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                                                       Bible Study 2001  

Teacher: The Holy Spirit of God 

Topic: The End of The Church Age, The Beginning of The Seventh Millennium 

       God revealed His thread of truth concerning end-time events from the beginning of Genesis to the Book of Revelation. The Old Testament foreshadowed the actual events. The New Testament also reveals end-time events through parables. 
       We know that Jesus taught mostly in parables. A parable is a parallel, a simple story illustrating scriptural truth and insight. Parables are like windows which allow you to see truth that has been there all the time but was somehow hidden or out of sight. 

                                                                                                             Charles Capps 

       All Scripture is truly given by inspiration of God. (2Tim. 3:16). There is a special reason for every Scripture recorded in the Bible. Many Scriptures have a double reference, revealing prophetic insight and details in progressive revelations. God’s Word to Daniel was: “shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end...” (Dan. 12:4). We are the generation to which end-time revelation has come. God reveals these revelations in numerical order, in your search for the truth you will have to deal with biblical numerics. This means that God uses numbers to confirm revelation as well as words. It seems that God has now lifted the curtain on end-time revelation. What the former generations sought desperately to know, God is revealing to this last generation. In former generations, much of the prophetic Word concerning the end-time had been sealed or partially veiled because of the time in which that generation lived. They simply could not grasp the understanding of the many events that were prophesied, because they did not know about inventions such as television, computers, modern weapons of mass destruction, and fast transportation. Therefore, they couldn’t identify with certain prophecies to any degree of understanding for lack of this knowledge. So they were sort of left in the dark, or as Paul stated, seeing through a glass darkly. But today, knowledge has increased dramatically and prophetic revelations are being unveiled by time itself to this end-time generation. This generation is blessed beyond any that has lived on planet earth since the beginning of creation, because there will be the glorious appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ. According to (1Thess. 4:15-17), and (1Cor. 15:51, 52) Jesus’ return to this dead and dying world will be “imminent” and unless you are saved you will be caught by surprise left behind to endure the Tribulation period, the earthly hell. 

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       The next Bible prophecy that soon will be fulfilled will be (1Thess. 4:15-17). This statement is made in view of my premillennial and pretribulational theological belief. In our study of “eschatology,” or “the last things,” I do believe that the rapture of the Church will precede the Tribulation period and the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ on earth. The Bible does not say that (1Thess. 4:15-17) will happen soon but the conclusion is no doubt “imminent” and therefore could happen at any moment. No one can know when a imminent event will occur. If something must take place before a event can happen then the event is not imminent. Thus, an imminent event is one that is always hanging overhead, is always close at hand, and one should always be prepared for it to happen at any moment. True, because an event is imminent does not mean that it will happen soon. But in this study I will attempt not only to show, but prove that 
(1Thess. 4:15-17) and (1Cor. 15:51, 52) are imminent prophecies that will happen very soon. There is only one truth and “truth came by Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17). Since there is one and only one Jesus Christ it stands to be said that there can only be one truth! 
       The signs of the times are clear: planet earth is winding down, while fulfillment of prophetic events are escalating profoundly. In the twenty-first century our hope is in the Person of Jesus Christ the Son of God, the anointed Messiah, and His promised appearance to catch away those who have placed their faith in Him and in His resurrection power. 
       Not one prophecy recorded in the Bible has ever failed! When Bible critics believed that Israel could never become a nation again and when the critics thought for sure the Bible was wrong concerning Israel, in one divine act of God in 1948 God did what man labeled impossible: He began gathering the Jewish people back to that tiny strip of real estate in the Middle East, restoring their nation. It was from that moment in 1948 that prophetic events began to accelerate towards complete fulfillment concerning Israel. But until Jesus the Messiah returns to rule the earth in His righteous kingdom, there will be no lasting peace for planet earth. 
       As we approach the end-times, time shall grow faster and closer, faster and closer... until the wicked shall be cut off. We are spiraling faster and faster through the narrow end of the triangle of time, and while it seems that there is not enough time to go around time completely controls us. 
       God has allotted a specific time for prophetic end-time events, and they must transpire in His timing to fulfill all prophetic Scriptures concerning this age. Their fulfillment will close out the Church Age With the Rapture of the Church. 
       Then the fulfillment of the Seventieth Week of Daniel will begin, which is seven years of tribulation, which will usher planet earth into its last Millennium. Christ will return from heaven with His saints at the end of that seven year period; and there will be a thousand years of peace. The end of the thousand years of peace will bring about the 

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appointed end of the wicked and rebellious of all ages. They will receive their just recompense of reward, with Satan and all of his emissaries being cast into the lake of fire. Then the righteous of all ages will be enveloped into eternity with a new heaven and a new earth, as the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, descends out of heaven from God. Are you ready, did you accept Jesus Christ the only means to salvation for the ride into eternity? If you did then hopefully this information will inspire you to witness to someone or to everyone that is not saved, or are lost, or who have fallen astray that you might plant a seed that will lead them to accept Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior the only way to true salvation. 
       Regardless of who you approach on the streets today, whether sinner or saint; they are conscious of the fact that time is about to run out for planet earth. They know that some events of major proportion are about to take place. But without the light of God’s Word, they really don’t have a clue as to what they are, or when they will take place. 
       Yet from the beginning, God has revealed the events of the end-time. This has been done in two ways: through His prophetic Word, and by past events recorded in the Scriptures that reveal the future in a very unique way. Anyone who truly seeks God and wants to know the truth will find it. This I know personally to be a fact. Seek the truth! 
       God has woven a thread of parallel truth through His Word, even into everyday events, which gives us great revelation and insight into God’s grand finale that will end this age. The truth is the last days are at least two thousand years long. The last days refer to the Church Age, which according to what we see in Scripture is a period of two thousand years. God in His infinite wisdom has placed signs in His Word along our journey into eternity, to let us know when we are on the right track. Many end-time events are foreshadowed in the beginning of the Old Testament, and their confirmations are interwoven into the New Testament, even to their complete fulfillment in the Book of Revelation. One major example of this is the “Passover” which was instituted in 
(Ex. 12:3-27), confirmed in Jesus Christ (1Cor. 5:7), and will be fulfilled in 
(1Thess. 4:15-17; 1Cor. 15:51, 52; Rev. 21:1-8). Celebrate the “spirit” of the Passover. 
       God foreshadows things that are to come by things that have already happened. Sometimes this is called the law of double reference, which means there were to be two stages of fulfillment. Again the Passover is a perfect example of this phenomenon that is proven when you read (Ex. 12:3-27) and (1Cor. 5:7). The prophetic Word, or past event, had a literal fulfillment, but by double reference pointed to later prophetic fulfillment. Therefore, the present natural event was only a seed of confirmation of a greater fulfillment to come. Evidently, it is from this concept that someone coin the phrase, “History has a way of repeating itself.” To phrase it into a biblical perspective: God has a marvelous way of completely fulfilling every aspect of His prophetic Word. 

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The First Key: Isaiah 46:9, 10 
       The statement in verse 10 gives us our first key. Genesis is the beginning in which earth had a face-lift because some catastrophic event took place. We know this to be true because in Genesis 1:3; “God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” This was the “first day.” But the lights of, “the greater light of the sun,” and “the lesser light of the moon,” and “the light of the stars” did not shine “upon the earth” until the “fourth day,” Genesis 1:16-19. Then there was a replenishing of the earth, which we call the beginning of mankind as we know him today. 

The Second Key: 2Peter 3:1-8 
       The statement in verse 8 gives us our second key. There are certain places in Scripture (at least by double reference); a day represents a thousand-year period. Yet, it can only be interpreted that way when it is obvious that it fits prophetically. 

       In 2Peter 3:8; Peter implies that we could be ignorant about some things, but he admonishes us not to be ignorant about this one thing, for it is an important key to understanding end-time events. Give special attention to Scriptures in the Book of Genesis, for they are foundational Scriptures revealing how God uses things that happen in one time period, to reveal later prophetic events in their own time frame. 
       It seems that God has divided the time of man’s dominion on planet earth into three equal segments of time. Bible history reveals, when you read the Genealogy Genesis chapter 5 and Genesis chapter 11, that from the creation of Adam to Abraham was two thousand years, and from Abraham to Christ was two thousand. If we use the terminology that Peter used--One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day--we could say: there were two days from Adam to Abraham and two days from Abraham to Christ. Then the parable of the Good Samaritan seems to reveal from Christ to the end of the Church Age is also two days, or two thousand years; making a total of six thousand years. The parable of the Good Samaritan can be found in Luke 10:30-35. Important, the key to the revealed prophecy in the Good Samaritan parable is that one pence is the same as one penny. Pence is translated from the Greek word denarion. At the time Christ was alive on the earth before His crucifixion, one penny or one Pence was the same thing as one day of wages. Two Pence is equal to “2 days” of earned wages. Also read and study Hosea 6:1, 2. 
       The Genesis account states that God labored six days, creating the earth and making man in His own image, then “He rested the seventh day.” Compare Gen. 1:26-2:3; with 
Gen. 2:5-7; do you see the double reference? We know that only the spirit of man can possibly be in the image of God, but this could not apply to any one who is spiritually dead. Adam and Eve and every generation after them became spiritually dead after sin 

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entered the world through them. Gen. 1:26-2:3; had a literal meaning before Adam and Eve sinned against God. But we are all spiritually dead until we accept the salvation from God through belief and faith in Jesus Christ. So Gen. 1:26, 27; also has a future prophetic fulfillment in light of (Gen. 6:3; 1Cor. 15:44-49; Phil. 3:21; 1John 3:2). The earth lease which gave man dominion on earth for a limited time, is subtly revealed in the first chapter of Genesis. Isaiah had prophesied, God spoke the end from the beginning, the six days by double reference represent six thousand years of human history. In that time frame God will finish His work concerning the first harvest of the righteous from the earth. Each of the six twenty-four hour days represent a thousand years of God’s dealing with mankind to finish His work while under the earth lease. 
Hebrews 4:1-11; reveals that the seventh day in the Genesis account represents the Seventh Millennium, which is a day of rest for God’s people. 
       God made a blood covenant with Abraham, and through that covenant the promised child Isaac was born. But when Isaac was older, God asked Abraham to offer his son as a sacrifice on a mountain in the land of Moriah: (Gen. 22:1-18). This foreshadowed what God was going to do with His own Son to redeem mankind. God proved that Abraham would keep the covenant He had made with him. He proved Abraham’s willingness to give his only son. To God Isaac was Abraham’s only son because he was the only son of promise. Abraham had validated the Blood Covenant in an act of obedience by offering his son; thereby making it legal for God to send His Son to planet earth to redeem mankind. John 8:56; reveals that Abraham understood that God would offer His Son, Jesus, as the sacrificial Lamb to redeem fallen man. 
       The important thing that must be understood before you continue is that the best interpreter of Scripture is Scripture. Man is not the best interpreter of Scripture! All Scripture is inspired by God therefore, Scripture will never contradict itself. I will say it again, man is not the best interpreter of Scripture! The proof is in the number of religious denominations that we have in the world all claiming that they are the right and only way to God and all other religions are wrong. It is no wonder mankind is spiritually confused. An obscure passage is one in which the meaning is not easily understood, do not base your doctrine on an obscure passage of Scripture. The Bible contains all the truth you will ever need for any life situation that can occur. God has spoken to us through His Word that we might know the truth. Therefore, take the Word of God at face value, in its natural, normal sense. Look first for the clear teaching of Scripture, not some hidden meaning. Understand and recognize figures of speech and interpret them accordingly. Always try to understand what the author had in mind when you interpret a portion of the Bible. It is vital to use commentaries that examine the text with integrity and give explanations and comments that are keeping with the context. You will want to use commentaries that have been written by scholars who are known to hold to the inerrancy of the Word. Remember that no one person has a corner on all the truth.  

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       As we know from the Genealogy in Genesis chapter 5 and Genesis chapter 11 there was two thousand years from Adam to Abraham. The second day of the Genesis creation also has a prophetic fulfillment by double reference, which revealed what was going to happen in the second-thousand year on planet earth. Gen. 1:6-8; tells us that God divided the waters below from the waters above. So, at least by double reference, we could conclude that waters symbolizes salvation on two levels, of which the new birth is on a higher level. (Num. 24:7; Ps. 148:1-4; Isa. 12:3; 48:1; Jer. 51:15, 16; John 3:5; 15:3; Gal. 4:21-26; Eph. 5:26), these Scriptures seem to confirm what we saw in the second day account. God separated the waters below from the waters above; which was a preview of the two covenants, for water is also a type of the Word that brings salvation. This foreshadowed people who were in bondage to sin and were operating in the flesh. God separated that which was below (fleshly nature) from that which was above, being indicative of deliverance from sin by the new birth. This seems to fit as a parallel in the second day of the Genesis account, which reveals the beginning stage of a New Covenant. It was through this covenant, which God made with Abraham and confirmed with Isaac, that Jesus Christ was born on earth two thousand years later.  
       If you take a closer look at the fourth day of the Genesis account, keep in mind that there was a two thousand year period from Adam to Abraham and another two thousand years from Abraham to the birth of Christ, making a total of four thousand years. 
(Gen. 1:14-19), tells us that on the fourth day God allowed great light to shine upon the earth in a literal sense. However, there are prophetic implications in the fact that the sun is symbolic of Jesus (the light of the world) coming to earth on the fourth day, which reveals His first coming to be the four-thousandth year of human history. 
       (Mal. 4:2), is a clue that God allowed the natural light of the sun to shine on the earth on the fourth day to foreshadow His supernatural Son bringing great light to the earth after four thousand years of human history. 
       (Ps. 19:1-5; Eccl. 1:9, 10; Isa. 42:9; Gal. 4:4), these Scriptures are classic examples of god’s subtle way of revealing future prophetic events through present and past events. It is quite evident that Christ, “The Son of righteousness” also rules the day in which we live by reflecting His Light to the world through the Body of Christ. This seems to be referred to in Gen. 1:16; as “the lesser light to rule the night.” The moon reflects the sun as a Christian reflects Christ, Who is “the Sun of righteousness” (Malachi 4:2). But, Jesus’ birth must fulfill God’s timely appointment in the four-thousandth year (fourth day) of human history. Christians have been made new creations in Christ to rule and restrain the darkness on earth, by reflecting the light of Christ Himself. In Luke 19:13; the words of Jesus give us a clear message that we are to occupy till He comes. 
       In the Scriptures, there are many revelations woven into ordinary events which have not been recognized in other generations. These revelations have been placed there for this generation, and time itself has had much the same effect as a louvered blind. 

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The revelation could not be clearly seen until we arrived at the time appointed for that revelation to be released. This generation has arrived at that point in God’s timing, and these things are now being unveiled as never before. 
       (Is. 42:9; John 16:12, 13), are Scriptures which make it quite clear that in days past, many things that Jesus wanted to reveal concerning the prophetic Scriptures could not be clearly understood. The implications were that the Holy Spirit would reveal them at a time in human history in which that generation would be able to understand them. 

       God uses ordinary events in the Scriptures to give us insight into future events before they happen.  

       We have concluded from the Genealogy in Genesis chapter 5 and Genesis chapter 11 that from Adam to Abraham was two thousand years and from Abraham to Jesus’ birth was another two thousand years for a total of four thousand years (four days), remember 
(2Peter 3:8), from Adam to the birth of Christ. So, there were only four days from Adam to the time that the Son of God (Jesus Christ) was manifested in the flesh. We know Jesus was in heaven at the time Abraham validated the Covenant by raising the knife to kill his son Isaac. It was that Covenant which made it legal for God to send His Son Jesus to the earth to pay the price for man’s sins, and redeem mankind from spiritual death. 
       (John 11:1-44), this story of Lazarus was a type, or a parallel of mankind who was spiritually dead when Jesus came to earth. It is possible that the “resurrection at the last day,” to which Martha was referring, would be the one at the beginning of the millennial reign of Christ. For at that point in time, the revelation concerning the Rapture of the Church had not been revealed. That revelation was given to us by the apostle Paul and also Peter, for they were both apostles to the Gentiles.(1Thess. 4:15-17; 1Cor. 15:51, 52) 
       When Jesus arrived on planet earth, mankind had been dead (spiritually) for four thousand years (four days): After Jesus heard that Lazarus (mankind) was sick, He stayed two more days in the same place were He was, so He would arrive of the scene to raise him up on the fourth day. Jesus was beyond Jordan where John had first baptized when He received the message that Lazarus was sick. It was approximately seventeen miles from Bethany where Lazarus was, and it took the messenger a day to travel that distance. After Jesus heard Lazarus was sick, He stayed two days still in the same place where He was, making a total of three days. Then it took Jesus another day to get to Bethany, which made four days in all. 
       The very first thing Jesus did when He arrived on the scene was to have the stone removed from the tomb. The stone represented the Law, for the Law had kept mankind entomb in spiritual death (Matt. 5:17, 18; Rom. 10:4; 2Cor. 3:6-8; Gal. 3:22-25). 
       It was through the law of works that sin had flourished. The Law was to bring man to Christ by revealing that he couldn’t be righteous within himself, and there was no power 

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in the Law that would help him to keep it. Today we keep the spirit of the Law but not the letter of the Law. (2Cor. 3:6). We know that spiritually dead people can’t keep the Law and those who are spiritually alive don’t need the Law. We are not under the Law of the Old Covenant but are under the Law of the New Covenant, Which is the Law of faith, and faith works by love. (Gal. 5:6, 13). 
       Jesus did what no man had been able to do: He lived and walked perfect and upright under the Old Covenant for thirty three years. He fulfilled it to the letter, then it passed away, as stated by Paul in (Rom. 10:4). 
       In this dispensation of grace, those who believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and confess Him as Lord of their lives, have eternal life. That eternal life is in the Person of Jesus Christ. Read the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-35) it reveals how much time must pass before the Rapture of the Church. 
       
       Although every word of this study was slowly and tediously typed by me to present to you for your edification. The majority of this information comes directly from Charles Capps, End Time Events, (Journey To The End Of The Age). This was a very excellent book full of insight and information that I was not able to comprehend when I read and  studied my Bible. 
       
       What I covered was only a very small portion of the insight and information contained within the pages of this book. Reading this book has literally changed my life and a very profound way. I am very happy that I purchased this book. I would highly recommend this book to the very serious Bible student. There is much more. So, buy this book and add it to your collection. I promise you won’t regret it. 

                                                                                                           George B. Condry 

                                                                                                        George B. Condry  

  God Bless. Peace and Love.