As We Know It

So, we continued our discussion on "end times" this past Tuesday. We did something slightly different: we had a chance to bring up questions/topics on end times and we discussed what we know and don't know about those topics, with Kevin (mostly) leading the discussion. It was pretty interesting!

We delved into a lot of different thoughts (you know how easily one conversation spins off into four or five within the group), so I'll just cover a few things here:

• Where in the Bible is the Rapture described? When does it happen / when does Jesus return?
• Kevin explained that the word "rapture" is not actually in the Bible: what we think of as the rapture is usually referred to as the "catching away" of the saints (see 1 Thessalonians 4 - and if necessary, see a dictionary on how to pronounce "Thessalonians). This happens before the beginning of the Tribulation. God actually set a precedent showing that he removes his people from harms way before dealing with the world (ex. Noah being safely in the ark before the flood, Lot being safely out of Sodom and Gomorrah before the fire and brimstone came). The "catching away" is not the same event as when Jesus' second coming. The rapture happens before the Tribulation so that the saints can prepare to return with Jesus at the end of the Tribulation to reign with Him for a 1,000 years. (Okay, so we got a little ahead of ourselves there -- see the third bullet.)
  
• Is there a second rapture halfway through the Tribulation / What happens to the people who get saved during the Tribulation?
• Okay, so yes, there is a second "rapture" of sorts in the middle of the Tribulation, but not necessarily for the people who got saved during the Tribulation. (Wait, what?) Kevin did his best to explain to us about the 144,000 (Revelation 7, 14) -- the group of virgin Jewish ministers (12,000 from each tribe of Israel) marked by God to spread the Gospel after the church has been removed (a.k.a. the Rapture). This group will minister throughout the first half of the tribulation. Kevin also mentioned that these people were marked so that they cannot be harmed by the plagues and things happening on the earth while the are ministering (which is how they came to be known as The Virgin Jewish Superheroes according to Brooke). When they're time is up, they are "caught away" to heaven to join the saints that were already raptured.
• So what happens to everyone else who gets saved after the rapture? Well, there is at least a group of them that will die and go to heaven (Revelation 6:9-11). But they will not join the rest of the saints that were raptured (and who will eventually rule and reign with Jesus). Instead, they will be more like servants in the Kingdom of God because they were not caught away with the Body of Christ (the church).
  
• What happens after the 7 years? And after that?
• As we had already mentioned, Jesus' second coming is at the end of the Tribulation -- He actually comes and end the big battle forming on earth (see Revelation 19). Satan is locked up in a bottomless pit for 1,000 years, during which time Jesus reigns over the world (including all those who survived the Tribulation without committing themselves for or against the Lord). After the thousand years, Satan is allowed to be loosed on the earth again (because God always gives people a choice whether to follow Him). He gathers some people to mount a battle against God (I cannot imagine how people could willingly follow Satan after everything else that's happened at that people, but apparently some people do), and God deals with Satan and all of his followers. (Can you say "Lake of Fire"? I knew you could.)
• And after that? Well, there's the new heaven and new earth being created, the new Jerusalem and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (the awesomeness of which I cannot even begin to get into here), and... oh, that's right -- ETERNITY. Try wrapping your brain around that one.

So yeah, we covered alot of in-depth stuff. I really just hit the tip of the iceberg here; if you were at the discussion, what part stood out to you? If you weren't, what questions do you have?