A Reformed view of End times
A discussion for Jehovah's Witnesses who are considering another
view
By Greg
Thornberg
Differences Between Jehovah Witnesses
and Christians
Christians reading this article need to first get it out of their minds
that we all agree on this topic. There are varying views on the
topic and always have been from the time Scriptures were originally
penned. The view of this author
is one that not all will agree with either. It is a view of end times that
I believe is the most defendable position based on the available
evidence in Scripture. To be sure, there are differences in Witness
theology that all Evangelicals can agree upon. Witnesses do not
believe in a literal rapture of the saints as nearly all
Evangelicals believe in, nor do Witnesses believe in a literal
single day of judgment as I (and many others) understand Judgment Day to play out.
Evangelicals believe that once a person dies, there are no second
chances if one dies apart from the salvation offered through Christ.
By contrast, Jehovah's Witnesses believe that everyone who has not heard their version of
the gospel message will rise from the dead and receive a second
chance to hear the good news and be saved. Evangelicals, for
the most part (99 + percent), do not.
Setting the context
There is another note I must make about this author's view of God's
plans for the end times. I believe that God chooses who will be
saved and who will not. You may know this position by the
title of Calvinism or Reformed doctrine. It's not an easy position to
accept for many
who feel that this is irreconcilable with God's love and fairness. I
was once opposed to this very view of God until I recently saw how
biblically sound it was compared to my former Arminian views.
But I believe that an almighty God can be both loving and fair while
at the same time sovereignly determine the destiny of all mankind.
We are simply too small and too simple to understand how an infinitely
wise God can manage to be all these things at the same time. I don't
attempt to reconcile them by figuring them out in this article, I
just assume them to be true in this article, saving that discussion
for another time. I reconcile
these matters by leaving them in the hands of God who judges
rightly. I write a view of the end times I find most defendable from
Scripture.
The sovereignty of God, that is, the
complete control God has plays out in
end times theology to such a great extent that it is not only
part of the story, it is the story. This world's
final days are predetermined and dictated by our Lord who alone has
the right to unfold these events according to his pleasure. As the
book of Revelation says regarding the Lord, "You alone are worthy to
take the scroll and to open its seals..." (Revelation 5:9).
The scroll and seals mentioned in Revelation 5-7 list the final
events to play out in the world according to Christ's sovereign
control. Revelation makes clear that
events listed beneath each seal cannot come to pass until the Lord
breaks the seal. Daniel, who also writes about the end days,
mentions that the prophesied events will occur "at the appointed
time" (Daniel 11:29) and that "what has been determined must take
place." (Daniel 11:36; cf. Daniel 8:19) God does not merely predict
the future, he brings it to pass by his decree and on his own terms.
As Isaiah quotes the Lord, "I [the Lord] make known the end from the
beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say:
My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. From the
east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill
my purpose. What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have
planned, that I will do." (Isaiah 46:9-11) God is the one to
bring about the fulfillment of what was said. It is precisely
under this context that all end times theology occurs.
Timeline
I would have loved to jump right into refuting Witnesses, but realized
that it would be more productive to simply share what the Bible
teaches and let the Witness decide where faults in his or her own
theology exist. We shall first explain
the timeline I believe the Bible sets forth as how the final days of
this world will unfold.
Below is the timeline many in theological circles (such as myself) have found
most consistent with Scripture
1. From the time of Christ's
ascension until the time of the seven seals (Revelation 6-7), the
world will ebb and flow through various times and trials. None of
the events during this period could be described as being like the
times Jesus described to denote the end where "if those days had not
been cut short, no one would survive." (Matthew 24:22) The signs of
the end are sharply contrasted by how dreadful they will be. This is how Christ
defined the time of the end.
2. After this period of history, the
seven seals will begin. This is the period in which Christ says, "if
those days had not been cut short, no one would survive." (Matthew
24:22) Christians will be on earth for most of this period and
through 3 and 1/2 years of the Antichrist's reign until the 6th seal
mentioned by John in Revelation. The first 6 seals correspond
perfectly with the Sign of the End of the Age Discourse given
in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. They are, in fact, one and the same
events. Though each may offer a little more or less information than
the others, the events between Matthew, Mark Luke and Revelation are
(1) The same
(2) Occur in the exact same order and
(3) All conclude with the same climactic event--the
disruption of the sun, moon and
stars
and sinners in fear of the Lord's wrath coming with a visibly
returning Messiah.
Where Matthew, Mark and Luke mention
the rapture, Revelation 7 mentions a great multitude that suddenly
appears in heaven before the throne. The correspondence is so
identical in more than one aspect that one should at least consider
the possibility that are the same events. This author concludes that
they are the same.
3. Once the Lord's chosen people are
raptured, the period of God's final wrath begins. This period includes the
Seven Trumpets and Seven Bowls of God's Wrath mentioned in
Revelation. Not all of the wicked die during this period with some
surviving up until and through the millennial rule of Christ.
4. Upon completion of the period of
wrath, Christ returns with his elect and establishes a thousand year
period of ruling where those who survive the period of God's wrath
are ruled over by the saints.
5. At the conclusion of the
Millennial period, the wicked who survive will be yet again deceived
into waging war against the Lord. It is this event that perfectly
demonstrates that salvation cannot come through rational freewill
methods of choosing God. For if salvation is achieved by
rationally choosing to have faith in Christ, then people who
survived God's wrath and later experience the perfect rule of Christ
would have denied themselves and followed our savior. This period
serves what seems to be the purpose of displaying that unless one
belongs to God by God's choosing, even the most ideal circumstances
will not lead a man to seek salvation. In the end he is destroyed as
a demonstration to the elect of God's glory (Romans 9:22-23).
6. Finally there is a Judgment Day
and the unfolding of a new heavens and new earth. The elect of the
Lord are to inherit the earth. We do not inherit and occupy
heaven forever, as some may believe, but the earth. If anyone is
discouraged by this thought, there are compelling reasons to believe
that at this time heaven and earth will be united as one
Kingdom--God's Kingdom.
Proving chronology from Scripture
There are a good handful of passages that make chronological
statements and do so quite clearly. One of the major questions
to answer in chronology is when will the rapture occur in relation
to the appearance of the Antichrist. It is precisely this question
Paul answers in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 when he writes
Concerning the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you,
brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some
prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying
that the day of the Lord has already come. Don't let anyone
deceive you in any way, for (that day will not come) until the
rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man
doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself
over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he
sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
The topic being discussed by Paul was
no doubt
the time of the rapture. His answer was simple: that day will not
come unless the "man of lawlessness" (the Antichrist) is revealed.
There are a few ways people rejecting this timeline have attempted to
refute the timeline set by Paul. One argument employed
is that the "man of lawlessness" isn't the Antichrist. The problem
with this argument is that Paul's description of the "man of
lawlessness" too closely resembles the Antichrist in other passages
to which he alludes. Paul mentions that a rebellion occurs before
the "man of lawlessness" is revealed. In the same way, Daniel speaks
of the Antichrist as arising "when rebels have become completely
wicked..." (Daniel 8:23) Paul speaks of the "man of
lawlessness" exalting himself over God. Daniel speaks of the
Antichrist who will "consider himself superior" and "take his stand
against the Prince of princes [a reference to Christ]." Paul
speaks of the "man of lawlessness" perishing at the breath and glory
of the Lord (2 Thessalonians 2:8). Daniel says that the
Antichrist "will be destroyed, but not by human power" (Daniel
8:25). It is quite easy to argue that Paul must have had Daniel
chapter 8 in mind when he wrote 2 Thessalonians 2.
Another argument often employed
against 2 Thessalonians is that the Greek here does not literally
say that the Antichrist must come first. It is a valid point to seek
out the Greek to make sure that translators are not merely
paraphrasing the Greek and prove out that Paul indeed says that the
"man of lawlessness" must "come first". If we cannot be
absolutely certain that these words occur in the Greek, then the
passage must be left open for interpretation. In regards to
the Greek, here again we can say with certainty that no ambiguity
exists. The Greek reads literally as
oti
ean mh
elQh
h
apostasia
prwton
kai
apokalufQh
because unless comes the
rebellion/lawlessness first
and revelation
o anQropoV
thV anomiaV,
o
uioV
thV
apwleiaV
of the man of lawlessness, the son
of/[for the purpose of]* destruction
*Genitive does not always denote possession but conveys other usages
such as purpose. In fact, genitive declension is the most
versatile of cases in Greek and requires more than just basic Greek
grammar studies to fully understand its uses and affected meanings.
Paul's argument is simple, the coming
of the Lord and our being gathered to him will not come "unless" (ean
mh) the rebellion and man of
lawlessness "comes first" (elQh
prwton). There is no
ambiguity or confusion as the intended meaning of Paul's grammar in
this sentence. Paul is clearly (1) referring to the Antichrist and
(2) placing his appearance before the rapture. Another detail
mentioned in passing is that the Antichrist will stand in the
temple. This is one reason why many bible scholars believe
that the temple will be rebuilt prior to or during the reign of the
Antichrist.
If our being gathered to the Lord
occurs after the Antichrist appears, then Christians will still be
present on the earth during his reign. This is contrary to a
popular view where the Antichrist arises only after the Church has
been taken away from the earth. It may be a popular view, but one
directly in contradiction with Scripture. The idea that
Christians will be around to witness the Antichrist setting up "the
abomination that causes desolation" in the temple fits well with the
Sign of the End of the Age Discourses given in Matthew 24,
Mark 13 and Luke 21. In the discourse, Jesus is asked by his
disciples what signs they are to look for before the end comes.
Notice how many times Jesus uses the word "you" implying that this
is something the believers ought to expect to see first hand
"You will hear
of wars and rumors of wars"
(Matthew 24:6)
"You will be handed over to be persecuted..."
(Matthew 24:9)
"So when you see standing in the holy place 'the
abomination that causes
desolation'..."
(Matthew 24:15)
"If anyone tells you, 'there he is'..."
(Matthew 24:26)
Throughout the entire passage, Jesus tells his followers that it
will be a personal experience--"you" will see it. It is not
until after the "abomination" associated with the Antichrist and the
sign of the sun, moon and stars occur that Jesus says, "At that time
the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky...he will send his
angels with a loud trumpet call and they will gather up his
elect..." (Matthew 24:30-31). The same timeline and conclusion
is given in Mark 13 and Luke 21. In 2 Thessalonians 2, Matthew
24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 the chronological events include the
Antichrist appearing first then the rapture. The gospels add
additional chronological events allowing us to begin laying out additional
timeline details such as
Wars appear
Famines occur
Persecution comes*
Antichrist appears in the temple*
The sun, moon and stars are troubled
People mourn the Son of Man coming
God's elect are raptured
*In Daniel,
the Antichrist's reign goes hand in hand with persecution of the
saints. The argument is often
asserted that Matthew's discourse is not necessarily intended to be
in chronological order. The justification for this is almost always an
assumption that the events occur in a different than written order.
The interpretation becomes one of forcing the text to comply with a
preconceived conclusion rather than assuming that the order of the
passage may somehow be inspired and purposeful. Contrary to the
belief that Matthew has no timeline in mind, the manner in which he
writes portrays a different story. The first signs Matthew
writes about are wars, earthquakes and famines. Not only does
Matthew write these events first, he literally calls them "the
beginning" to denote order. These beginning signs are then
followed by persecution. The very first word of verse 9 is
"then" which can also be translated in this context as "at that time" (tote)--"Then
you will be handed over to be persecuted." This again is a timeline
keyword used by Matthew. After Matthew writes about the
"abomination" in verse 15 he says the sun, moon and stars will be
disturbed "immediately after the distress of those days..."
(vs. 29). If Matthew didn't really care to tell us when the
sun, moon and stars would be disturbed, why would he use critical
words such as "immediately after"? By using timeline keywords,
Matthew clearly intends us to believe that each event in this discourse
chronologically follows what was written just before. The idea
that Matthew wrote this passage without a timeline in mind goes
against the clarity of the text.
Another reason to believe that each of
these events go in chronological order is the very fact that they
correspond with the numbered seals in Revelation 6-7. In
Matthew 24 the order of events is
Wars appear
Famines occur
Persecution comes
Antichrist appears in the temple
The sun, moon and stars are troubled
People mourn the Son of Man coming
God's elect are raptured
In Revelation 6-7 the order of events is
Wars appear
Famines occur
Persecution comes
The sun, moon and stars are troubled
People mourn the Son of Man coming
God's elect are raptured (the great multitude in heaven)
Since the events are identical in detail
and order between each passage, it can be concluded with a safe
measure of assurance that they are one
and the same events. The fact that each of the seals in Revelation
6-7 are numbered further verifies that the order in Matthew 24 is in
proper chronological order. It is also important to note that
the order of events in Matthew 24 are identical to events in Mark 13
and Luke 21 with timeline keywords being used in each of those
passages as well. The nature
and timeline
of the resurrection
There are two resurrections that occur in Scripture: (1) the
resurrection of the righteous and (2) the resurrection of the
unrighteous. Witnesses believe that there will be a simultaneous
resurrection of both the righteous and unrighteous with the
unrighteous being given a second chance during the Millennial reign
of Christ. Scripture has a decidedly different view of the
resurrection. In John 5, Jesus says, "those who have done good
will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise
to be condemned." (John 5:29) The righteous will rise for
the purpose of living while the unrighteous will rise for the
purpose of being condemned. Nowhere in Scripture is it ever
taught that the unrighteous receive a resurrection for the purpose
of having a second chance. It is simply something the Witness
believes without any proof. Their resurrection serves only one
purpose--condemnation. Scripture also contradicts the Witness on the
point of when the righteous and unrighteous rise in relation to each
other. Witnesses teach a simultaneous resurrection of the
righteous and unrighteous, but Scripture teaches that the righteous
rise at the coming of the Lord while the unrighteous wait until
1,000 years later to be risen. Paul writes that the
resurrection of the righteous coincides with the appearing of the
Lord in the sky
For the Lord himself will
come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of
the archangel and with the trumpet call of God and the dead
in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are
still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in
the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
It is the "dead in Christ" who
rise who are taken up by the Lord even before we who are still alive
are raptured. One can only imagine being able to witness their loved
ones in Christ rising, yet this is precisely what will happen to us
who are still living when the Lord comes. Where Paul teaches
about the resurrection of the righteous, it is John who tells us
that the unrighteous must wait another 1,000 years to be risen.
In Revelation he writes
They [the righteous] came
to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest
of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were
ended). This is the first resurrection. Blessed
and holy are those are those who have part in the first
resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but
they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with
him for a thousand years.
Revelation 20:4-6
Witnesses believe that both the
unrighteous and righteous will be raised at the beginning of the
thousand year reign of Christ and they also believe that those who
don't repent during this time will die as part of "the second
death." Yet again Scripture is against this Witness view.
John says of those from the first resurrection that "the second
death has no power over them" because they are "blessed and holy".
In order to maintain the Witness' theological position, one would
need to be comfortable with contradicting what John writes here.
There are clearly two resurrections: the "first resurrection" for
the righteous and second resurrection for the unrighteous. None of
those in the first resurrection perish in the second death because
John says that "the second death has no power over them" (vs. 6).
After the thousand years are over (vs. 7) we see the resurrection of
the unrighteous (vss.12-13). To these the sentence of the
second death is given. They "will rise to be condemned." (John
5:29)
The nature of the resurrection body
is an immortal body. Paul says of this resurrection
For the trumpet will
sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will all be
changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the
imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
1 Corinthians 15:52-53
Paul doesn't say that we will no
longer have a physical body but that "this perishable" (fqarton
touto) body will have placed on
it (theological passive verb
endusasqai) the imperishable
(aqanasian).
Paul uses the demonstrative pronoun
touto ("this") to emphasize
that it is "this perishable" body that has placed on, that
is, "clothed with" the imperishable. We do not lose this body,
rather this body is transformed so that it cannot die. The
idea of being clothed furthers the picture of keeping this body but
putting on an additional nature that causes it to be imperishable.
Paul says that this body puts on the imperishable and immortal, the
idea being that we will literally be incapable of wasting away or
being killed. We will not only never die again, we won't be capable
of suffering or experiencing injury to our renewed bodies!
With the Scriptural evidence so far we
are able to construct the following end days timeline
Wars will appear
Famines will occur
Persecution will come to the church
We will see the Antichrist appear in the temple
The sun, moon and stars will be troubled
At that time, the Son of Man will come down from heaven
Nations will mourn when they see our Lord coming
The dead in Christ will rise first
Then God's elect are raptured
Following this, there will be punishments upon the earth
At the end of these punishments, we will reign 1,000 years
with Christ on the earth
After the 1,000 year reign, the unrighteous are raised to be
condemned God will allow the
persecution of the Church
If there is any point more uncomfortable to the Christian ear, it is
the idea that God is comfortable with allowing persecution of the
church. Yet with the Lord, trials, persecution and death are purposeful.
Jesus reminded his disciples that their persecutions and arrest will
result in their witnessing before the rulers of the land (Matthew
24, Mark 13, Luke 21). When Paul was arrested for preaching
salvation through Jesus Christ, the Lord told him that his arrest
would result in being a witness in both Jerusalem and Rome (Acts
23:11). While many end times books have been teaching the church not
to expect hardships and trials, Paul had a contrary message for his
disciples, saying, "We kept telling you that we would be
persecuted." (1 Thessalonians 3:4) In our discussion of
2 Thessalonians 2 (above) we learned that the Antichrist would
appear before the rapture. The Antichrist has always been
associated with persecution of the church. Daniel saw in a vision of
the Antichrist that he would be "waging war against the saints and
defeating them until the Ancient of Days came." (Daniel 7:21)
It is for three and a half years that the Antichrist will have the
authority to wage war on the saints (Daniel 7:25; Revelation
13:5-7). What was the point of God allowing this? "This will result
in your being witnesses to them," Jesus said (Luke 21:13).
Persecution spreads the Gospel and
refines the church. When persecution struck the church in the book
of Acts, "all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea
and Samaria." (Acts 8:1) The result was that "those who had
been scattered preached the word wherever they went." (Acts 8:4)
Persecution serves a divine plan and even circumvents the work of
the Devil. The trials that Satan intends for harm, God uses
for our good. James said, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers,
whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the
testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must
finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking
anything." (James 1:2-4) In fact, trials prove out your faith
and show you to be a true believer or a false believer. Jesus
says of the man who receives the Gospel but does not understand it,
"When trouble of persecution comes because of the work, he quickly
falls away." (Matthew 13:21) Imagine the frustration of Satan
when his trials only end up producing holiness and godly character
in the believer! Nowhere does
the Bible lead us to despair over the trials to come. Paul
said of our hardships, "I consider that our present sufferings are
not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."
(Romans 8:18) In fact, we have been subjected to frustration
in this fallen world "in hope that the creation itself will be
liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious
freedom of the children of God." (Romans 8:21) Frustrations,
sufferings and trials are part of God's hope for his people where in
the end "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will
be no more death or mourning or crying or pain." (Revelation 21:4)
The curse will be gone, God's people will be free and life will be
eternal.
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