Jesus taught us that the generation that sees the Nation of Israel, for the second time, become a nation once again, “It shall come to pass in that day That the Lord shall set His hand again THE SECOND TIME To recover the remnant of His people who are left…” (Isa. 11:11), (May 14th, 1948 Israel was recognized as a nation by President Harry S. Truman) those who see this, would NOT PASS AWAY until, “ALL THESE THINGS” (Matt 24:34), are fulfilled. “Therefore when you see the ‘ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand)…” (Matt. 24:15).
This “abomination” will occur 3½ years into the 7 year tribulation period, while that is happening on earth Christians will be attending the 7 year “Marriage Supper of the Lamb”, “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB has come, and His wife (the church) has MADE HERSELF READY.” And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, “Write: ‘BLESSED ARE THOSE who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are THE TRUE SAYINGS OF GOD.” (Rev. 19:7-9) Marriage customs in Bible times consisted of 3 significant stages. The first stage was betrothal, the establishment of the marriage covenant that bound the man and woman together as husband and wife (Mal. 2:14; Mt. 1:18– 19). The second stage was the taking of the bride or wife by the groom from her house to his father’s house (Mt. 25:1– 8). This taking of the bride was typically done during the night around one year after the betrothal. Because this second stage was the essence of the marriage ceremony, it was considered as the wedding or marriage (Mt. 22:2– 13; 25:10). It represents the expression “marriage of the Lamb” in (Rev. 19:7). The third stage was the marriage supper or feast to where we will feast and make merry for 7 years, while the people left behind, on Earth are going through tribulation.
This is what we must understand, the 7 years of tribulation cannot begin until Christ’s “Church” is taken out of the way. “…let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be GATHERED TO MEET HIM…that day will not come until there is a GREAT REBELLION AGAINST GOD and the man of lawlessness IS REVEALED—He will even SIT IN THE TEMPLE of God, CLAIMING THAT HE HIMSELF IS GOD…you know what IS HOLDING HIM BACK, for he can be revealed ONLY WHEN HIS TIME COMES. For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret UNTIL THE ONE WHO IS HOLDING IT BACK STEPS OUT OF THE WAY. Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed…” (2 Thess. 2:1-8) The Holy Spirit and the church will be taken “out of the way” at the rapture, so the anti-christ can not reign until the rapture happens. “…this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will RISE FIRST. Then we who are alive and remain shall be CAUGHT UP (harpazō: to snatch away, raptus: Latin, rapture in English.) TOGETHER WITH THEM in the clouds to MEET THE LORD in the air. And thus we shall ALWAYS BE with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thess. 4:15-18)
So back to this “Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will BY NO MEANS PASS AWAY till ALL THESE THINGS take place.” (Matt. 24:34) When I read this I felt lead to look at the 90th Psalm written by Moses, “The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years…” (Psa. 90:10) Moses was 120 years old when he died so he wasn’t talking about his life expectancy, it was 73 in 1900 it is NOW 80 in 2021. So we are OH SO CLOSE! “…you also must BE READY, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when YOU DO NOT EXPECT HIM.” (Matt. 24:44)
-Bill Stockham