“And this Gospel of the Kingdom (of God) will be preached in all the world for a witness (testimony) to the people of all nations, and then  (in the future) the end will come” (Mat. 24:14).  As noted in the previous posting, the Gospel of the Kingdom of God which was the Gospel Jesus preached and commanded His ministers to preach (Mk. 1:14/ Mat. 24:14 ) was not preached to all nations from approximately 90 A.D. until the early 1930’s when Herbert W. Armstrong began preaching God’s message on a local radio station in the western United States.  From that humble beginning his voice became the most prolific fountain of Biblical Truth the world has ever heard.  God’s called and anointed messengers continue to proclaim His Kingdom message and will do so until what is prophesied in Matthew 24:15 comes on the scene–the Great Tribulation, followed by the Day of the Lord.  During the Tribulation/ Day of the Lord time, and possibly before it begins, the Word of God will be neither heard nor read.  People will “run to and fro” in search of it but to no avail (Amos 8:12).  Afterward Christ will return, time will end and eternity will begin.

In verse 15 Jesus foretells that the problems proclaimed by the Prophet Daniel (9:27; 12:11) will take place at the “end of the end times”–the time in which we are living today as the Biblical signs attest.  Daniel’s prophecy is also given in Luke 21:20, albeit from a different perspective.  Daniel proclaimed what would be taking place within the Temple just before the Great Tribulation began.  Luke shows what will be happening outside the city walls of Jerusalem at the same time.  Luke writes that Jesus described the scene thusly: “And when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you will know that the desolation (of first Jerusalem, then the world) has begun.”  The destruction of the “city of peace” will mark the beginning of World War III–a nuclear world-wide conflict in which most of the world’s population will be killed.  Due to the state of information transmission, the beginning of World War III will be seen in real time globally.

God has made it clear that He has chosen Jerusalem as the center of His universe (1 Ki. 8:44,48; 11:13,336).  As noted earlier, it is the place where He will establish His future headquarters from which He, Jesus and Their Very Elect saints will rule, first the earth, then the entire universe.  Following the first 1000 years (the millennium) of the Kingdom of God, there will be created a new heaven and a new earth.  Following this transformation, New Jerusalem will come down from heaven and will cover a 1500 square mile area Biblically known as the Promised (Holy) Land.  The city’s walls will be 1500 miles high and will rest upon 12 foundations upon which the names of the 12 apostles will be transcribed.  The walls of New Jerusalem will have 12 gates made of pearls.  The gates and will have the names of the 12 tribes of Israel inscribed on them.  There will be no need for a temple; God and Christ will be the city’s temple.  The city will need neither sun nor moon for the glory of God and Christ will be her light (Rev. 21:10-23).  Read The Kingdom of God and God’s Very Elect: Future Caretakers of the Universe.  Key words Kingdom and Caretakers respectively.

Beginning with verse 16 Jesus warns those who are living in Jerusalem to flee because World War III is about to begin with the destruction of the city and those within her.  Verse 21 warns that the attack upon the city will mark the beginning of the worst time ever experienced by mankind.  It will be more destructive and deadly than all of the wars, plagues, natural disasters, etc. that have ever taken place on planet earth–COMBINED (vs 21).  In verse 22 Jesus looks ahead to the end of the Day of the Lord and declares that, if He did not bring the horror to an end with His appearing, only His Very Elect would be left alive on earth.

An explanation is needed at this point.  The Great Tribulation will be a 2 1/2 year period when Satan will be allowed to torment and afflict sinning mankind, whom he hates, at will.  Following this period, the Day of the Lord will be a one year period in which God will pour out His wrath on those who survived the Great Tribulation.  By comparison, this period of God’s rage (the Day of the Lord) will make Satan’s time of hate (the Tribulation) seem like child’s play.  During this 3 1/2 year period God’s true saints will be safely ensconced in an area called “her (the church’s) place” (Rev. 12:6,14) where His people will be cared for and protected while the world around them explodes in destruction, death and enslavement.

During the Tribulation multiplied millions of church people will be looking for and talking about a “rapture” that was supposed to snatch them up to heaven before the terror began.  Different people will proclaim that Christ has already returned and is residing in various places depending upon who is talking (vs 26).  In verse 27 Jesus corrects this fallacy by pointing out that when He does return His arrival will be announced by lightening flashing from east to west, accompanied by His sign–His arrival in power and glory, all of which the entire world will see.  The billions still alive at His return will mourn, knowing that what those crazy religious people had preached and written about was true.  When multiplied billions of Satan’s victims, many of them church people, see the Son of God descending from heaven in great power and glory, accompanied by an incredible light show, reality will then set in.  At that point they will realize that the so-called “rapture” was the hoax those religious nuts had proclaimed it to be.  Catholics and Protestants will also realize that other statements the fanatics had made concerning many of the Catholic/Protestant Church’s beliefs and practices were also true.

In verse 33 and 34 Jesus tells us that the generation that witnesses the culmination of all that He had prophesied (false religion, deception, wars, famines, pandemics, earthquakes, so-called “natural disasters,” etc.) will witness His return to earth.  The generation living today has seen the signs that mean that the Great Tribulation is “at the door.”  Only one sign remains to be fulfilled (Mat. 24:15/ Lk. 21:20).

In verse 29 we are told about a short time period that will take place between the Great Tribulation (first 2 1/2 years) and the Day of the Lord (final year).  During this short recess the sun, moon and stars will be darkened and the powers of heaven will be shaken.  More on this brief interlude and the following Day of the Lord later.

In the next posting of this series we will study of the personal lives of those living in the last days of the world as man has known it.  In following postings we will study the Day of the Lord which will end with the arrival of Jesus Christ and the resurrection of the Very Elect.  Read 1 Corinthians 15: The Resurrection of God’s First-fruits.  Key word–First-fruits.  L.J.