The End of the World

 All scripture references, unless otherwise noted, are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible. The Hebrew and Greek meaning of the words mentioned are from Strong's Hebrew Greek Dictionary.

The disciples asked Jesus in Matthew 24:3 "....Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?"  I suppose that this is a question that has been in the mind of believers and nonbelievers alike from time immemorial. The Bible doesn't give a time frame for the end of the world but in response to the specific question the Lord did provide some hints! You can read them in Matthew 24:4-14. On the other hand Matthew 24:15-28 seems to be to the Jewish nation. The main reason I said that, is verses 15-28 seem to be directed at the Jews who remain and are not caught up with the Church. The Apostle Paul said in 1st Corinthians 15:51-52, "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." As the song says, "there will be no time to mend!" So we must be ready at all times. 

Flight? Tribulation? If for the church there will be no time to mend, then the coming of the Lord must be in more than one stage. The first will be the catching away of the church and second, the flight of Israel and great tribulation. (Remember that one day to the Lord is as a thousand years, etc.)  To my mind it seems that the catching away of the Bride of Christ, or the Church, will be instantaneous based on what the apostle said.  But for the elect people of Israel, God's natural people, they will have to flee the tribulation. In Romans 11:25-26 the apostle stated that, "...all Israel shall be saved..." as prophesied in Isaiah 59:20-21. It sure doesn't sound like a "...moment, or "...the twinkling of an eye..." for them! 

In Matthew 24:29-31 the Lord Jesus foretold of His return. In Matthew 24:36 the Lord Jesus said,  "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." Then in Acts 1:7 the Lord said we could not know "...the times or the seasons..." which God alone knows. Not you nor I can know when the end shall come, only that it will come. My friends, the only sure way to escape the things that are coming on this world is to be in the church of the Living God. The way to be in the church is to repent of your sins to God and put your faith and hope in the Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation. (see Acts 20:21) Do what He says in His word, repent of your sins, be baptized in the only saving name of the Lord Jesus Christ and let God fill you with His Holy Spirit, as He did on the Day of Pentecost. (see Acts 2:38 and Acts 2:1-4)