying the Jewish people and he will point them to a “scapegoat” , saying that all your troubles are through the Jews (as has happened many times in world history). And then all the armies of the world will begin to gather to go to war against Israel, and at the moment when this army is about to destroy Israel, Jesus will come with his heavenly army.

“The kings of the earth from all over the world” will unite through the activities of the infernal trinity (the devil, the Antichrist, the false prophet) in a battle called “the war of that great day of the Almighty God” :

This battle will take place in the valley called Armageddon (Rev. 16:16). Mount Megiddo, located west of the Jordan River in north-central Palestine a few tens of kilometers south of Nazareth and about 30 kilometers inland from the Mediterranean coast, was in the wide plain of Ezdraelon, on which many Israeli battles took place.

Here God will bring judgment on the nations for their persecution of Israel (Joel 3:2) , for their sinfulness (Rev. 19:15) and for their ungodliness (Rev. 16:9) .

In general terms, it is generally accepted that the battle of Armageddon is a separate event that will take place right before the second coming of Christ to earth. But the magnitude of this event can only be seen when it is realized that this will not just be a single battle, but most likely a military campaign that will culminate in the gathering for the final battle at Armageddon at the second coming.

Armageddon participants. Four major world powers will take part in this battle:

1. A union of ten kingdoms under the rule of the Beast; this union will be the final form of the last world empire;
2. Northern Alliance (possibly Russia and its allies);
3. Kings from the east, Asian peoples from beyond the Euphrates;
4. King from the South, (possibly a North African power;)
5. The Lord and the heavenly army.

Results of the Armageddon War.

• The armies of the beast will be defeated by the Lord at the second coming; (Rev. 19:21)
• The Beast and the False Prophet will be thrown into the lake of fire (Rev. 19:20) ;
• Satan bound (Rev.20:2)

The End of the World: Help from the Old Testament

“The day of the Lord is near, weep and be sad, the time will come and the enemy will take your wealth. God Almighty will accomplish all this, 7 and the people, having lost their courage, will be weakened by fear. 8 Everyone will be horrified and will cower in fear from pain in the stomach, like a woman during childbirth. Faces will be red as fire, and, looking at each other, people will be surprised by the fear on their faces. 9 Look, the terrible day of the Lord is coming, it will be terrible, God will be angry and, having destroyed the country, will force sinners to leave it. 10 The sky will be black, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars will shine. 11 The Lord says: “I will send trouble into the world, I will punish evil and sins, I will deprive the proud of their pride, I will stop the boasting of those who oppress others. 12 I will make sure that there will be fewer people than gold! They will be more expensive than the purest gold! 13 My wrath will shake the heavens, and the earth will move.” This will happen on the day when the Lord Almighty shows His wrath.” (Isaiah 13:6-13).

Notice in verse 1 of Isaiah 13 all this is said against Babylon centuries before the birth of Christ. Prophecy about Egypt:

“Look, the Lord is coming on a swift cloud, the Lord will enter Egypt, and all the false gods will tremble with fear. Egypt was brave, but its courage will melt away like wax.” (Isaiah 19:1).

“The Lord is angry with all nations and all armies, He will destroy them all, He has destined their destruction. Their bodies will be thrown away, a stench will rise from their corpses, and their blood will flow through the mountains. The heavens will curl up into a scroll, and all the stars will fall, like the leaves of a vineyard or a fig tree, the stars will melt down to one. The Lord says: “This will happen when My sword in heaven is covered with blood. Behold, My sword will cut Edom apart, it will fall on the people whom I have chosen to do justice.” For the Lord decided that the time had come for punishment for Bozher and Edom. And rams, bulls and bulls will be killed, the earth will be filled with their blood, and their fat will be mixed with mud. For the Lord chose the time for punishment, chose the year of reckoning for what they did to Zion." (Isaiah 34:2-8).

From the Resurrection to the Rapture.

16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17. For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. (Holy Gospel of John 3:16,17)

Jesus came to earth approximately 2000 years ago, was born of the Virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, was crucified on the cross for the sins of all people, was resurrected and ascended to heaven. Now, thanks to His sacrifice, everyone who believes in Jesus will come to Him in repentance and accept Jesus as their personal Savior - salvation is freely given, and the opportunity to spend eternity with God in heaven.

This period of time is called: the time of grace, the time of the Church, the era of the Holy Spirit, the last time. This is the time from the moment of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our days, and we still don’t know how many days, years until the Rapture of the Church to heaven.

All this time, forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ and the opportunity to be among the Church that will be in heaven are available to any person on earth.

Also passages from the Bible: John. 6:40-47, John 11:25-26, John 20:31, Acts 4:11-12, Acts 16:30-31, Gal. 2:16, Eph. 2:8-9.

Luke 21 is the second parallel with Matthew 24

Luke describes these events even more generally and simply than Mark does. As stated earlier, He is a Gentile writing for Gentiles, and He simplifies quite a few things for His readers. He is certainly the least “Jewish” of all the authors in both his writing style and terminology, which will greatly help us in understanding this special passage of Scripture. To make it easier to follow the thought, let's recapitulate Jesus' words as Luke recorded them.

“Jesus looked around and saw the rich putting gifts into the offering box, 2 and a poor widow putting in two small coins. 3 “Truly I say,” He said, “this poor widow put in more than anyone else, 4 for they all put in out of abundance, but out of her poverty she put in all that she had to live on.”

5 Some of the disciples said about the temple: “This temple is beautiful, it is built of the best stone, and in it are many gifts offered to God,” and He said: 6 “The days will come when what you see here will not remain stone on stone. Everything will be destroyed."

7 “Master, They asked, when will this be? And what will be the sign before this should happen?”

8 He replied, “Beware that you are not deceived, for many will come in My name and say, “I am the Christ,” or “The time has come.” But don't follow them. 9 And when you hear about wars and disturbances, do not be alarmed, for all these things must happen first, and only then will the end come.”

10 Then He said to them, “Nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 And there will be great earthquakes, famines, diseases and various other disasters in many places, and terrible phenomena, and there will be great signs from heaven.

12 But before all this, you will be seized and persecuted in every way: for My sake you will be judged in the synagogues, thrown into prison, and you will be forced to answer before kings and rulers. 13 This will be for you to testify about Me. 14 Therefore, be determined not to think ahead about what to answer, 15 for I will give you wisdom and put such words in your mouth that none of your opponents will be able to resist you or refute you. 16 But you will be betrayed by your parents, and by your brothers, and by your relatives, and by your friends. And some of you will be killed, 17 and you will all be hated because of My name. 18 Not a hair of your head will fall, for 19 through patience you save your souls.”

20 “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, know that its destruction is near. 21 Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains, those in the city must leave it, and those in the villages must not enter the city, 22 for these will be days of punishment, when everything that is written will be fulfilled. 23 Woe in those days to those who are pregnant and nursing, for there will be great trouble on the earth, and the wrath of God will fall on this people. 24 And they will fall by the sword, and they will be led captives to other nations; and the Gentiles will trample Jerusalem under their feet until their time is fulfilled.”

25 “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon and in the stars, and on the earth there will be despair of the nations and confusion from the roar and turbulence of the sea. 26 People will be weakened by fear and horror of the disasters that are coming to the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. 27 Then they will see the Son of Man carried on a cloud in all his power and great glory. 28 And when all this begins to come true, do not be afraid, but lift up your heads, for your deliverance is near.”

29 And He told them a parable: “Look at the trees, such as the fig tree: 30 when they turn green, you know that summer is near. 31 Likewise, when you see that what I have spoken is coming true, you will know that the kingdom of God is at hand.

32 Truly I say, all this will happen before the generation now living dies. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.”

34 “But be careful that your minds are not dulled by revelry, drunkenness and the cares of life, so that this day does not take you by surprise like a trap, for 35 it will overtake everyone who lives on the earth. 36 But watch at all times and pray that you may be able to escape what is coming and to stand before the Son of Man.” (Gospel of Luke 21:1-36).

The order of events is approximately the same as in Mark 13. Jesus first praises the poor widow, after which the apostles remind Him of the beauty of the temple and how it was built with the help of donations from the rich. Jesus says that the temple will be destroyed, and Luke records two questions from the apostles regarding the signs and timing of this happening. The sequence of dialogue in Luke is very similar to that in Mark, so we will not go back to it in detail. But some things are a little different and will help us better understand what Jesus was talking about. Both of the apostles' questions relate to what Jesus just spoke about - the destruction of the temple. If this were about the Second Coming, Theophilus, the one to whom the book of Luke (1:3) is addressed, probably would not have understood it. The sign will not be the appearance of false Christs (verse 8); wars and revolutions (verse 9); natural disasters (verses 10-11); persecution (verses 12-19).

The twentieth verse in Luke makes simple and clear what the other gospels describe as “the abomination caused by desolation.” In the Synodal translation, such passages sound like “the abomination of desolation,” and this phrase is often used in speculation about the “end of the world.” It is probably impossible to provide any greater clarity than Luke did. He writes: “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by troops, know that its destruction is near.” Jesus goes on to warn about the need to flee and be saved when the armies reach Jerusalem. From this comment He switches to what will still be a sign of all this. And in symbolic language He continues the description of the great revolution - God's judgment against the Jews and Jerusalem. Next comes the parable of the fig tree and the indication that all this will happen in one generation. Finally, Jesus encourages us to watch for the signs and live accordingly—righteously and lightly (verses 34-36).

Millennium Kingdom.

4. And I saw thrones and those sitting on them, to whom judgment had been given, and the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received the mark on their foreheads or on their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. 6. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection: the second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years. (Revelation of John the Evangelist 20:4-6)

You can write a lot about the thousand-year kingdom, there are many verses in the Bible that talk about the 1000-year kingdom, I will try to briefly talk about the main points.

• We don’t know for sure whether it will be literally 1000 years or perhaps figuratively; many theologians conclude that it will be literally 1000 years.
• In the 1000-year kingdom, Jesus Christ will reign with the Church.
• Since Jesus Christ himself will be the ruler on earth, there will be no wars or cataclysms on earth, people will live in peace, justice and economic prosperity, there will be a fair trial and there will be no corruption, there will be no curse.
• In the 1000-year kingdom, all the promises that God made for the people of Israel, the patriarchs of Israel, will be fulfilled. This refers to all the promises given by God to people and prophecies that are written in the Bible and have not yet been fulfilled.
• Nature will be changed.
• During the period of the 1000-year kingdom there will be no devil, it will be a world full of the presence of God, but this is not heaven, this is still earth, so not all people will be perfect and without sin.

Matthew 24 is a very Jewish passage.

Let's get right to the heart of the questions asked in Matthew. Was Jesus actually asked three questions, or did Matthew record the same two questions as in Mark and Luke, but using Jewish traditions? Now the last option seems more obvious, doesn’t it? When we read the “sign of Your return” in verse three, we should note that the Greek word “parousias” translated “return” also has a broader meaning - presence. Readers familiar with the traditions of the Jews might perceive these words as describing the approaching judgment (as we read about it in the Old Testament in Isaiah 19:1). In fact, in Matthew 16:28 the author speaks of another return of Jesus, which cannot be what we call the Second Coming. “Truly I say, some of you who are here now will see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom before you die!” (Gospel of Matthew 16:28). Obviously, not all the comings of God or Jesus were associated with the end of the world. We can also look at Luke 19:44 “…the time when God came to save you” - a very contextually clear reference to the destruction of the temple in 70 AD.

What then to do with the “end of the world?” The Greek word used here for “light” is “aiwnos,” not “kosmos,” which means “the whole world.” The same phrase is used in Matthew 28:20. Whatever Jesus meant in Matthew 24, it is perhaps obvious that the disciples themselves were at that time unable to ask Him questions about His Second Coming. They could not fit into their consciousness the information about His coming death and resurrection, not to mention the “Second Coming” and the “end of the world.” Look at Luke 9:45 and 18:34, where it is clear that their understanding of the imminent death of Christ remained absolutely zero, even when it was directly told to them.

The word “end” here has the same root as the Greek word translated “shall be fulfilled” in Mark 13:4. It also refers to the same event as recorded in Matthew 24:6, 14, where the context suggests the destruction of the city. If the disciples did not ask questions about the Second Coming and the end of the world, then what did they ask? There are two interpretations that are contextually based. First: the disciples could have assumed that such grandiose events would be the end for the Jews (and perhaps for the whole world) - if the Jews (24:34-36) and the temple (24:1-2) were destroyed, then their world would end. . Second: if return is used here in the sense of presence, which was often used by the Greeks of that time to indicate the arrival of a king, the disciples could imagine everything literally: that Jesus would come and fight against Jerusalem, which would lead to the end of the old era and accompany the onset of the new. This idea coincides very precisely with the expectations of the disciples from the Messiah at that time. Anyway, the question “when will all this happen,” as in Luke 21 and Mark 13, refers to the destruction of the temple that Jesus had previously spoken about.

In addition to the differences in the wording of the apostles' main questions, Matthew also adds several points. He mentions betrayal when the love of the majority grows cold (verses 10-12). He also talks about how the gospel will be preached throughout the world before the “end” comes (verse 14). In Colossians 1:6,23 we can see the fulfillment of this prophecy. The coming of Christ will be very obvious in contrast to the appearance of false Christs (verses 26-27). This will happen where the eagles will gather together to devour the carcass of Judaism (verse 28).

Compare this with Hebrews 8:13, 12:25-29. Judaism with its sacrificial system was near its end when all its statements were made and written down.

In verse 29, Jesus uses apocalyptic language to say the phrase, “And immediately after this disaster in those days...” Immediately is a translation of the Greek word “eutheos,” which means immediately or shortly, and apparently refers to the events that will take place in for a short period of time. An attempt to fit the next 2,000 years into this period of time would be fundamentally inconsistent with the meaning of this word. The “sign” in verse 30 is a translation of the Greek “semeion,” which means referring to a symbol of something rather than to the thing itself. In other words, the appearance of the sign of Christ is to be seen in the events He foretold, and not in His personal appearance. “Grieve” in verse 30 is in the passive tense of the future tense, and can also be translated as “I will grieve for them.” Angels Gathering the Elect (verse 31) may refer to the spread of the gospel throughout the world after the destruction of the temple, or to the rescue of the elect from the city before its destruction. Look at the following verses to support this version Deuteronomy 30:4, Psalm 22, Isaiah 27:13, 45:22.

The Gospel of Matthew describes in more detail the need to watch for the signs Jesus foretold than the other gospels. Sinners are contrasted with Noah's example and righteousness (verses 37-39). Noah was not taken by surprise—they were sinners. Thus, the version describing the destruction of Jerusalem makes sense. Jesus says that one will be taken, the other will be abandoned (verses 40-41). The sinner was taken, the righteous was not, because the righteous, believing, fled from the advancing armies. Of course, this text is a favorite of those who teach the doctrine of the "Rapture" - a doctrine with many biblical contradictions - we cannot discuss this doctrine in detail within the scope of our topic. However, we will still consider one contradiction below. The warning to watch continues in verses 45-51.

Remember that the Bible itself was not previously divided into chapters. Since verse 44 is the climax of Jesus' statement, His speech will be more understandable if we also consider chapter 25. Three types of kingdoms are given in chapters 24 and 25: the destroyed kingdom (Judah) - chapter 24; kingdom established on earth (Church) – 25:1-30; and the kingdom for eternity (exalted to the throne of God) – 25:31-46.

The Judgment Seat of Christ and the Wedding Feast.

Does a believer come to judgment or not?

After the rapture, the Church comes to
the Judgment Seat of Christ . There are many disputes here: some say that the Church does not come to judgment, others that it does. Naturally, all opinions are taken from the Bible, but the problem is in a superficial understanding; if you delve into this issue, then everything becomes clear, because the whole point is that there will be two judgments:

1. The trial of the Church is the Judgment Seat of Christ.
2. Judgment of the world (non-believers) – Judgment at the white throne.

Now we will deal with the Judgment Seat of Christ, and in point No. 8 we will talk about the white throne court.

Let's look at two passages from the Bible:

He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the Only Begotten Son of God. (Holy Gospel of John 3:18)

for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what he has done while living in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10).

The first says that a believer does not come to judgment, and the second says that believers need to appear before the judgment seat. This discrepancy is explained quite simply, the whole point is that we read the Bible in translation and when we look at the original Bible, we will see that in places where judgment is spoken of, three different words are used, which were translated into Russian as court or judgment seat (now it is It’s easy to check, search Google for “biblical interlinear translation”, go to any of the sites and check).

Phronos is the throne of the king who pronounces judgment (Revelation 20:11). Krino is a place of judgment, a judge's tribune, a jury bench (1 Cor. 6:2,4,6). Vima - (Rom. 14:10, this passage is interesting because it uses “krino” and “vima” in the same verse). This word was used to name the platform in Greek amphitheaters, on which the head of the arena sat and from this place he awarded the winners. And to this day, athletes are awarded medals on the pedestal for the winners, and this place is never used for disputes and to judge who won and who lost; they go onto the pedestal not for trial, but for awards.

When the Bible speaks of the judgment of the Church, the word "vima" and never "phronos" or "krino". And when the Bible says that believers do not come to judgment, the word “phronos” is there and it means that a believer does not come to judgment at the white throne.

Judgment Seat of Christ.

At this trial, the issue of salvation, eternity in heaven or hell is not decided; here they will not ask about your sins and judge you for them.
If you find yourself in this court, then your eternity has already been decided - FOREVER WITH GOD IN HEAVEN. So what is this court for?

for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what he has done while living in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10).

Let's look at what this Bible verse says:

• The word “will appear” in the ancient Greek “plywood” is translated as: to be revealed, to be revealed, to be revealed, to appear, to be revealed. This means that at this trial the true motives of each believer will be publicly revealed when he performed good deeds and served God on earth.
• Our deeds will be examined, whether they were good or bad (evil). And here the question arises: “how did I get to heaven if my deeds are evil?” And again, it’s all a matter of translation, in the original there are three words that were translated into Russian as evil, bad deeds: “Kakos” and “Poneros” - moral evil (deception, theft, drunkenness, enmity, etc.).
• “Faulon” - unimportance, vanity, obscenity, emptiness, uselessness.

Based on this, we draw a brief conclusion: At this judgment, God will reveal the true motives of our deeds and service to God. And based on our deeds, everyone will receive a reward from God, and those who had no deeds or had bad deeds will not receive a reward. And all eternity that we will spend with God in heaven, some will have rewards, while others will not.

Also passages from the Bible: 1 Cor. 3:10-15, Matthew 12:36, 1 Cor. 9:25, 1 Thessalonians 2:19,20, James 1:12, 2 Timothy 4:7,8, 1 Peter 5:4, Matthew 5:18,19.

Wedding feast.

The Bible describes the relationship between Jesus Christ and the Church as that of a bride and groom (John 3:29, 2 Cor. 11:2, Eph. 5:25-33, Rev. 19:7-8).

At the rapture of the Church, Jesus Christ will appear to her as a groom who takes his bride to him. And there will be a wedding feast in heaven.

7. Let us rejoice and be glad and give glory to Him; For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. 8. And it was given to her to be clothed in fine linen, clean and bright; The fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. 9. And the Angel said to me: Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me: these are the true words of God. (Revelation of John the Evangelist 19:7-9)

Theologians agree that the wedding feast will take place between the rapture of the Church and the second coming of Jesus Christ to earth.

Christian saints often described in detail the events of the apocalypse

Some saints wrote a lot about the end of the world. For example, Ephraim the Syrian described it in detail:

“Gold and silver are scattered in the streets, and no one touches them, because everything is frozen. But everyone is in a hurry to run and hide, and there is nowhere for them to hide from grief; on the contrary, in times of hunger, sorrow and fear, carnivorous animals and reptiles will bite. Fear within, trepidation without; Day and night there are corpses on the streets. The stench in the haystacks, the stench in the houses; hunger and thirst in the fields, hunger and thirst in the houses; the voice of weeping in the haystacks, the voice of weeping in the houses; noise on haystacks, noise in houses. Everyone meets each other with sobs: father and son, and son with father, and mother with daughter. Friends on the streets, hugging friends, end their lives; brothers, hugging brothers, die. The beauty of the face of all flesh fades, and the appearance of people is like that of the dead. Women's beauty became disgusted and hateful. All flesh and human desire will fade away."

And John Chrysostom reflected on the topic of how the Antichrist would manifest himself:

“Who will he [Anitichrist] be? Is it really Satan? No, but there is a certain person who will receive all his power (ένέργεταν). “And it will be revealed,” he says, “the man of sin, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above everything that is called God or that is holy.” He will not lead to idolatry, but will be an opponent of God (άντίθεоς), reject all gods and order to worship himself, instead of God, and will sit in the temple of God - not only in Jerusalem, but everywhere in the churches. “Giving oneself away,” he says, “as God.” He did not say that he would call himself God, but that he would try to show himself as God. He will do great things and show wonderful signs.”

The horrors of the apocalypse culminate in the Last Judgment.
(painting “The Last Judgment” over the hall of St. Isaac’s Cathedral, artist F. Bruni). Photo: cdnimg.rg.ru But no matter what horrors the saints and Holy Scripture promise us, the end of all these events, according to the will of God, will be happy. This is what Saint John of Damascus writes:

“We will be resurrected, since souls will again be united with bodies that will become immortal and put off corruption, and we will appear before the terrible judgment seat of Christ. The devil and his demons, and his man, i.e. Antichrist, the wicked and sinners will be consigned to eternal fire, not material, such as we have, but such as God alone knows. And those who have done good will be enlightened, like the sun, together with the angels in eternal life, with our Lord Jesus Christ, eternally contemplating Him and being themselves contemplated by Him, and enjoying the joy that flows from Him, glorifying Him with the Father and the Holy Spirit to the endless ages of ages.”

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Conclusion!

• All assignments of dates for the end of the world are: deception or delusion of people; no one knows the date.
• The end of the world will not be instantaneous, it is a whole series of events that will happen when they tell you that the end of the world will come soon - it is not true, there is still a long time before the physical destruction of the earth.
• The end of the world can come for each of us at any moment, you died and the “end of the world” has come for you.
• Each person on earth must decide for himself where he wants to “live” after death. Those who believed in Jesus in heaven, those who did not believe in the lake of fire.

I WISH THAT EVERYONE WHO READ THIS ARTICLE WOULD CHOOSE TO SPEND ETERNITY WITH GOD IN HEAVEN.

Snake on the Western Wall

On November 3, 2021, the British edition of The Sun and a number of other information resources reported about a snake that was crawling between the stones of the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The reptile was hunting a pigeon in the women's section of the tourist complex.

However, the event did not cause much of a stir. The Western Wall Heritage Foundation (the official organization responsible for this site of cultural and religious value) issued a statement that the snake, approximately 1 meter long, was found to be non-venomous. The serpentologist specialist who was called caught her without much difficulty, and the incident was over.

But numerous mystics found a special, sacred meaning in this event. As you know, the inhabitants of the Middle East, as well as other lands, in ancient times worshiped animal totems. It was believed that they protect and support people and give them strength. Conspiracy theorists claim that the snake was a symbol of the ancient family from which the legendary kings of the Jewish people, Solomon and David, came. The appearance of their totem animal in the women's section of the Western Wall was interpreted as a sign of impending changes. And the fact that the snake was hunting a dove, which personifies Christian doctrine in various esoteric practices, was perceived by many mystics as evidence of the approaching Apocalypse.

Although, according to some Jewish religious leaders, this event has a positive meaning. It is possible that our civilization will soon undergo a serious transformation, because any changes bring not only troubles, but also a renewal of life. Moreover, the number of the snake (nachash) in traditional numerology is 358, and the word “Messiah” (Moshiach) has the same arithmetic indicator.

The Book of Zohar, to which many Jewish mystics refer, calls our world a kind of opposite of the Garden of Eden. That is, on the sinful earth the snake is not the personification of the forces of Evil. On the contrary, this reptile here means purification and revival of divine holiness.

It is noteworthy that several months ago, immediately after the end of the fast of Tisha Bav, dedicated to mourning the destruction of two Jewish temples, a stone weighing 220 pounds fell from the western part of the Western Wall.

Interpreting this event, conspiracy theorists decided that the centuries-old suffering of the Jewish people was over. Now the long-awaited revival begins, which will mark the imminent appearance of the Third Temple - a mystical religious building that should become evidence of the onset of an era of prosperity and prosperity.

White Throne Judgment.

11. And I saw a great white throne and Him sitting on it, from whose presence heaven and earth fled, and no place was found for them. 12. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged according to what was written in the books, according to their deeds. 13. Then the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and hell gave up the dead that were in them; and each one was judged according to his deeds. 14. Both death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15. And whoever was not written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation of John the Evangelist 20:11-15).

As we remember, there has already been a trial of the Church. The white throne judgment is the judgment of unbelieving people (people who did not believe and accept Jesus Christ. John 3:18 ).

• All people who have lived from the beginning of mankind until the trial itself come to this court.
• At this trial there will be no acquittals, here the verdict will be pronounced: GUILTY (Fronos is the throne of the king, which pronounces the verdict).
• Unfortunately, from this judgment people are sent to the lake of fire forever, where they will suffer forever.

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