Why believe the end times are near?
This study follows a pre-tribulation line of thought, which is that the rapture will happen before the start of the tribulation, as it is written in Revelation 3:10:
“Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.”
What signs were prophesied for us to know the time?
Matthew 24 shows in detail the signs that would precede the end:
5 – “… many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.”
6 – “… wars and rumours of wars…”
7 – “… famines, and plagues, and earthquakes in various places.”
8 – “But all these things are the beginning of sorrows.”
9 – “… they will deliver you over to be tormented, and they will kill you; and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.”
10 – “… many will be offended, and will betray and hate one another.”
11 – “And many false prophets will arise, and will deceive many.”
12 – “And because iniquity will abound, the love of many will grow cold.”
Does this sound like something we are living through today?
The Parable of the Fig Tree
In the same chapter 24 of Matthew, Jesus speaks about the fig tree:
32 – “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.
33 – Likewise, when you see all these things, know that it is near, at the very doors.
34 – Truly I tell you, this generation (that of the fig tree) will not pass away until all these things have happened.”
Who is the fig tree?
The fig tree in the parable represents Israel.
The nation of Israel ceased to exist in 70 AD, after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman Empire, under Titus.
This was also the moment of the fulfilment of another part of Jesus’ prophecy in Matthew 24:2, which says:
“Do you not see all these things? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another, which will not be thrown down.”
Jesus was referring to the destruction of the temple, as the disciples were marvelling at the grandeur of the construction.
Since then, the people of Israel have been scattered throughout the world, fulfilling various prophecies of the Old Testament. Here are some from Deuteronomy 28:
62 – “And you shall be left few in number…”
63 – “… and you will be uprooted from the land which you are entering to possess.”
64 – “And the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other; and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known—wood and stone.”
65 – “And not even among these nations will you find rest…”
68 – “And the Lord will bring you back to Egypt in ships […] and there you shall be sold as male and female slaves to your enemies; but no one will buy you.”
Everything written was fulfilled, including this detail about returning to Egypt for slavery.
However, God already had the entire plan of redemption prepared even before the foundation of the world, as Paul tells the Ephesians in chapter 1, verse 4:
“Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.”
The Fig Tree Generation
Returning to the question of the generation, we know that its lifespan is 70 to 80 years, as Moses says in Psalm 90, verse 10:
“The days of our lives are 70 years; and if by reason of strength they are 80 years, yet their boast is only labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.”
This is a very important point for this study. Keep it in your heart.
Israel’s 70 Years
On 14 May 1948, the State of Israel was created. Here is the final part of the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel:
“Placing our trust in the Rock of Israel, we affix our signatures to this proclamation at this session of the Provisional State Council, on the soil of the homeland, in the city of Tel Aviv, on this Sabbath eve, the 5th of Iyar, 5708 (14 May 1948).”
As it could not be otherwise, this is the perfect fulfilment of a famous prophecy recorded in Isaiah 66:8, which says:
“Who has ever heard of such a thing? Who has ever seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labour than she gives birth to her children.”
Israel completed 70 years in 2018. From that point, we entered one of the most important prophetic periods in human history.
According to this line of thought, the time limit for the fig tree generation to see all these things happen, as Jesus said, would be until 14 May 2028, when Israel will turn 80 years old.
Therefore, if the fig tree generation sees all that has been described, we can expect these things to happen before our very eyes.
Important notice: No one knows the day or the hour, as Jesus has clearly informed. Therefore, our role is to keep watching, discerning the times! Keep reading, there’s more on this.
Who will be taken in the rapture?
John 3:16 – “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.”
1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 – “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.”
Romans 10:12-13 – “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich to all who call upon Him. For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Listen to the song below before continuing with your reading.
Adopted Sons
Now, if God’s people are the Jewish people, by what right do we, who are not Jews, say that we are going to heaven to live eternally in the glorious presence of the God of Israel?
Ephesians 1:5 says: “He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will…”
The Word of God clearly tells us that He wants to save us. Hallelujah!
Proof of Deliverance from Wrath
Revelation 3:10: “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.”
Luke 21:36 – “Watch therefore, and pray always, that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
1 Thessalonians 5:9 – “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Jeremiah 30:7 – “… it will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it.”
*Note: The prophet says, “for Jacob,” not for the Church, as it did not yet exist and should not be here during the tribulation.
Jeremiah 30:11 – “I am with you, declares the Lord, and will save you. Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you but only in due measure; I will not let you go entirely unpunished.”
*Note: This is a sign that the Jewish people, who do not recognise Jesus as the Saviour, will go through the tribulation, so that they may recognise the sacrifice of the true Lamb of God for the remission of sins.
More on Jews and Gentiles…
In Deuteronomy 32:21, Moses sings a song that says:
“They made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols. I will make them jealous by those who are not a people…”
This shows that the Jewish people, during the tribulation, will recognise that the Church was right to accept Jesus Christ as the Saviour, thus feeling jealous of them (of those who are not God’s people).
Parable of the Wedding Feast Invitation
Another interesting point about the Jewish people and the Gentiles (non-Jews) is in Matthew 22:1-14.
Jesus speaks of a king who celebrated his son’s wedding feast. He sent servants (the prophets) to call the invited guests, but they paid little heed and went about their business.
Then the king ordered the servants to go out into the streets, calling everyone they found to come and take part in the wedding feast, for everything was already prepared.
In this way, the hall was filled, but there was one without wedding clothes.
When the king questioned why he was not properly prepared, he was left speechless.
Then the king ordered him to be thrown out, for he had no right to be there and had tried to enter by force, by his own means.
Verse 14 ends by saying: “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
And Jesus said in John 10:9 – “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”
The Parable of the 10 Virgins
The text is in Matthew 25:1-13 and shows 5 foolish virgins and 5 wise ones, all going to meet the bridegroom.
Since the bridegroom was delayed, they all fell asleep. Five had not prepared with a reserve of oil, and five had properly prepared for the important moment.
At midnight, a shout was heard that the bridegroom was coming. They all heard the alert, but only the wise ones could accompany the bridegroom, for they were as they should be, prepared.
What does this wedding mean?
In the tradition of the Galileans, to whom Jesus was explaining in this way, the bridegroom and bride would prepare for about a year for the wedding, but with no set date or time. Only one person knew the exact moment when the wedding would begin: the bridegroom’s father.
The bridegroom would prepare a place for the bride in his father’s house. The bride, in turn, was to be ready to be collected at any moment.
When they met, the bride was lifted up and went “flying” to the house of the bridegroom and his father; she did not walk. This is clearly another image of the rapture.
About this, Jesus said: “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:2-3)
And also: “… those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut.” (Matthew 25:10)
After the feast began, which lasted 7 days, no one went in and no one went out. The chosen ones who heard the call were there.
No one knows the day or the hour
Much is said about the day and hour of the rapture, exactly as in the parable of the 10 virgins. In fact, if this moment were clearly defined in the Bible, there would be no room for speculation. We need to read the Scriptures and stay alert, focusing our lives on the One who saved us, Jesus Christ.
At the end of the parable, Jesus says in verse 13:
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour when the Son of Man will come.”
This is the reason why a precise date cannot be set. However, the Lord Jesus himself ordered us to be sober, watchful, and attentive to all these signs that we see being fulfilled today.
In fact, nothing else is missing, exactly as He said!
The Feasts of the Lord – Rehearsal for Redemption
Jesus, when he came into the world among the people of Israel, fulfilled in himself 4 of the 7 Jewish feasts. They are the solemnities of the Lord, holy convocations, each occurring at its appointed time:
1 – Passover: A lamb was killed as a sacrifice to the Lord, commemorating the departure of God’s people from Egypt (Leviticus 23:4-8).
Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was carried out during the Feast of Passover, becoming the perpetual, perfect, final sacrifice.
After the sacrifice of the Passover lamb, each family marked the door of their house with the blood so that they would be saved from wrath before it came.
This is also an important point for the rapture before the tribulation: those marked with the blood had already guaranteed deliverance. While they were with the lamb, celebrating, the wicked were at the same time going through suffering.
2 – Unleavened Bread: Immediately after Passover, the people ate unleavened bread for 7 days, remembering the hasty departure from Egypt, without time for the bread to rise (Exodus 12:34).
The leaven here also represents sin. In this case, Jesus is the unleavened bread, without sin.
About the leaven, Jesus said in Matthew 16:6: “… Be careful, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” This was their doctrine, which did not bring salvation.
Again, a detail about the rapture: the people left “in haste,” being quickly removed from the land of slavery (Exodus 12:33).
3 – First Fruits: This was the beginning of the harvest and represented a time of great joy and gratitude to the Lord (Leviticus 23:9-14).
Jesus was resurrected as the first fruits of those who sleep (1 Corinthians 15:20), also taking some who were resurrected with Him to the Father (Matthew 27:51-53).
Once again, we see the representation of the rapture: the dead will rise first, and then we who are alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will be forever with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
4 – Pentecost, or Feast of Weeks: Leviticus 23:15-25 deals with this, which is considered the current feast, in which the Church is, and it represents the end of the harvest.
It was a period of 50 days, counted from the previous feast (7 weeks and one more day).
In verse 22, the Lord commands that when making the harvest, a Jew should leave the corners of the field and the fallen ears of corn for the poor and the stranger to gather. He adds: “I am the Lord your God,” showing that He cares for everyone, regardless of wealth or nationality.
This is reflected in Acts 2:1-13, which relates the moment when, during the Feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon those who were gathered in prayer, so that they spoke in various tongues.
In other words, God, by his power, first reversed the arrogance (Genesis 11:1-9) of those who built the Tower of Babel (they spoke in various tongues, but without understanding), and then enabled his servants to declare his glory in any and every language.
This is the Church, which declares Jesus Christ as Saviour to all nations, tribes, peoples, and languages (Revelation 7:9).
Ephesians 1:13-14 – “In whom you also, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and having believed in him, were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”
Note that the Holy Spirit is the seal that guarantees the salvation of the one who believes, until the moment of taking possession of the inheritance (eternal life).
Furthermore, considering that the Church began at Pentecost, it becomes even clearer that it could end at the next feast.
2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 – “… only He who now restrains will do so, until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will destroy with the breath of His mouth…”
The text refers to the antichrist being held back by the Holy Spirit.
As the time of the Church ends (the end of the Feast of Pentecost), the next feast comes, that of Trumpets.
5 – Trumpets: Here, the Jewish civil New Year begins, with the sounding of a trumpet, a holy convocation (Leviticus 23:24).
The New Year in Hebrew is called Rosh Hashanah and the sound of the trumpet is the warning to announce the Day of Atonement, the next feast.
The correlation with the rapture here is very strong due to the sounding of the trumpet:
1 Corinthians 15:52 – “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
6 – Day of Atonement: After the Feast of Trumpets (Rapture?), the people would have a new holy convocation, but this time, for the affliction of souls (tribulation?), as Leviticus 23:27 says.
Note that the Feast of Trumpets lasts up to 3 days (from sunset on the previous day to nightfall on the following day); and the Day of Atonement is on the tenth day. Therefore, 7 days from the end of one feast to the other (from the Rapture to the Judgment, following this reasoning).
Could these 7 days be equivalent to the period of the tribulation, culminating in judgment?
7 – Tabernacles: This remembers the period when the Israelites lived in tents in the desert, after leaving Egypt, while they were on their way to the Promised Land (Leviticus 23:43).
This verse also ends with “I am the Lord your God,” showing the sovereignty of God in His eternal kingdom.
The prophetic fulfilment of this feast may be the millennial reign of Christ on Earth, together with His saints. This is a defined, temporary time (tents, tabernacles), before the creation of the new heavens and new earth, which will be the eternal dwelling place of the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:1-2).
It can also represent the eternal kingdom, as verse 3 says: “… Now the dwelling of God is with men…”
As we have seen, the feasts ordained by the Lord himself for the people of Israel show the stages of redemption.
It is clear from Genesis that God’s main objective with creation is to be present (Genesis 3:8), to have a relationship (Genesis 2:18), and to have closeness and intimacy with his people (Isaiah 59:1).
With sin, this is not possible, as verse 2 in Isaiah in the same chapter says: “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”
Daniel 8:19 says: “… Behold, I will make you know what will happen in the latter time of the wrath; for it refers to the appointed time of the end.”
Now, the term “appointed time” is exactly the same one used by the Lord to refer to the feasts.
Leviticus 23:4 – “These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times.”
Thus, it is clear that the Lord ordained the feasts to demonstrate the events of the end, and therefore, we can know that the next feast to be fulfilled, prophetically, is that of the trumpets.
Again, this does not exclude all the other days of the year for us to expect the Rapture of the Church to happen. Keep watching!
Peace and Security
1 Thessalonians 5:3-4 – “For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them… But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that this Day should overtake you as a thief.”
And verse 6 continues: “Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.”
We, the saved in Christ, will not be caught by surprise, for we are watching and awaiting His glorious appearance in the clouds, where we will meet Him.
This is related to the peace agreement that the antichrist will confirm with many for one week (Daniel 9:27).
The recent peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (Abraham Accords, 2020) may not be the agreement the Word speaks of, although it is clear that it may be a precursor to the final pact.
The detail about what Daniel says is that the agreement will be confirmed, made greater, indicating that it would refer to an agreement made previously.
Since then, other meetings have been held to expand the first agreement to include other Arab nations.
Daniel 9:27: “Then he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week…”
According to Ezekiel 38:11, the Lord shows us that the nation of Israel, after being gathered from among all the nations of the earth, will live in safety, without the need for walls or locks on the gates.
In other words, Israel will enjoy peace, security, and prosperity, just before the coalition of enemies attacks its territory quickly and violently, coming from the north.
It is interesting to note that the “Abraham Accords,” recently signed, reinforce exactly these 3 items: peace, security, and prosperity.
Good News!
Despite the entire world being in chaos (and it will get worse), the blessed hope remains alive and stronger every moment, the closer that great day of the Rapture of the Church of Christ (Titus 2:13) approaches, fulfilling the salvation declared by the Lord God, from the beginning of creation.
The plan of Salvation was revealed in the Word of God. Accept Jesus as your Saviour today! Today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2)!
Salvation for the saints was already prepared so that we could live in the expectation of eternal life in the presence of the Lord.
Matthew 25:46 – “And these shall go into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
What can you do?
If you want to receive Christ as your Lord and Saviour, say the following prayer:
“Lord, I surrender my life to You and repent of all my sins, known and unknown. I now believe that Jesus came into the world, was killed on the cross for my sins, was buried, but was resurrected on the third day and is seated at the right hand of God. I pray that the Lord will use me for the praise of Your glory and, from today, that I will have eternal life, in the name of Jesus. Amen.”
Jesus Christ is the Saviour! And remember…
John 3:16 says:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
More Resources
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