RAPTURELESS AN OPTIMISTIC GUIDE TO THE END OF THE WOLRD Copyright 2012 Jonathan Welton All rights reserved. This book is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America. This book may not be copied or reprinted for commercial gain or profit. The use of short quotations or occasional page copying for personal or group study is permitted and encouraged. Permission will be granted upon request. Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2010 by Biblica, Inc. www.xulonpress.com. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible; Tyndale House, 1997, 1971 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked YLT are taken from the 1898 Young s Literal Translation by Robert Young. Emphasis within Scripture quotations is the author s own. Cover design by Benjamin Valence Layout design by Renee Evans ISBN: 978-0-615-63265-0 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: www.weltonacademy.com
CONTENTS Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 How Did We Get Here? The Rapture The Great Tribulation The End of the World Melting Elements The Antichrist The Israel of God The Kingdom Transition The Kingdom Now The Kingdom Advancing The Big Three Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 Appendix 4 Endnotes A Word to Charismatics Statement of End-Time Beliefs Recommended Reading The Date of Authorship for the Book of Revelation
INTRODUCTION My parents both graduated from a Pentecostal Bible College in the early 1970s. They attended classes during the era of the Jesus People Movement, the Vietnam War, and the epically bestselling Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey. During those turbulent times, my parents met and married. After they had my two older siblings, I was born into their family in 1983. This was an era of much speculation and fear regarding the endtimes, which many believed had already begun. My parents had heard all the confusing and conflicting points of view regarding the endtimes, and instead of becoming obsessed with figuring it all out, they made a choice. They determined to raise godly children who would raise godly grandchildren. They chose to think long-term and invest in their future and the future of their children. They didn t have all the answers regarding a perfect theology of the endtimes, but they knew better than to buy into the hype. When their friends quit their jobs, bought boats, and racked up credit card debt because the end of the world is around the corner and we won t have to pay it back, my parents called this irresponsible and unchristlike behavior. Growing up, I never knew what my parents really thought about the end of the world. When I pressed them for an answer, they would say, We are Pan-Millennial, which was a humorous way of saying that it will all pan out in the end! This left me with a lot of questions in my teen years when the Left Behind series became a raging bestseller. 5
RAPTURELESS Since I was not force-fed a particular point of view by either my parents or my church while growing up, I had the full ability to think freely. I began to dig into studying the endtimes and very quickly realized that this study was going to be deep, complex, and scary. It didn t take long for me to become thoroughly confused. At that point, I felt the Holy Spirit speak to my heart. He said to me, Jonathan, please set aside your study of the endtimes. It is not the right season for you to study this. If you will trust Me, I will guide you to a right understanding in the future, but now is not the time. Wait on Me to give you a green light. So for the next two and half years, I chose to read nothing regarding the endtimes; I didn t watch the Left Behind movies (sorry Kirk Cameron); I didn t even read the Book of Revelation! One day, as I was browsing a used book sale, I saw a book on the endtimes, and I heard the Holy Spirit say to me, Buy that book; it is time to begin to reveal the truth to you. It has now been over ten years since that day, and what the Holy Spirit has taught me about the endtimes has been some of the most wonderful revelation that I have received from His Word. Plenty of books about the endtimes have been written based on personal visions or wild interpretations of Scripture. This is not one of those books. I have a Masters Degree in Biblical Studies. I am a student of Church history. I am not going to fill this book with subjective visions and fantasies regarding private interpretations of the endtimes. Enough of those books already exist, and the Holy Spirit had me avoid them for two and half years so that He could prepare my heart for what He wanted to show me. Here are my starting points. Every part of the Gospel is simple, including the teaching regarding the endtimes. If something is too complex for the average person to grasp, then it is being taught wrongly. Our view of the future should not cause fear. No part of the Gospel (which literally means good news ) ever causes fear. Our understanding of the endtimes determines how we live our lives and whether we plan long-term, build a legacy, prepare our children for a lifetime of service to the Lord, and so forth. A correct 6
INTRODUCTION view of the endtimes will set us free from fear. It will cause us to have a renewed passion for Jesus rather than an obsession with the antichrist. Since many of you did not grow up in Pan-Millennial households, it is possible that you have been force-fed a particular point of view for many years. I would ask you to lay down what you have heard all your life and consider opening your heart to hear a fresh understanding from the Holy Spirit. In trade, I as the author promise to write simply. I will choose not to use large theological terms. I will not waste your time; I will respect your time as my reader. I can promise you that I will not try to coerce you into agreement with me, but I will share with you what the Holy Spirit has shown me, and you can test all things and hold fast that which is good (see 1 Thess. 5:21). Thank you for investing your time in this book; it will be worth it. 7
chapter one HOw did we get here? When I was in my early teens, my brother worked at a Christian bookstore. He would often bring home the latest Christian movie releases, and we would enjoy getting to watch them long before others could. I remember when Veggie Tales first came out; what an amazing new era that brought. Finally the Battle of Jericho included slushies! This was a huge step forward from the Superbook and McGee and Me videos I grew up with, but I digress. I remember when my brother brought home the videocassette of The Thief in the Night. That was a bit much for a fourteen-year-old! For many years, I had one clip from the movie stuck in my memory. In this memory clip, a big guy who looked like Santa and was wearing overalls had a giant end-time chart covered with dragons and beasts from Revelation. I recently re-watched the whole Thief in the Night movie series on YouTube (Santa, dragons, and all), and my memory wasn t that far off. Although it isn t as common today, the end-time chart used to be a standard way of communicating about the end of the world. Each pastor and teacher had his or her own views mapped out on personal charts. Most famous are the antique Clarence Larkin s Charts (from the early 1900s). In retrospect, I am very glad my family didn t celebrate Christmas with the Santa Claus tradition; otherwise, I would have been thinking of the big guy from the end-time movie coming down my chimney with his dragon and beast wall charts. 9