God’s Prophetic Word, A Light Of Hope Shining In A Dark World

Hoping for the Good Old Days

The Promise of Christ’s Return

• The Bible promises Christ will return to take believers to heaven to live forever in His presence, providing hope and comfort for those who know Him, John 14:1-3; 1 Thess. 4:17-18

Christ’s 1st Coming Fulfilled As Prophesied

• God gave hope from the start by revealing His will to men through prophecy, Gen. 3:15

• The names of the first 10 generations of mankind in Gen. 5 told how God would

come down to comfort us regarding death

Adam means “Man”

Seth means “Appointed”

Enosh means “Mortal”

Kenan means “Sorrow”

Mahalel means “The Blessed God”

Jared means “Shall come down”

Enoch means “Teaching”

Methuselah means “His death shall bring”

Lamech means “The Despairing”

Noah means “Comfort”

Putting All Ten Names Together…

“Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow; (but) the Blessed God shall come down, teaching (that)

His Death shall bring the despairing comfort”

Hope For Today: Jesus Is Coming Again For His Bride - Philippians 3:20,21

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory…

The Essence of Philippians 3:20,21

1) The Greek for citizenship refers to a colony of foreigners

2) Eagerly wait is a Greek verb found in most passages that deal with the second coming

3) The Greek for transform means “schematic” which refers to the design of something, in this case the body of His glory

Transformed Into the Body of His Glory, More Than Meets the Eye

How Did the Word “Rapture” Originate and How Does It Relate To the Second Coming?

• The Rapture (from the Latin rapto – “to seize”), refers to the resurrection and instantaneous transformation of our bodies when we are

caught up to meet the Lord in the air

• This is the 1st phase of the 2nd coming, as Christ does not touch down on the earth at this time (we will meet Him in the air, 1 Thess. 4:17)

Christ comes for believers in the air 1 Thess. 4:17

Christ touches down on Mount of Olives Zech. 14:1-15

A time of joy Titus 2:13

A time of mourning Matt. 24:30

No Judgment 1Thess 4:17,18

Judgment Matt. 25:31-41

At the Rapture End of the Tribulation

At the Rapture End of the Tribulation

Satan not bound but wreaks havoc on earth Rev. 12:13-17

Marriage of the Lamb in heaven Rev. 19:7,8

Satan bound for 1000 years Rev. 20:1-3

Marriage ceremony has already taken place Rev. 19:11-14

Purpose for the Rapture And Why The 2nd Coming Falls Into Two Parts

1. Deliver the Church from God’s coming wrath,

1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9; Rev. 3:10

2. Re-establish Israel as the primary focus in God’s redemptive plan, Jer. 30:3-7, Dan. 9:24-27; Zech. 12:1-Zech. 14:21

3. Bring justice for believers and judgment for unbelievers, Luke 18:7,8; Rev. 6:9,10

The Two Parts of the 2nd Coming Are Indicative of the Fact the Bible Views

Israel and the Church As Separate Entities

• 1 Corinthians 10:32 – “Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks (unbelieving Gentiles) or to the Church of God”

The Didache (Teachings of the Twelve Apostles) written in the first century speaks in detail about the apostles belief in the Rapture.

Falsehood: Scripture Does Not Teach the Rapture; John Nelson Darby Conceived It In the 1800s

Paul taught it was near in his day, Rom. 13:11; 1 Cor.10:11;16:22 (Maranatha); 1 Thess. 4:18 (comfort one another with these words)

Someone told them Paul was teaching they were in the Day of the Lord (Tribulation), thinking they’d missed the Rapture. Paul corrected them, saying the Day of the Lord would not come until the restrainer (Holy Spirit) was taken out of the way, & the Antichrist revealed, 2 Thess. 2:1-9

The 1st Century Christians At Thessalonica Were Expecting the Rapture

Hugh Latimer, burned at the stake in 1555 for His Christian beliefs, said well before 1555, “Peradventure it (Rapture) may come in my days, or in my children’s days…the saints ‘shall be taken up to meet Christ in the air’ and we will come down again with Him.”

Falsehood: The Church Will Go Through All Or At Least One-Half of the Tribulation

• The Church age began with the Holy Spirit poured out; it will end with the Spirit taken out of the way prior to the Trib., 2 Thess. 2:7

• The marriage of the Church and Jesus takes place in heaven during the Tribulation (Rev. 19:7,8) after which the saints return with Him at His 2nd coming to earth, Rev. 19:14

More Reasons to Believe the Church Will Not Go Through Any Part of the Tribulation

• Jesus promised to keep the Church from God’s wrath, 1 Thess. 1:10, 5:9; Rev.3:10

• God’s wrath starts at the beginning, not the middle, of the seven years of the Tribulation, Rev. 6:1 – 19:21

• John was caught up to heaven (Rev. 4:1) before God’s wrath begins (Rev. 6:1)

The Word ‘Church’ Is Not Found In Revelation During the Tribulation

• Before the Tribulation begins: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches,” Rev. 3:22

• After the Tribulation has begun: “If anyone has an ear, let him hear,” Rev. 13:9. What the Spirit says to the ‘churches’ is missing!

What Will Our Glorified Bodies Be Like?

• Able to pass through walls, John 19:1

• Appear instantaneously, Luke 24:36

• Rapidly travel through space, Heb. 4:14

• Able to eat food, Luke 24:42,43

• Immortal, Luke 23:13-34

We Will Recognize One Another, Matt. 17:3

Ps. 139:14 – Fearfully & Wonderfully Made

Though Scripture tells us little about the glorified bodies we are to receive, we can glimpse some of the marvels of our earthly bodies to energize our hopes and imaginations about what these amazing bodies may be like.

Our Bodies – More Than Meets the Eye

• The known universe contains 1 x 1022 stars

(10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000).

• Our bodies contain 1 x 1028 atoms, a million times more than the stars in the universe.

• Every millionth of a second, one trillion atoms are being replaced.

The Brain - More Than Meets the Eye

• The human brain contains up to 100 billion neurons (cells); no two have the same shape.

• Each neuron sends out enough fibers to connect with other neurons to give a total of 5,000 million million million connections.

• That is equivalent to more than the number of leaves in a forest covering one-half the U.S.

The Human Brain, Cont’d.

• The brain holds 1014 bits of information, 1,000 times more than a supercomputer

• Equivalent to the information in 25,000,000 books, requiring a bookshelf 500 miles long

• Library of Congress has only 17,000,000 volumes

The Body’s Cells - More Than Meets the Eye.

• The body contains up to 100 trillion cells

• Each cell is made up of a trillion atoms

• Cells are more complex than a functioning city, with electric fields, protein factories and hundreds of ATP energy motors 200 thousand times smaller than a pinhead.

ATP Energy Motor

ATP, Not Glucose Is Energy Molecule

Human DNA - More Than Meets the Eye

• Looking deep into each cell we find 23 pairs

of chromosomes staring back at us

• The sum of all 23 pairs is called the human genome, also called DNA or genes

• DNA is the most complex software code ever devised, yet uses only 4 “alphabet letters”

This Is Not What Is Meant By Genes!

Genes Are Sections of DNA

Human DNA - More Than Meets the Eye

• It would take 285 years to type the 4 letters in DNA from one cell typing at 100 letters per minute for 5 days a week every year

• DNA taken from a single cell would be 5 feet long if stretched out

• DNA taken from all the cells in one person would go around the equator 3 ½ million times if stretched out and connected

Kinase – A Motor Protein

The Second Coming and Millions of Years

Peter prophesied in the last days the promise of Christ’s return would be mocked, 2 Pet.3:3,4

Statistics show that 70 % of young people leave the church because they have been taught that science has proven Genesis is wrong

The Earth’s Magnetic Field Is Very Young

Earth’s Magnetic Field Protection

Magnetic Field Decay Data

• Since 1829 the intensity of earth’s magnetic field has decreased exponentially by 7%.

• Archaeomagnetic data (magnetization of bricks, pottery, campfire stones, etc.) show the magnetic field was 40% greater in 1000 A.D.

Extrapolation of Field Decay Rate Yields 8700 Years As Earth’s Maximum Age

DNA Alphabet – A,T,C and G

The Age of the Human Race Is Young As Measured By Nuclear DNA Mutation Rate

Data Showing Decline In Nuclear DNA Health

After Only 6,000 years

Genetic Clock Shows Human Race Began Less Than 10,000 Years Ago

• Mutation rates for mitochondrial DNA have been measured for 4 different animal species

• Calculating DNA diversity over time using

D = 2rt, gives a maximum age of 10,000 years for the origin of all four species

Number of Years Between Mutations Predicted From D = 2rt vs. Actual

Species Evolution Creation Actual

Humans 36,364 2,020 1,244-2,915

Fruit Flies 34,247 17 9-202

Roundworms 21,752 12 6-11

Water Fleas 23,529 31 48-62

How Long Will The Helium Keep These Balloons Floating?

Helium Gas Still Present In Zircons

Uranium in Zircons Decays Into Lead and Helium

Uranium238 Lead206 + Helium

Lots of Helium Still in Zircons (Think: Trillions of God’s “Rock” Balloons)

• Measurement of helium diffusion rate from zircons in granite supposedly 600 million years old, gave an age of:

5,680 years!

Our Sun Is Young, Not Millions of Years Old

• It ‘burns’ four million tons per second!

• This calculates to the sun being twice its size 100,000 years ago!

• 100 million years ago, the sun’s perimeter would have extended well past where Earth is!

Ten year old lava dome gave radioactive dated ages ranging from 340,000 to 2.8 million years

Mount St. Helens Changed In Minutes

The Bible Timeline and the Number 7

2000 yrs 2000 yrs 2000 yrs 7+ yrs 1000 yrs

Adam Abraham Christ Rapture Mill. Reign

Ex. 21:2; Deut. 15:12; Luke 4:5,6; Rev. 5:5; Jude 14; Hos.6:1,2

We Can Know the Season of Christ’s Return

• Hebrews 10:25, Not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

• Matthew 16:4b, “Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?”

The Parable of the Fig Tree – Matt. 24:32-34

• 34b- “this (haute) generation will not pass away until all these things take place.”

• Haute always refers to the person or thing mentioned immediately before it, in this case, the fig tree as the sign of the rebirth of Israel!

• Jesus was prophesying that the generation that sees Israel reborn will be the last one before His return.

How Long Is A Generation?

• While there are differences in the Bible about the length of a generation, nowhere does it limit a generation to 40 years as in the book, The Late Great Planet Earth

• The one place a generation is given a specific time length is in Gen. 15:13-16, where it is given as 100 years.

Does Prophecy Tell Us Anything About Where We Are Today Re Christ’s Return?

• The Bible gives a specific outline of the end times, when Israel is a nation (Ezek. 37:21,22) & surrounded by hostile Arab nations bent on its destruction (Ezek. 35:1-36:7).

• The Bible pictures a great power in the land of Magog in the remote north. This nation (Russia) will lead a Muslim army against Israel in the end times (Ezek. 38:1-39:16).

Joni Eareckson Tada

Joni’s Words Have Meaning For Us

“This is the only time in history when I get to fight for God. Once I die I will be in celebration mode… so this is my limited window of opportunity, and I am going to

fight the good fight for all I’m worth.”

The Most Important Aspect of the Good Fight – Matthew 28:19

Daniel 12:3 and the End Times

• “Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.”

A Prophecy of Hope, 1 John 3:2b - “We know that when He appears, we will be

like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.”