Pre-Trib In My Inbox

By Nathan Jones

As Web Minister for Lamb & Lion Ministries, I get the blessing of responding each day to an in-boxful of questions related to Bible prophecy. Many of these questions come from people wanting to know about the return of Jesus Christ. They want to know when the Rapture will happen — before, during, or at the end of the Tribulation. Here's how I answer:

The timing of the Rapture — the removal of the Church in relation to the seven years of the Tribulation — confuses a lot of people because there are a lot of good theories out there as to when it will happen. People ask, "Will it happen before the Tribulation... the middle of the Tribulation... at the end of the Tribulation?"

For me, the best thing I ever did was to evaluate which theory has the most biblical support. I sat down and wrote out all the different proof texts that each of the views use. I ended up writing a six-part article series titled Why I Believe in a Pre-Trib Rapture to help me present the results of my biblical search — that the Bible overwhelmingly makes an argument for a Pre-Tribulation Rapture. In those articles I presented eleven different arguments as to why a Pre-Tribulation Rapture makes more sense than the other timing theories. The following are a few of those arguments.

Imminency

One of the most important arguments for a Pre-Tribulation Rapture is the imminency of Christ's Return. The verses on the Rapture (Jn. 14:1-14; 1 Cor. 15:51-58; 1 Thes. 4:13-18) tell us that nothing has to happen before the Rapture for it to occur. It could occur at any time. But, when we look at the Second Coming verses (Zech. 14:1-12; Matt. 24:29-31; Mk. 13:24-27; Lk. 21:25-27; Rev. 19) there are all sorts of events that have to happen before Jesus returns to the Earth — world devastation, the Antichrist, a one world government, and so on. So, the imminency in the timing of the Rapture tells us that nothing has to happen before it does, which also tells me that it is a separate event and it has to happen before the events of the Tribulation.

Trumpets

There are a number of different timing views, one such is the Mid-Tribulation Rapture view. Supporters of this view believe the Rapture hinges upon the sounding of the "last trumpet" (1 Cor. 15:52) and equate that trumpet as the Seventh Trumpet Judgment of God that is blown mid-way during the Tribulation (Rev. 11).

To recap the order of the judgments during the seven years of the Tribulation — it begins with the first four Seal and all seven of the Trumpet Judgments during the first 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation, then the last three Seal and all seven of the Bowl/Vial Judgments during the second 3 1/2 years.

I believe the Jewish feasts are God's way of showing that the "last trumpet" will most likely be the last Feast of Trumpets during the Church Age. The trumpet heard at the Rapture should not be confused with the last trumpet of the Trumpet Judgments.

That God would strangely leave the Church to have to suffer through half the Tribulation just doesn't make sense. Why doesn't God either take us out at the beginning or just leave us to suffer throughout the entire seven years? To remove us at the mid-point seems rather indiscriminate.

Heavenly Bodies

Then there is the view that the Rapture happens at the end of the Tribulation, called the Post-Tribulation Rapture. The most glaring problem with this timing view is that when Jesus returns at the Rapture He will change the believers' earthly bodies to the glorified bodies we are going to live in forever. If the believers u-turned and returned right back to Earth (for the Post-Trib view doesn't see the Rapture and the Second Coming as separate events), then who lives on into the Millennial Kingdom in human bodies that are capable of bearing children? Glorified bodies are like angels' bodies in that they will never reproduce. Because of this discrepancy, the Post-Tribulation Rapture view is totally unworkable.

Wrath

Then there is the Pre-Wrath Rapture view, which places the timing of the Rapture at the last quarter of the Tribulation, about five and a half years into the Tribulation. This view holds that believers in Christ will have to endure the Seal and Trumpet Judgments because they say those judgments are from Man and Satan, but believers will be exempt from the seven Bowl/Vial Judgments (Rev. 16) because they say those judgments are straight from God.

But, wasn't it Jesus who opened up the very first seal that started the judgments? Revelation 6:1 tells us this is so. And, Revelation 8:2 tell us that the trumpets for the Trumpet Judgments were handed out before God, clearly indicating that the wrath again comes from God Himself. Revelation 15:1 goes on to tell us that the Bowl/Vial Judgments complete God's wrath, not begin it. Revelation makes it crystal clear that the wrath poured out on the Earth from the very beginning of the Tribulation comes from God, making null the foundational point of the Pre-Wrath Rapture view that God's wrath comes only with the Bowl/Vial Judgments near the end of the Tribulation.

Deliverance

One verse that comes to mind when discussing God's wrath poured out during the Tribulation is 1 Thessalonians 1:10. This verse says that we are "to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead — Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath." The Church is promised here and in other verses (Lk. 21:36; Rom. 5:9; 1 Thes. 5:9; Rev. 3:10) that we are going to be delivered from the wrath that is to come. And, since the Tribulation is about the pouring out of God's wrath upon this Earth, why would believers in Christ even be around then? We will be taken out to be saved from that wrath, just as these verses promise.

Suffering

A number of Christians who don't hold to the Pre-Tribulation Rapture view point out that Christians have been suffering for 2,000 years. Christians were thrown to the lions in Caesar's time. Today, we have news reports from Pakistan and India that Muslims and Hindus are burning Christian houses and burning believers alive. "Why shouldn't we also suffer as well?" they ask. But, the Tribulation is a different set apart time like the Flood was for the pouring out of God's wrath upon the Earth in judgment for man's continued rebellion against Him. God's wrath on Earth during the Flood and then the Tribulation are specially set apart times compared to the day-to-day suffering all believers experience.

It is true, believers in Christ are not promised that we will be free of tribulation and increasing persecution. But, there is the tribulation we all face to varying degrees and then there's the Tribulation when half of humanity will die during the first 3 1/2 years. This will be a tribulation unlike the world has ever seen.

Escapism

One of the accusations that comes quite often from people who don't hold to a Pre-Tribulation Rapture is that we are merely escapists, unwilling to truly suffer for the Lord. We are accused of making up a fantasy escape plan to avoid the unpleasantness of the difficult times ahead.

In reply, I can only say, "Amen!" You know, it is one thing to suffer under the hand of man or even under the hand of Satan, but to suffer under the hand of the living God, well, that's a terrifying concept. Who could survive? As Revelation 6:17 states, "For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?"

I can be assured it is okay to be an escapist because the Bible tells us I have no choice in the matter. Jesus will come to take His Bride the Church up to Heaven before He pours out His wrath upon the world during the Tribulation.

Ephesians 5:6 tells us to "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient." The Church has been cleaned, they are no longer disobedient and deserving of God's wrath. Romans 5:9 assures us that "since we have now been justified by his [Christ's] blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!"

Noah was an escapist. Lot was an escapist. And so, it is not a bad thing to be called an escapist. Jesus in Luke 21:36 even instructs us to pray for an escape, saying "be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man." Well, if Jesus told me to pray to escape, then I am going to pray to escape.

Now, should I be willing to die for Jesus Christ? Most certainly, yes! But, that doesn't mean that I have to go through the Tribulation to somehow prove my mettle to God.

No, the Bible overwhelmingly supports the timing of the Rapture as happening before the Tribulation.

Differences Between the Rapture and Second Coming

By Nathan Jones

As Web Minister for Lamb & Lion Ministries, I get the blessing each day of responding to an in-boxful of great questions related to Bible prophecy. Many of these questions come from people wanting to know more about the return of Jesus Christ.

Concerning Jesus' prophesied return, it comes as a surprise to some to find out that the Rapture is an event that is going to occur separate and apart from the Second Coming. Here's how I explain it:

When you look at the Bible verses on the Rapture — John 14:1-14, 1 Corinthians 15:51-58, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 — and then you look at other verses that talk about the Second Coming — Zechariah 14:1-12, Jesus' account in Matthew 24:29-31 and in Mark 13:24-27, Luke 21:25-27, and Revelation 19 — when compared they tell a different story. We go into reading these verses as if they are supposed to be all about the Second Coming, but discover there is a vast difference between the two accounts.

For instance, if you look at the verses particularly about the Rapture, they tell that when Jesus comes He comes in the air. Believers are brought from the ground up into the air to be with Christ. But, in Second Coming verses, the order occurs the other way around — Jesus is coming down and He actually lands on Earth. So, for the Rapture Jesus is up in the air, but for the Second Coming Jesus comes to the ground.

Also, take the Mount of Olives. In the Rapture verses believers in Christ are brought up into the air and Jesus is waiting for them. But, in the Second Coming verses Jesus comes down to Earth and when He lands (especially in Zechariah 14 explains this) the Mount of Olives splits forming a new valley on the East side of Jerusalem. For such a remarkable event, there is oddly no mention of that in the Rapture verses.

It is like the Rapture and the Second Coming are two different stories — two different events — and so I think that is indeed the case.

Again, let's look at the location of believers in Christ during these events. The believers are brought up to Heaven in the Rapture verses, but when Jesus comes back to Earth there are believers on the Earth. So, if Jesus brought all the believers up at the Rapture, how could there be believers still on the Earth at the Second Coming? A significant time lapse would have had to occur between the Rapture and Second Coming for so many people to come to believe in Jesus as Savior. So, again, these have to be two separate and distinct events.

When you read like 1 Thessalonians 4 and you compare it to Revelation 19 you find they don't have anything in common except that they both focus upon Jesus Christ. In one account Jesus appears in the heavens, but in the other account He comes down to Earth. In one He appears for His believers and the other He returns with His believers.

Even the nature of Christ's return is different. In the Rapture account He is appearing as a Deliverer and as a Bridegroom for His Bride, but in the Second Coming account He is coming back to Earth for the purpose of pouring out the wrath of God upon those who have rejected the grace, mercy and love of God, and He comes with His believers and He comes to be a King. They have to be two different events because the stories just don't line up.

What these differences mean is that the Second Coming of Jesus is going to occur in two stages — first the Rapture for the Church and second the later return to the Earth of Jesus with His Church to reign.

Having the Second Coming in two separate stages solves a problem with the differences in accounts, in that the Bible tells us that we cannot know anything about the timing of the Lord's return (Matt. 24:36-24). And, yet, if we go over to the book of Revelation we'll see it says that once the Antichrist signs a peace covenant the time will be exactly seven years until Jesus returns (Dan. 9; Rev. 11). These scriptures give us the exact amount of time that God is going to pour out His wrath on this Earth — 84 months. So, when Jesus in Matthew 24 speaks about not knowing when Christ's coming will happen, it has to be referring to the Rapture. Even Jesus says He doesn't know when He is supposed to come back to the Earth. If the Antichrist signed a peace treaty and then 3 1/2 years later desecrated the newly rebuilt Temple, Jesus could say, "Okay, I've got this many days before I am going to show up."

Because of these differences in the accounts, the Rapture and the Second Coming must be separate events within Jesus' prophesied return.

Thanksgiving And Spiritual Blessings

By Dr. David R. Reagan

I want to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very blessed season of Thanksgiving!

During this Thanksgiving season are you counting your blessings? I hope so. We all need to be doing that. What do you consider to be your greatest blessing? Is it your health, your job, your family? What about spiritual blessings? Are you counting them? If so, what are they?

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year — a time of family, fellowship, and good food. I have many wonderful memories of family gatherings at Thanksgiving and I am sure you do, too. Personally, I believe that for a Christian every day of the year should be a day of thanksgiving. I have found over the years that a heart filled with thanksgiving is one of the best medicines for emotional and physical health.

I make it a point at least once a month if not more frequently to sit down and make a list of things in my prayer journal that I am thankful for. I sometimes spend as much as 30-45 minutes working on the list. And, in the process, I try to think about things that we tend to take for granted — things like pure water, electricity, air conditioning, a house to live in and a car to drive.

Did you know that 80% of all sickness in the world is attributable to unsafe drinking water? Did you know that if you keep food in a refrigerator, clothes in a closet, and sleep in a bed with a roof over your head, you are richer than 75% of the entire population of the world? Did you know that out of every 100 people in this world 18 struggle to live on less than one dollar a day and 53 struggle to live on two dollars a day?

We have so much to be thankful for in this country, and we tend to be so unthankful. We fret over the fact that we don't have a color TV set in every room, when most of the world lives without access to electricity. It's one of the reasons that I believe that every American teenager should be sent to live a couple of weeks in a third world country like Mexico just to see how most people in the world are involved in a daily struggle to merely survive. All of us in the United States should be living with an attitude of gratitude.

One of my favorite passages of Scripture is Psalm 100 which is labeled with a superscription that says, "A Psalm of Thanksgiving." It is the only Psalm that bears such a label. And it says in part, "Shout joyfully to the Lord all the Earth, serve the Lord with gladness. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise." That is the attitude we should live with, even in tough times when things are not going smoothly for us.

The thing we should be most grateful for is the salvation that Jesus provided for us through His sacrifice on the cross for our sins. What a glorious gift! And, it is precisely that — a gift. The Bible teaches very clearly that the forgiveness of our sins is something that cannot be earned. It is a free gift of God through faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Have you ever thought about the fact that salvation by grace through faith is one of the things that sets Christianity apart from all other religions?

Every other religion in the world teaches the satanic concept of salvation through good works. Christianity alone teaches that one cannot be saved by good works. Our only hope is the righteousness of Jesus which is applied to us when we put our faith in Him. Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church in Dallas has a wonderful way of putting it. He says, "Every religion in the world except Christianity is spelled 'D-O,' only Christianity is spelled 'D-O-N-E.'" In other words, Jesus did it all for us by sacrificing His perfect life for our sins.

A second spiritual blessing I want to thank God for is one that is yet to take place. It is based upon a promise of God that can be found in John 14, 1 Corinthians 15, and 1 Thessalonians 4. It is called the Rapture of the Church. The apostle Paul describes the Rapture in detail in 1 Thessalonians 4 beginning with verse 13. When Paul finishes his explanation of it, he writes in verse 18, "Comfort one another with these words." The promise of the Rapture is supposed to be a source of great comfort to those of us who are believers in Jesus Christ.

Don't pass up this Thanksgiving season without accepting Jesus as your Savior. Remember to thank Him for His loving sacrifice on your behalf. Give praise for the great hope Jesus has given us, for we know that those who love Him will soon be gathered home to Heaven.

Fighting for Freedom

By Dr. David R. Reagan

The National Religious Broadcasters is a Christian organization on the front lines of the battle to preserve freedom of religious speech in this nation.

The NRB was founded 65 years ago at a meeting held at Moody Bible Church in Chicago. Its formation was motivated by the fact that evangelical denominations were unable to obtain radio time because what little time was available for religious purposes was controlled by the mainline Protestant denominations through the Federal Council of Churches.

Today, the NRB is focusing its efforts on protecting churches in general and religious broadcasters in particular from government encroachment on their freedoms under the Constitution. Specifically, the NRB is trying to prevent hate crime legislation from curtailing the right of preachers to speak out against sins like homosexuality. The organization is also battling to prevent the pending Employment Non-Discrimination Act from requiring churches and ministries to hire homosexuals, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered persons.

The major battle the NRB is fighting relates to the "Fairness Doctrine." The Fairness Doctrine was a government regulation, created in 1949, which required all broadcast media to give equal air time to opposing points of view whenever controversial issues were presented. For the 38 years that this regulation governed America's airwaves, it had — by its very nature — a chilling effect on the freedom of speech and the free exercise of religion.

In 1987, the FCC, at the request of President Ronald Reagan, eliminated the intrusive and ill-conceived Fairness Doctrine. But there is a new effort to re-institute the doctrine in order to limit conservative talk radio and religious broadcasting. The NRB is fighting this effort and is supporting alternative legislation called The Broadcaster Freedom Act.

Finally, the NRB is the organization that is constantly calling on the FCC to enforce broadcast decency standards.

We are a proud member of the NRB, and I serve on the President's Council. You can find their website at www.nrb.org. Put the NRB on your prayer list and pray for the success of its efforts to preserve freedom of religious speech in this nation.

(Editor's Note: NRB Today reports breaking events as they occur in Washington D.C. concerning religious freedoms.)

Busy Week In Prophetic Fulfillment

By Nathan Jones

Students of Bible prophecy are always keeping a close eye on the news, looking for events that fulfill what the Bible explicitly says will lead up to Jesus' soon return. This past few weeks the news has been filled chock full with set-up events that have arranged the players in their proper place for an epic prophetic event.

Read through the following headlines and summaries and see if you can recognize just which prophetically appointed event we're looking at. (I'll give you a hint: there's more than one.)

1. Iran Leaders Pave Way for Messianic 'Mahdi'
Iran last week held a multi-day conference... to plot what can be done to hasten the coming of the messianic, endtimes personage known as the Mahdi. Shiite Muslims believing the Mahdi is a messianic figure who will return after an apocalypse to elevate Shiite Islam to the status of the only true religion, with the consequence that all false religions, including Sunni Islam, will be vanquished. Israeli military intelligence experts are convinced that Ahmadinejad's expressed religious devotion to the Mahdi is genuine.

2. Famous quotes by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
"Anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation's fury,”
"The skirmishes in the occupied land are part of a war of destiny. The outcome of hundreds of years of war will be defined in Palestinian land. As the Imam said, Israel must be wiped off the map."

3. 5 more nuke plants spotted in Iran
Deep-cover MI6 agents who found the previously secret underground uranium enrichment plant near the Iranian holy city of Qom have discovered a staggering five more similar plants.

4. Iran Has Enough Uranium to Build at Least 2 Bombs
IAEA indicates that Iran now has at least 1,508 kgs of low-grade uranium. Thus, Iran now appears to have the essential materials to move steadily towards building two atomic bombs as soon as it makes the political decision to do so.

5. Gaza rockets can now reach Tel Aviv
The head of Israel's Military Intelligence on Tuesday November 2nd warned that Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip now possess missiles capable of striking Tel Aviv.

6. Iran Threatens Oil Transport Route
With the prospect of Israel bombing Iran's nuclear facilities looming, Tehran has renewed its threat to shut down the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which up to 40 percent of the world's oil supplies pass.

7. Sudan wins a seat on the UN Human Rights Commission

8. Turkey: An Ally No More
Turkey has taken a radical turn in their international policies, abandoning almost overnight its 2 decades long relationship with Israel. On October 13, 2009, Turkey cancelled a joint military exercise with Israel and instead signed a treaty with Syria that includes plans to strengthen military ties and to end visa requirements for each country. Syria is one of Israel's most aggressively hostile border enemies.

9. Armenian-Turkish Accord
In the news is the historical geo-political establishment of protocols for full diplomatic relations between the Armenian and Turkish peoples. Armenia is also full member of the Russian-led military alliance known as the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

10. Large Quantities of Natural Gas Found off Haifa Coast
Israel continues to explore the mother lode of natural gas deposits. Noble Energy and a consortium of exploration and drilling companies have after 5 years of drilling at the Tamar site 56 miles west of the northern port of Haifa discovered an estimated 3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

11. Russian-Syrian-Iranian Axis
Russia, Iran and Syria have entered a defense pact that is in the process of altering the balance of power in the entire Middle East. The facts reveal a long, steady Russian commitment to the Iranian nuclear program and arms supply to Syria.

Painting A Prophetic Picture

Russia and Iran allies? Turkey turning on Israel and siding with Iran. Russia playing behind the scenes giving nuclear know-how and weapons for an attack on Israel? Mismatched countries now united by their Islamic hatred and jealousy of the Jews. Israel discovering exceeding wealth in natural gas? This all sounds very familiar, like I read it somewhere in the Bible. Indeed I did, in the book of Ezekiel, a prophet who wrote God’s prophetic word down almost 2,600 years ago.

Ezekiel in chapters 38 and 39 tell in great detail of an epic battle that will change the very world we live in — called the "Gog-Magog Battle." In this battle God entices the greed of a ruler designated "Gog" to lead the modern equivalents of Russia, Turkey, Armenia, the "Stan" countries, Iran, Sudan, Ethiopia, Lybia, and Algeria in an effort to plunder and annihilate Israel. Their effort is in vain, though, for God miraculously destroys the invading Muslim horde with His signature fire and brimstone, earthquakes and hailstones.

The alliances for this battle are already in place. Israel will be forced to deal with this threat in the very near future. In their present humanistic ideological mindset the Jewish nation doesn't yet see that God has got their backs, so they will feel forced to act, and act expediently, or face extermination.

But first, there are the surrounding jihadist nations bordering Israel like Jordan, Egypt, Gaza, Lebanon and Syria who bewilderingly sit out the Gog-Magog Battle for Israel to contend with. And then, there is the question about whether the Church will be here for such a "time of Jacob's trouble."

The current news paints a grand picture showing that we are on the dagger's edge of the fulfillment of a great number of end time prophetic events.

Daniel: On the Timing of the Lords Return

By Dr. David R. Reagan

A wonderful end time theme in the book of Daniel relates to the timing of the Lord's return. Daniel provides us with several clues. The first is found in Daniel 9:24-27 in the prophecy of the 70 Weeks of Years.

In this famous prophecy, Daniel tells us that all the prophecies concerning the Jewish people will be fulfilled at the end of a period of 490 years. His prophecy then makes it clear that there will be a gap between the first 483 years and the final 7 years. We know from the book of Revelation that the final 7 years of this prophecy will constitute the Great Tribulation when God will pour out His wrath upon the rebellious nations of the world and in the process will bring the Jewish people to the end of themselves, resulting in the salvation of a great remnant.

So, the first clue as to the timing of the Lord's return is that it will take place at the end of the Tribulation. This timing is confirmed in the New Testament book of Revelation (19:1-16).

Daniel establishes this timing again in chapter 12. There he refers to the Great Tribulation as "a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time" (Daniel 12:1). He says that some of the Jewish people will be "rescued" at the end of this terrible period at the time when the rest of the Jewish righteous will be resurrected. Again, this is at the end of the Tribulation and will occur when the Messiah returns. (This "rescue" is described in Zechariah 12:10.)

Chapter 12 of Daniel provides us with two more clues as to when the Messiah will return. These clues are what we call "signs of the times." The first is found in verse 4 where Daniel is told that the fulfillment of all the prophecies he has been given (including, of course, the return of the Messiah) will occur at "the end of time" when travel and knowledge will be greatly increased. That explosion occurred during the 20th Century and continues to accelerate to this very day.

Then, in verses 8 and 9 Daniel is told that his prophecies will not be understood until "the end time." We must be in that time today for we are now understanding end time prophecies that no one has ever understood before due to historical developments and technological inventions.

For example, most end time prophecies revolve around a reestablished nation of Israel. How could those prophecies be understood before the re-establishment of Israel in 1948, an event that most people denied could ever happen right up to the very day that it occurred?

And then there are many prophecies that could never be understood apart from modern technological inventions. How could the whole world look upon two bodies lying in the streets of Jerusalem (Revelation 11:9)? Satellite television has made that possible. How could one-third of the earth be burned up in warfare (Revelation 8:7)? The advent of nuclear weapons has made this possible. The list goes on and on.

Amazing Future

Daniel's incredible prophecies make it clear that both wrath and glory lie before us. We are on the threshold of terrible days of Tribulation, but they will be followed by a glorious age when all the saints of God, both Old and New Testament, will reign with Jesus in their glorified bodies over all the nations of the earth.

Daniel's prophecies also make it clear that God is in control. He is on the throne, He is directing the course of human events, and He has the wisdom and power to orchestrate all the evil of Satan and Man to the triumph of His Son.

The overriding theme of Daniel is the absolute sovereignty of God. As we try to cope with the increasingly pagan and evil world we live in, let us be reminded of the words of Daniel recorded in chapter 2, verses 20-23a:

"Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever,
For wisdom and power belong to Him.
And it is He who changes the times and the epochs;
He removes kings and establishes kings;
He gives wisdom to wise men,
And knowledge to men of understanding.
It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things;
He knows what is in the darkness,
And the light dwells in Him.
To Thee, O God of my fathers,
I give thanks and praise..."

Daniel: On the Triumph of Jesus Christ

By Dr. David R. Reagan

A great end time theme in the book of Daniel is the absolute triumph in history that God will give to His Son. Jesus was vilified and crucified at His First Coming, but when He returns, He will be vindicated and glorified.

The first glimpse of this triumph is given to us in chapter 2. Remember Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the giant and beautiful statute of a man? The last Gentile kingdom, the one represented by the feet and toes made of clay and iron is supernaturally destroyed (Daniel 2:34-35).

Do you remember how it was destroyed? "By a stone cut out without hands" (verse 34). It struck the feet and crushed them, bringing down the entire statue, and then "the stone became a great mountain and filled the whole earth" (verse 35).

Daniel explains that the stone represents the kingdom of God coming to earth, destroying the kingdom of the Antichrist and putting an end to all Gentile kingdoms (verses 44-45). Zechariah and Revelation reveal this will take place at the Second Coming of Jesus.

The next vision of the Lord's triumph is presented in Daniel chapter 7. We are told in verses 13 and 14 that Daniel experienced a night vision in which he saw the "Son of Man" (Jesus) presented to the "Ancient of Days" (God the Father). Jesus was given "dominion, glory, and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve Him" (verse 14). In verses 18 and 27 we are further told that the "saints of the Highest One" (the Redeemed) will reign with Jesus over all the world.

This vision of the future reign of Jesus with His saints is a persistent theme of Bible prophecy, found in both the Old and New Testaments. (See: Isaiah 2:2-4, Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah 11:4-9, Zechariah 14:1-9, 2 Timothy 2:12, Revelation 2:26-27, Revelation 3:21, Revelation 5:9-10, and Revelation 20:4.)