Don’t All the End-Times Events Take Place at the Same Time?

A beautiful, sunny, warm day here in the Twin Cities. And a good day to remember how thankful we are that wonderful Olivia is in our life (she is now 12 years old). And so, while I am in my happy place (a reference to the Happy Madison movie), and I am still working on Part 2 of my list of references to Jesus the Messiah in the Old Testament, I thought I would write about the end-times again. This post is to support the Amillennial view by showing that the references speaking about Jesus' return have all of the events taking place at the same time. Let me start with an example:

 

The Last Trumpet:

At the "Last Trumpet", both the Rapture of the Elect takes place, but also the wrath of God takes place upon the nations. For those who fear the Lord,

• At Jesus' Second Coming, Jesus sends out His angels with a Loud Trumpet call to gather the elect (Matt. 24:31);
  
• At the Last Trumpet, the elect will all be changed, and the dead are raised (1 Cor. 15:52);
  
• Jesus will descend from heaven with a loud trumpet call, with those in Christ, both living and dead meeting Him in the air (1 Thess. 4:16-17);
  

BUT, also at the Last Trumpet:

• The nations will rage that God's wrath has come, that the time for the dead to be judged had come, and also a time for Jesus to reward His servants (Rev. 11:15, :18; remember that in Revelation 8:6 through Revelation 10 there is a description of the 7 Trumpets. In Revelation 11:15, :18 there is a description of God's Judgment taking place at the Last Trumpet – the 7^th Trumpet). Thus, at the Last Trumpet there is both the gathering of those who Fear the Lord, and the Judgment of the ungodly.
  

 

OK, hopefully you see what I'm doing. Here is another one:

Angels at Jesus' Return:

At Jesus' Second Coming, Angels will be used to separate the wicked from the Elect, and to gather the Elect to Jesus. This all takes place as one event, at Jesus' Second Coming.

At Jesus' Second Coming, Angels work to take out the ungodly and throw into them into Hell:

• Angels will separate out those that offend (Matt. 13:41);
  
• Angels separate the wicked from the just (whoops, I lost this reference);
  
• When Jesus returns in His glory with His Holy Angels with Him, He will separate the sheep from the goats before His Throne (Matt. 25:31-33);
  
• When Jesus is revealed from heaven, with His Mighty Angels, to take vengeance on those who do not know God, and who disobey the Gospel (2 Thessalonians 1:6-:10);
  
• The Lord comes ten thousands of His Holy Ones to execute judgment on the ungodly (Jude 14-15)
  

Yet, also at Jesus' Second Coming, Angels work to gather the Elect:

• The Son of Man will come in His glory with His Angels and reward each according to his works (Matt. 16:27);
  
• At Jesus' Second Coming, He will send His Angels to gather the Elect from the four winds (Matt. 24:31/Mark 13:27)
  
• When Jesus comes in His glory with His Angels, the world will gather before His throne and He will separate the sheep from the goats (Matt. 25:31-32);
  

 

I hope I am showing that when Jesus' return is discussed in the Bible, both the taking up of those who Fear the Lord, along with the removal of the ungodly, all are taking place at the same time. As believers in Jesus Christ we love the promise of Jesus coming for us "in the clouds". Here is another example of verses that describe God coming in the clouds":

Clouds:

Jesus will Return for Those Who Fear God in the CLOUDS:

• And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. ¹⁰ And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes,
  ¹¹ and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven." (Acts 1:9-10);
  
• Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. (1 Thess. 4:17);
  
• 
  

Yet for the ungodly, seeing the Lord Coming in the CLOUDS will cause wailing and trembling at the Judgment that is approaching:

• Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. (Revelation 1:7);
  
• Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. (Revelation 14:14 – note that the sickle Jesus is carrying is a tool to deal with the ungodly;), and in the Old Testament there are a bunch of examples given of God riding in the CLOUDS as a description of God's impending Judgment upon the enemies of God. Here's a couple of examples:
  
• Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them. (Isaiah 19:1 – God's Judgment upon Egypt);
  
• Behold, he shall come up like clouds, And his chariots like a whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are plundered!" (Jeremiah 4:13);
  
• The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, And will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord has His way In the whirlwind and in the storm, And the clouds are the dust of His feet (Nahum 1:3 – isn't this a powerful picture? The clouds are the dust of God's feet coming in Judgment.)
  

  
   

I could go on with other examples, but I think I have made my point; when significant end-time events like the Last Trumpet, Jesus coming with His Angels, and Jesus returning on "Clouds", it is always a two-sided coin – a day of rescue for those who Fear the Lord, but also a day of Judgment upon the ungodly. And I believe only Amillennialism has all of these events taking place at the same time, on the same Day. There is no separation of these vents of 3 ½ years, 7 years, or 1,007 years. At the Day of Jesus' Return we will see the rescue of His people, but also the Judgment upon all nations. Friends, Today is the day to repent.