Living In “The Last Days” A Crash Course In Eschatology A Prophecy Seminar Presented By Thomas J. Short “Into The Word” Radio Program Winter of 2019/2020 Page 1 i Contents Forward ..................................................................................................................................................... v INTRODUCTORY MATTERS ........................................................................................................................ 1 Prophets ................................................................................................................................................ 1 Purpose of Prophecy .............................................................................................................................. 2 Fulfilled Prophecy .................................................................................................................................. 3 Methodology For Understanding Predictive Prophecy ........................................................................... 5 THE OLIVET DISCOURSE OF JESUS............................................................................................................. 6 Background Information ....................................................................................................................... 6 CHART: Chronological Background of Jesus’ Olivet Discourse ............................................................. 8 The Apostles’ Question(s) ..................................................................................................................... 9 Precursors to the Temple’s Desolation ................................................................................................. 10 Persecution During the Spread of the Gospel........................................................................................ 11 Daniel’s “Abomination of Desolation” ................................................................................................ 15 Decoding Daniel 9:24-27 ..................................................................................................................... 18 “The Great Tribulation” ...................................................................................................................... 26 The Unmistakable Nature of Jesus’ 2nd Coming .................................................................................. 30 At Last! The 2nd Coming of Jesus Christ! ............................................................................................ 32 Wrapping Things Up ............................................................................................................................ 35 OUTLINING THE BOOK OF REVELATION ................................................................................................... 38 INTRODUCING THE BOOK OF REVELATION ............................................................................................. 39 VISION OF THE SCROLL OF GOD’S FINAL WRATH ................................................................................... 41 The Apostle John’s “Throne Vision” ...................................................................................................... 41 The Breaking of the First Five Seals ....................................................................................................... 45 VISION OF THE DRAGON’S WAR AGAINST THE “SEED OF WOMAN” .................................................... 46 A Symbolic Overview of Satan’s War .................................................................................................... 46 Satan’s Human Agency in the Final Phase of His War ............................................................................. 49 CHART: Three Prophetic Dreams From The Book Of Daniel ................................................................ 51 Decoding “The Beast” ......................................................................................................................... 52 Decoding the “Great Prostitute” ......................................................................................................... 53 CHART: “The Prostitute” & “The Beast” From The Perspective Of The Apostle John ....................... 56 CHART: Focus Upon “The Beast” From The Perspective Of The Prophet Daniel................................ 57 The Uneasy Relationship Between “The Beast” & “The Prostitute” .................................................. 58 i SEEING PARALLELS BETWEEN THE TWO VISIONS OF JOHN.................................................................... 59 Signs Connected with the Breaking of the 6th Seal ............................................................................. 59 The 144,000 – Marked for Martyrdom ................................................................................................. 62 The Redeemed – Safe in God’s True Sanctuary .................................................................................... 63 Meanwhile, Down on Planet Earth ..................................................................................................... 64 The Beast Leader & His False Prophet ................................................................................................ 67 144,000 Martyrs – A Major Precursor To God’s Final Wrath ............................................................. 70 Public Service Announcement # 1 – A Final Call To Worship The True God ....................................... 71 Public Service Announcement # 2 – A Final Call To Abandon “Babylon” Before Her Fall .................. 71 Public Service Announcement # 3 – A Final Warning Not To Take The Mark .................................... 73 The Breaking of the Seventh Seal & The Beginning of Yahweh’s Wrath ................................................. 74 PARALLELLING THE TRUMPETS & THE BOWLS ....................................................................................... 77 The First Four Trumpets/Bowls of Yahweh’s Wrath .............................................................................. 77 The Fifth Trumpet/Bowl of Yahweh’s Wrath ......................................................................................... 80 The Prophetic Chronology of Jesus’ 1st Coming .................................................................................. 82 The Possible Prophetic Chronology of Jesus’ 2nd Coming ................................................................... 82 The Sixth Trumpet/Bowl of Yahweh’s Wrath ........................................................................................ 88 The Death, Resurrection & Ascension of the Two Witnesses ................................................................. 90 The Seventh Trumpet and Bowl = The Second Coming of Jesus Christ ............................................. 92 The Battle of Har Ma·gēd·dōn ............................................................................................................... 96 THE MILLENNIUM ................................................................................................................................... 98 The Administration of the Surviving Mortals ........................................................................................ 98 A Selection of Old Testament Passages about Life in the Millennium .................................................. 101 CHART: “The Highway of Holiness” & The Rebel Regions of Ezekiel Chapter 38 ............................ 104 Satan’s Final Coup Attempt .............................................................................................................. 105 AFTER THE MILLENNIUM – REVELATION 20:11ff.................................................................................. 107 APPENDIX A: ANCIENT IMAGES RELEVANT TO UNDERSTANDING DANIEL 7 ........................................ 108 APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED NASB (1977) TEXT OF DANIEL 10-12 .......................................................... 110 APPENDIX C: THE ISRAELI SEVEN-YEAR SABBATICAL CYCLE ................................................................. 118 F.Y.I. ....................................................................................................................................................... 119 ii iii Forward As a Bible teacher I’m sometimes asked, “Do you think we’re living in ‘The Last Days’?” In response, I usually smile and give my standard short answer, “Of course.” But then, before the person can ask me his/her inevitable follow-up question of just how much longer I think we might have before Jesus comes back, I add, “We’ve actually been living in ‘The Last Days’ for the past 2,000 years.” Technically speaking, “The Last Days” did, in fact, begin with the 1st Coming of Jesus (when He atoned for our sin), and they will end with His 2nd Coming (when He redeems our mortal bodies).1 However, I don’t want you to think I’m so dense as to misunderstand the real question being asked – the question which most likely attracted you to this seminar. Like generations of believers before you, you’re looking around at a world that seems to be coming apart at the seams and you’re wondering just how much longer it could possibly be before Jesus comes back and puts an end to such sinfulness. This seminar is my long answer to the real question(s) burning on the minds of so many Christians today - “Are we the generation that will experience the 2nd Coming of Jesus, and if so, what can we expect to happen?” Let me warn