Part 1:Introduction - Starting with an
Intelligent Designer
Part 2: Overview of Human History - how God's Agenda Unfolds (this page)
Part 3: How I see the Future & Answering
some Misconceptions
Part 4: Time and Timelessness
Creation
Adam and Eve's growing Family
Noah's Ark
Noah's Family becomes Nations
God's Covenant with Abraham
The Israelite Nation era
Israel's Dispersion and Return from other nations
Christ's time on earth, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension to Heaven
The Church age - Where we are right now!
What's coming yet! (More notes below)
The Rapture - this removes the Church (members of Christ) to Heaven.
Tribulation - 7 years of plagues as sent by God via angels.
Christ's return to settle the battle of Armageddon
(Satan, anti-Christ and false prophet chained in pit)
Millennium - Jesus rules the world from Jerusalem for 1000 years of peace.
Satan released to tempt those born during millennium (everybody gets to
choose/deny Christ)
Final defeat of Satan - in Hell forever after!
White Throne Judgment
A NEW Heaven and a NEW Earth.
New race of humans on that earth?
Creation
God created this earth and the sun and moon and stars in the six days described in Genesis. Because
God is of and in eternity, a day in His mind can be whatever length He makes it. More simply, God is
not restricted to a planet that revolves around a sun, and thus gets days and nights. Because He is the
Intelligent Designer, and He is the Brains and the Power that runs the whole universe, God has no need
of night to rest or food; if He did (perish the thought!) He certainly wouldn't depend on us, His creative
handiwork, to provide it for Him.
Still, God knew we'd be tremendously curious, so He used "day" as we understand it. If God had meant it otherwise, I am sure He would have explained it. He doesn't owe us any explanations, but since He IS TRUTH, God would not mislead us.
Adam and Eve's growing Family
There was a period, after the Garden of Eden test, where the sons and daughters of Adam and
Eve multiplied and peopled the earth. Many, like Cain, choose not to follow God's instructions
for trusting Him for a future salvation. Instead they rebelled and went their own selfish ways, until
God made an example of them. He wanted to show all of us the consequences of such choices, so He
had Noah prepare an ark, and save a reproductive pair from each animal species, and Noah's family.
Noah's Ark
That Great World-wide Flood was God's way of saying, "I've had enough of your evil ways; I can wipe
you out!" It had some major cataclysmic effects; changing weather patterns, washing carcasses and
debris around from one part of the world to another, giving archeologists some lively puzzles. It's
also quite likely that continents were formed when those springs came up out of the earth, for we
read that the waters came from above and from below (Genesis chapters 6-8).
(There are scientists and books that can prove that most of the dinasaurs and other bones people are finding now-a-days, are not from billions of years ago, but merely date back to the flood).
Noah's Family becomes Nations
After the flood the earth was repopulated again, and when they wanted to build their own way to
Heaven with the tower of Babel, God intervened by giving them different languages and dialects
and scattered them around to spread all over the earth. Genesis tells us exactly which nations
came from which of Noah's sons and grandsons. (God's genealogy records are utterly perfect and
complete).
God's Covenant with Abraham
Next God choose Abram and promised to make a great nation out of him if he would go where He,
God, guided. Abram did, and the Israelite nation was the result. Much of the Bible is devoted to their
history. God gave us that record so we could learn from His dealings with His own chosen people. Do
you want to know God better? Study the Old Testament, and God's dealings with them, and of course,
His spoken (and written) messages through the prophets.
The Israelite Nation era
God worked with Abram/Abraham's descendants to turn them into a nation. In our human, earthly
time-scale, that is not an over-night job. He wanted them to be a theocratic nation, first of all, so the
world could see what happens when everyone in a nation sees God as their leader, and obeys. The
Israelites failed the test, and begged for kings like their heathen neighbour nations, instead of God's
prophets, who acted as their direct intermediaries with God.
So God let them have kings. Saul, the tall shy guy, turned into a selfish, jealous despot. David was better, but had problems with immorality and being a poor dad. Solomon, his son, did seek God's wisdom when God offered him His options. But he turned materialistic and immoral too. From there on they were mostly worse. The rise and fall of kings are described in quite some detail in 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles, in the Old Testament.
Israel's Dispersion and Return from other nations
God also sent prophets and via their visions and announcements, God informed Israel, that there
were consequences for their wrong choices. These involved being over-taken by other nations,
and dragged off into slavery. It happened several times over! Usually because they began to worship
the idols of the countries around them, and inter-married with heathen nations. They spent seventy
years in Babylon.
It was in Babylon, that one of their fine young princes, Daniel, was made a eunuch to serve in the courts. He was a faithful, obedient servant, and used his intellectual gifts well, but he also always remained true to his faith in the One, True God.
God honoured him with special visions and the interpretions of them, which included God's agenda for the kingdoms yet to rise and fall, and His own schedule and plan for the human race. God confided His plans to Daniel to help him interrpret King Nebuchadnezzar's dream, and in response to Daniel's prayers of repentance on behalf of his nation.
Some of this has come to pass, but much is still happening in our day and age, and more is yet to come! However, God has hidden this in the picture language He used to show Daniel this, and only scholars, whose heart or spirit is in right fellowship with God, are able to understand these prophecies.
Christ's time on earth, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension
to Heaven
These are covered in the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. As we read them, and get to
know the character and mind of Christ, we also get to see the Father-God in Him.
Jesus Himself fortold some events for the end of time as we know it, but the longer passages can be studied in the last book of the Bible, Revelation. These scenes of spiritual and global events to come were shown to the apostle John while exiled to the island of Patmos.
The Church age - Where we are right now!
This is the era of history in which we, the human race, and the earth are right now. It has been in this stage for 2005 years, and the time is ripe for the prophecies of the future to come to pass! Any day now!
The Rapture
This is the next prophecy to be fulfilled. All the ones prior to this about the condition of the
world scene, etc., are already in place. This is when all the true believers in Christ Jesus, will
vanish in a split second. Those believers that have already died will have their graves opened,
and they will - with new bodies - join the rest of the saints in a great meeting in the air. The are
the Church universal, the Bride of Christ.
They go up to Heaven, where there will be one enormous wedding feast celebration, as Christ and His Bride, the Church are finally united forever. This jubulant celebration will last for seven years!
Meantime, the disappearance of so many people is going to create great havoc and sorrow on earth. People who thought they were Christians, but had not received Christ as their personal Saviour and Lord, will mourn tremendously. I'm sure many will make efforts to worship and obey God, but it will be very hard, and most of them will end up as martyrs.
For out of that chaos will rise a world dictator, who will promise peace, and reign with an iron fist. Everything will be blamed on God and the Christians that have disappeared, and no doubt, theories advanced as to what happened to them.
Tribulation
Those seven years will be terrible. I don't wish them on anyone. But Revelation, the last book of
the Bible, describes in detail, how angels will pour out plagues on the earth, one after another, as
God commands them. Aside from the 144,000 Jewish evangelists that will be sealed and some late
believers who shall be guarded from some plagues, it will be a horrific time. The current tsunamis
and hurricane devastations we see are but a faint pre-cursor.
Just to name a few, there will be; hail mixed with blood, a third of the earth's vegetation burned up, a blazing mountain thrown into the sea killing living creatures and destroying ships, and a great star, called Wormwood, falling and ruining the rivers and water springs, making them bitter.
More? A great Abyss will be opened, darkening the sun with its smoke, and out of that pit will come strange locusts that seem like a genetic experiment gone bad, with a mixed appearance of horses and humans, and with tails like scorpions. These will move across the land like a true plague of locusts.
There are more! But I'll let you read Revelation for yourself.
Christ's return to settle the battle of Armageddon
Towards the end of that seven years of terror, the nations of the world shall gang up against Israel
for a war in a valley called Armageddon. They are about to be wiped out. But Christ will suddenly
appear, landing on the mount of Olives, and as His feet touch it, the mountain will split in half.
The enemy armies will be slain with a glance from the Saviour.
(Satan, anti-Christ and false prophet chained in pit)
The Millennium
This is the thousand year reign of peace on earth, when Christ and His Bride, the Church, will rule
the world from Jerusalem. Since we who were raptured, will have new glorified bodies like His,
we can appear anywhere instantly around the earth, and help to right the wrongs and the messes,
and assist people who have survived, to start over again and discover what it is like to really, truly
have world peace, and to have Jesus as King and Lord of their lives!
Christians who are part of that Church that was at the wedding feast in Heaven will not be angels, but will know the mind of Christ Jesus, and be busy doing His will. Most likely travelling swiftly like angels, but able to minister to people with needs in a more wonderful way, because those Christians can identify with them.
The kind of work we'll do - for I fully expect to be part of this number - will depend on the gifts and skills we have learned in this lifetime. Most likely on how intimately we knew Him in our prayer life too.
Satan will be released...
During that millennium of peace on earth, there will be people born, who will not have had
opportunity to choose between good and evil because everyone is obeying Christ. God wants them
to have a chance to choose of their own free will, so at the end of that millenium, We read in
Revelation that God will release Satan for a short time to be their tempter. Really, God is very
fair; everyone gets to choose whether to receive Christ of their own free will.
Satan's Final Defeat - in Hell forever after!
However, God is as always, still in charge. He will toss Satan into Hell forever. All who have
rebelled against God or refused His plan of salvation will go into the same place with Satan.
No return ever possible.
White Throne Judgment
Now this is the time of the great judgement for our lives, and where the good are separated from
the evil for eternity. Just like sheep separated from goats. This is when God will open His Big
Book of LIFE and see whose names are written in it. Whose ever name is not in it, will be cast
into the Lake of Fire. Hell.
A NEW Heaven and a NEW Earth!
The present earth shall be consumed with a fervent heat. Just how is not spelled out yet, but if
He can change the earth's face and atmosphere as He did through a universal flood, I'm sure He
can do it again in other ways with a cleansing, refining fire over the whole earth as a planet. We
may find that the basic elements of earth change to new forms, so that dust and gravel are gold
and gemstones. He has promised that what will come out of that is - a new Heaven and earth
with a Holy City coming down on it. It will be PERFECT, and the saints/Christians will come and
go freely in their new home.
New Race of Humans on that Earth?
I don't know just how, but that seems to be what the Bible says, that this renewed, transformed
earth will be our home forever. Whether it will be populated by a new race besides us, I don't
know either, but we can be sure Satan will not show up again. He's gone forever, hallelujah!
Praise God!
Science Fiction
Si Fi writers love to create new worlds and new orders and species, etc., but I doubt that any of
them can remotely match the glorious things God has planned for those who worship Him.
The scenario where some survivors of some holocaust wander around on earth and start over again, getting back to a semblance of the lifestyles they had before...? Uh-uh. I don't think so.
Nor do I see some lost spirits in limbo, standing outside the transparent glass walls of the New Jersusalem, and wishing they had made other decisions, and plotting how to get in eventually. I mean, I don't know everything, but that just doesn't compute with what I've read in the Bible.
Are you still with me? Shall I show you how I see the future in light of the Bible, and answer some misconceptions from the fertile imaginations of humans like ourselves? Let's go to Page 3 then.
Ruth Marlene Friesen The Responsible One |
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