Things Hereafter
Gordon Henry Hayhoe
Table of Contents
Things Hereafter
The testimony of Jesus is the sprit of prophecy Revelation 19:10
Foreword
This article is a short outline of "the things which shall be hereafter" (Rev. 4:1). At present we are living in the "church period" spoken of in Rev. 1:19, also in chapters 2 and 3, but God has "abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of His that in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him." Eph. 1:10. God our Father has told us of the events which will follow this present "church period", leading up to the time when Christ will have His rightful place, and until God is all in all. (1 Cor. 15:28).
May the knowledge of all this draw us nearer to Christ, separating us in heart and ways from this present evil world which is so soon to come under the judgment of God. We are waiting for God's Son from heaven, our Deliverer from the coming wrath. (1 Thess. 1:10).
Things Hereafter
The church, the body of Christ, was formed on the day of Pentecost by the coming of the Holy Spirit, and now those who believe the gospel are added to the church (Acts 2:47). They are thus united by the Spirit to Christ the Head in heaven and to every other believer on earth, for "there is one body." (Eph. 4:4, 1 Cor. 12:13, Eph. 1:13). It is our privilege now to be gathered to the precious Name of the Lord Jesus Christ as Members of His body (1 Cor. 10:17) to remember Him in His death till He comes (1 Cor. 11:23-26).
When the Lord Jesus comes into the air with a shout He will call all His own, the living ones and those who have died in faith, home to the Father's house (John 14:2,3; 1 Thess. 4:16-18). The Old Testament saints having died in faith, will also be caught up at this moment. They (the Old Testament saints) will not form part of the bride (the church) but will be the friends of the Bridegroom at the marriage of the Lamb in that glorious scene above. (1 Cor. 15:23, John 3:29, Heb. 12:23, Rev. 19:7-9).
The judgment seat of Christ, which is the manifestation of the lives of believers, will take place in heaven, and rewards will be given then for any faithfulness to Christ. This is not a question of our title to be with Christ in glory, which is only through the precious blood of Christ, but for manifestation and reward. The results of this will be seen at the marriage of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7,8), and will be displayed when Christ sets up His kingdom. (Luke 19:12-19, 1 Cor. 3:12-15, 1 Cor. 4:5).
After the church has been called away by the coming of the Lord (the rapture), God will begin to deal with the nation of Israel and there will be a time of tribulation for seven years. This tribulation will come on all the world (Rev.-3:10), but especially upon the Jews, for they rejected their Messiah (Jer. 30:7), and upon Christendom, the false church (Rev. 18:5,6). This seven year period is called "one week" in Dan. 9:27. In the last three and a half years of the tribulation (this is called the great tribulation) there will be a man rise up called "the beast", the head of ten nations in Europe which will have then united (Rev. 13:1-9). This is the revived Roman empire—the "iron mixed with miry clay" (Dan. 2:41-43), no doubt showing us that those mingled nations whose national roots are from Europe (the old Roman empire) will support this alliance, though they are "partly strong, and partly broken." God will use these ten nations to destroy the false church. (Rev. 17:16-18). An agreement having been made by "the beast" to protect the land of Israel, the Jews will have a leader over them called the antichrist, the son of perdition, who will be worshipped as God (Rev. 13:11;2 Thess. 2:3-10). These two (the beast and the antichrist) will be in full agreement in their awful apostacy (Rev. 13:11-18).
During these years there will be a godly remnant of the Jews raised up of God who will preach the gospel of the kingdom (Matt. 24:14) and they will be persecuted for their testimony. Some will be put to death for the Word of God (Rev. 6:9-11), and some because they refuse to receive the mark of the beast or to worship him (Rev. 15:2,3). Those who are killed will have a heavenly portion, and will reign over the earth in the millennial kingdom (Rev. 20:4). Others will be faithful, but their lives will be preserved of God to enter the millennial kingdom on earth (Rev. 14:1-5) when the whole twelve tribes of Israel will be blessed in their land (Rev. 7:1-8) (In Ezek. 20:34-38 we read of the return of the ten tribes at the end of the tribulation.) Many Gentiles who had not rejected the gospel of the grace of God, will accept the gospel of the kingdom and will also be blessed on earth with Israel. (2 Thess. 2:10-12, Rev. 7:9-17).
Because of the awful wickedness that will come in during those seven years of terrible tribulation when the world gives up the profession of God and of Christ and goes after the beast and the antichrist, God allows the king of the north and his confederacy of Arab nations (Dan. 11:40-45, Psa. 83:1-8, Isa. 28:18,19), to come into the land of Israel as an "overflowing scourge" destroying their country. This is the beginning of the "war of Armageddon" which is a series of judgments upon all the nations east and west, before the kingdom is established on earth with Christ as king (Rev. 16:13-16, Jer. 25:26-33).
When the beast (the head of the western powers, the revived Roman empire) comes in with his armies to protect Israel, as they have agreed, then the Lord will come out of heaven with His saints (2 Thess. 1:6-10, Jude 14,15, Rev. 1:7). He will then judge this great western confederacy, destroying their armies and casting the beast and the antichrist alive into the lake of fire. (Isa. 28:14,15; Dan. 9:27, Rev. 19:11-21).
The Lord's appearing at this time will be for the deliverance of the godly remnant of Israel who have put their trust in Him and are waiting for Him. (Isa. 8:9-18).
The king of the north (who is the head of the Arab confederacy) having gone down into Egypt after attacking Israel (Egypt is the king of the south), then returns into the land of Israel and is judged by the Lord Himself (Dan. 11:45, chap. 8: 24,25, Isa. 30:30-33).
When the Lord has judged these nations, that is, the Roman confederacy and the Arab confederacy, then the nation of Israel, the whole twelve tribes, will be gathered out of the nations to be blessed in their land (Isa. 18, Ezek. 20:34-38, Isa. 60:1-22). Russia and all her confederates will come out of the north parts at this time, making an attempt to overthrow the kingdom Christ has established in Israel, and the judgment of this last great enemy is described in Ezek. 38 and 39: 1-16.
The Lord having established His kingdom on earth, will gather all nations before the throne of His glory, and they will be judged as to how they have treated the messengers (the godly remnant) who announced the gospel of the kingdom (Matt. 25:31-46). Those who received them will enter the earthly kingdom for blessing, and the rejectors will be sent away into everlasting punishment. The Lord Jesus will then reign in peace for one thousand years (the millennium), openly judging evil as soon as it appears (Rev. 20:4, Psa. 101:8, Isa. 32:1, Hab. 2:14, Zech. 5:1-4). The heavenly saints will reign over the earth and Israel will reign on the earth. (Eph. 1:10, Psa. 45:16, Rev. 20:4). Satan will be bound and cast into the bottomless pit, and will not be able to deceive the nations for this thousand years (Rev. 20:2,3).
At the end of the thousand years, Satan will be released again and those who merely submitted to Christ's reign, but were not born again (Psa. 18:44), will follow Satan. The Lord will then judge Satan and all his followers and remove all evil from the earth forever (Rev. 20:7-10). Sinners who have died in their sins will then be raised and stand before the great white throne to be judged and sent to the lake of fire for eternity. (Rev. 20:11-15).
After this God will make a new heaven and a new earth where sin can never enter. Righteousness will dwell forever, and there will be two places of blessing, heavenly and earthly. The church's portion, with all those who have died in faith, will be heavenly, while the earthly millennial saints will enter the eternal earth. Nations will cease in the eternal state. (2 Peter 3:13, Rev. 21:1-5, Col. 1:20, 1 Cor. 15:24-28).
When we speak of these things and seek to search them out in the Word of God, let us never forget that verse in Rev. 19:10, "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." God delights to honor His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the second Man and the last Adam. He is the One who will fulfill all God's counsels and purposes, and since we who are saved are part of His glorious bride, and will share His glory as Man, He has revealed all these things to us (John 15:15, Eph. 1:8-11). The knowledge of His saving grace ought to fill our hearts and lips with praise, and separate us from this poor world that is so soon to come under God's judgment. It ought also to make us warn sinners of coming judgment as we repeat God's invitation in the last chapter of His Word, "Let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will let him take the water of life freely." Rev. 22:17.
"'Twas grace that wrote each name
In God's eternal book,
'Twas grace that gave us to the Lamb
Who all our burdens took. "
G.H.H.
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