Bible Guys Classics: Revelation - End Times Part 1

Show Notes

In this episode of The Bible Guys, Jeff and Chris begin breaking down the key people and major events described in Revelation. From symbolic figures to significant moments, this passage lays out a powerful picture of what’s to come.

Jeff and Chris walk through the foundational elements of end times prophecy, helping listeners understand who’s involved and what role each piece plays in God’s unfolding plan.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed trying to understand Revelation, this episode will give you a clear and helpful starting point.

🎧 Listen now and begin making sense of the bigger picture.
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Hey, Jeff, I got a question for you. Yes, are you a player? Not really. Today today? I love how he just immediately said no, moub. But today we're talking about all the players in the story, right, Who are the people who are the main players? That's what we're talking. About, that's right, people and events in the book Revelation and throughout the rest of the end time. So he's Chris and I'm Jeff, and we're the Bible place. All right, Well, Jeff, today we are given a list of who's most likely? Oh, these are fun Now, if you're. Watching as opposed to listening, then you'll see that we have paddles in our hands, and we have Jeff on one side and then the good looking guy on the other side. And so it's our job to hear and then hold up who we think that's right? Is most likely? My picture looks like I'm about to knee. You think it really does? Yeah, it really does? And mine I'm explaining something I think yep. So here we go. Okay, number one, who's most likely? This is funny. Who's most likely to eat something off of the ground? Me? I'd say me too, really, Oh yeah, you lead off the ground. I totally have the five second rule. Oh, I have like the thirty five second rule. Do you remember the episode of Seinfeld when George Costanza ate the donut in the garbage. Yes, somebody had set the Eclaire on the top of the garbage. He's like, it was right on to didn't even touch anything. Yeah, I totally agree with him in the whole episode. By the way, it's great. Okay, here we go. Number two. Who's most likely to take days to reply to a text? Jeff? That'd be Jeff. I don't know if you know this or not, but I reply almost always immediately. Yeah, yeah, you reply, you ply it quickly, Yeah, very quickly. Huh So it's because your phone is an appendage. Yeah, well that's what my family need. And you've taught everybody that that is their leash. They can yank that leash whenever they want. Yeah. Yeah, And everybody's figured out my phone is not my leash, and I'll check it when I want to. I'll get back to you, right right. Yeah, Well, there's benefits. There's definitely benefits and drawbacks. The bet if you need me really bad, call me because I'll answer if you call. That's good, all right, Number three. Who's most likely to plan the best birthday party? Chris, Yeah, that's definitely yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I definitely love planning surprises and detailed things for my family especially. Yeah, and I've done my share of things. Uh you know that when one time when I was dating my wife, I rented a U haul and in the back of the U haul, first of all, I backed it up to like a lake and a beautiful scene. And then in the U haul I put a fine dining table with candles and everything else, and everything was in this U haul And then I brought her to it and then open the U haul door and we had this beautiful candle at dinner. Oh and then I just hauled it away. Look how nice I can give you like seventeen of those creative daty Yeah. Yes, so I liked all of that stuff. That's great. So here we go. Number four. Who's most likely to sleep walk throughout the night? Oh? Not me, It's got to be you. I don't know who to put here. I guess I'll put me because I do get up in the night, but it's usually to use the restroom. Yeah, dude, I am shocked when it's time to wake up like somebody. If my alarm goes off, it startles me. If if somebody touches me, I'm ready to fight. I'm so deeply asleep. Really yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't yeah it. I don't believe even though I don't sleep walk, it would probably mean yeah. Be me. I'm dead. I'm dead to the world, and I resurrect every morning. So so one more quick reference Big Bang theory. Bob Hope was playing an old man and Charlotte Sheldon knocks on the door. No, Bob Hope NewART and and uh and Bob Sheldon knocks on the door, and he goes, uh, and he goes, no, I was up. He goes, well, I have to go to bed now. He goes, I have to go to bed, because he goes in about two hours, he goes, I have to get up to pee and then just wander around the house. He's like a nine year old man, right, because that's what they do, all right. Number five, who's most likely to own a pet chicken? There's no question. I've already owned it's. I know it's you. You'll get a whole story about you. In our county. I won. I won against the city to have chickens at my house. That is hilarious. All right, Well, we're gonna go ahead and move on, and we're gonna move right back into the people in the events of the end Times, and we'll be doing this for several days. Oh yeah, yeah, this is pretty much it. The first couple of days we were laying the foundation trying to encourage people. Now it's we're getting into the nitty gritty. And again, just to remind you, don't you know, watch out for polarization. There's people who have very strong opinions about the things we're going to talk about, stronger opinions than are reasonable. Because we just can leave it at that. Yeah, and another disclaimer is that we're the Bible guys, and we don't claim to be theologians or professors. We are two guys that know the Bible and teach the Bible, and so we like to talk about the Bible. So this is. Almost certainly on a casual level, is what we're doing in this. Yeah, and so we're not covering revelation in detail, and we're also not going from chapter to chapter. What we're doing is, as we're saying, these are the highlights. These are the main events. Let's talk about what we know is coming in generalizations, because to be honest with you, revelation people are the ones who comment the most, the comment forever, and they have the strongest opinions. Yes, yes, So what we're going to say is we're going to kind of take what would be the mainstream view. The majority of Christians globally and historically have believed along these lines for the last thousand years. But uh, we are accepting the fact that there are minority groups of theologians that would differ with these things, right sure, and so we're we love them and we're fine with the fact that they have a different things. Absolutely. So the first one and by far the most controversial one, would be what is called the rapture of the church. Although the word rapture of the church doesn't exist, that phrase doesn't exist in the Bible. This idea rapture is the Latin for caught. Up, caught up in the air. And there's different different views on this. So some people believe in a rapture that happens before the tribulation. Tribulation, Yeah, raptor and rapture is two different things, different things, very astute Chris. Yeah, one of them, Chris Pratt works with, that's right, and the other one is the second company, that's the rapture. Yeah, so velociraptor Velocira. Yeah. So then, boy, you got me distracted there. So there are some who believe there's a tribulation. We're gonn talk about that, and then the tribulation is the bad part seven years, really really bad. Some people believe that the rapture of the church happens before the. Bad stuff happened, which is which is pre right, that's a pree tribulation of pre tribulation. That's referring to how all the Christians will be exempt from all the trials and tribulations of the seven years because they get raptured up before that happens. Caught up bodily taven. Yes, that's right. Then there's people who believe in a mid trib because. That's clearly divided with three and a half years and three and a half years, that's right. And in the Bible they describe fourteen and twenty days or whatever it is, forty two months, you know, I mean it lists very clearly. In the first three and a half years. It's pretty good, right, there's a lot of global stability and wealth and all those kinds of thing. So people are like, hey, we want to go in the middle. I don't I don't want to miss the good part. Right, So some people have like a middle of the trib tribulation view. Others would have a post tribulation, meaning the Christians will go all the way through it. And it's because the Bible talks about martyrs and things, and so there's some people believe that there there's a that the rapture happens at the end of the tribulation or after the tribulation, and that there's just one time that all of the of a resurrection. And then there's some people who don't believe in any rapture at all. They're called a tribulation or you know, no rapture, right, but that's not Uh, that's probably the most obscure of all of the different views. So the majority of Western Christians would say that they're pre trib they believe in apture. So, uh, that's we tried to give that as fair of a thing. I would I would land. I think I would land pre trib and be content with mid trib and I'm ready for post. That's how I describe it. Just be prepared, Yeah, just be really prepared. Yeah, what about you? Where do you fall? Yeah? I lean toward what you know, we were raised and taught the same way and I and when I look, and more importantly, pre trip makes sense to me. So regardless of you know, regardless of whether or not the first three and a half years are different than the last three and a half years, I think that it just makes sense. Yeah, so lean that way. But again, I'm not committed to it. So this idea of the rapture is Jesus coming back and getting his people right. That's really what it is. John fourteen three. Jesus said, when everything is ready, I'll come and get you so that you will always be with me. Hey where I am. By the way, can I tell you why I'm not committed to it? I just felt like I had to follow up in that comment because I don't think it matters that much. Yeah yeah, yeah, So whether or not I get you know, raptured before the three and a half years, or after three and a half years, or even post three and a half years, right, like like you know, you sort of said, you know, be ready, Yeah, you know, you know, here we go, buckle up. Yeah, a lot of these things for me, because I'm such an application person. I'm like, well, whether how it plays out is how it's gonna play out. I'm not in charge of this, right, I'm not in charge of it. Right. I just don't like it's going to matter. Other than it's not like you stepped up to the counter said i'd like a pre tribulation rapture ticket, right right, Yeah, I'm sorry, we're a pretribulation. Don't be wrong. Here's a post trip but bye by. When I say it doesn't matter, I don't mean that the truths themselves don't matter, because I'm not saying I don't mean it doesn't matter in the sense the words they're not important. Right. What I'm saying is for me it doesn't matter, oh right, because I'm saying like it's not gonna make a difference in my life, sure, right, yeah, because how it plays out is how it's gonna play out. Yeah. So he says he's gonna come and get you when he's ready. That's when he's ready, not when you're ready. When he's ready. Right, So, so Matthew twenty four Jesus says and then at last, the sign that the Sun of Man is coming will appear in the heavens. We already talked about that sun, moona stars, all that creazah. Yeah, And there'll be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth, and they will see the Son of Man come out on the clouds of heaven with power and glory, and he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world, from the farthest ends of the earth in heaven. There it is, there you go. So he's gathering his chosen ones there, he's gathering believers, right, And so some people would say that that's only in connection to the final return of Christ, the second Coming, which is different. This one though, doesn't say he comes to earth. This one says he's in heaven, right, So anyways, who knows. And then but it does say he's coming, and there'll be a mighty trumpet blast, and Gabriel's gonna let her fly on the horn, and he's going to bring his people home first. Thessaloni's chapter four says, and now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who've died, so that you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. We tell you this directly from the Lord. We who are still living when the Lord returns, will not meet him ahead of those who have died, For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God. First the believers who have died will rise from their graves, and then together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth, will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words. So the idea here is he's wanting to cover the fact that the that the rapture is not just for the living, it's also for those believers who've already died ahead of us. Yeah, and so there's and there's different views on this too, right, so and by the way, it's people. Some people believe that heaven is not immediate. As we understand it is that like people die, they go into the earth and then actually heaven is reserved for this moment. Yeah, right, but because God exists out of time and space, it'll be immediate. So other other persons. Here, Heebres says, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. That's what I was about to quote, right, So, so it will seem immediate to me. But but but the time as we know it, it's not immediate. So so there's there's sorts, there's all sorts of nuances that are attached to this. Theologically, we're just not going to fight it. Yeah, we're not gonna fight No, we're not gonna fight it. And again this is where this is where I know it sounds funny, but it doesn't matter to me, right exactly. So it doesn't matter to me because because like listen, that's why I don't care to fight it, because here's here's what I know. When I die, immediately, I'm gonna be with the Lord. So so how that plays out for my dust of my body, sure, I don't really care r right. I just know that, like, uh, you know, by the way, So, so the rapture is God comes for his people, and then this describes uh, the second coming coming back after the seven years. God comes with his people, right, so you know, for it comes for the church, comes with the church, right and and and so anyway, I do believe that the visual here is again just something that's supposed to be again intimidating, but at the same time very comforting for us. That's right. And you really one of the other evidences that people would point to for a pre tribulation rapture would be that in the book or Revelation, churches aren't really mentioned. After Revelation what three I believe, and it seems to be that the churches from that point on, the tribulation happens and church isn't referenced anymore. The believers aren't referenced anymore. Only martyrs are reference. But no no church, no Holy Spirit reference in the world at that time. Which raises another question. Will there be converts and then martyrs in the time? Yeah? Yeah, during that time? So what martyrs are we talking about? Yeah, we'll talk about that. Martyrs old or martyrs of you know, new. Martyrs martyrs in the tribulation the one hundred and forty four thousand, I mentioned that way. Yeah, so we'll talk about that. So here's the issue though, with regard to a rapture. When it will happen? Shouldn't detract from the fact that it will happen. Right, There will be a time when Jesus comes back. There will be a time when the trumpet blasts. There will be a time when all of his saints are going to heaven with him, Right, so when uh, shouldn't distract from the insurance that it will. Now, what do you think is going to happen? How will the governments of the world explain what happened to two billion Christians disappearing all at one time? You know, It's just I don't know, but I have a feeling that aliens will be involved. Oh, I totally think that that's going to be the argument. They're going to say, Oh, aliens took everybody. Yeah, well again, what other claim could you make? No, you couldn't. You couldn't make any other claim besides that, right, maybe uh maybe vaccines. Yeah, well, vaccines didn't make everybody disappear. I just kidding. I was trying to think of something hilarious to say. But I think that's what's going to be. I think we're being conditioned for it now. Yeah, yeah, the aliens. Yeah well, I mean again, it's just it's the we talked about it a couple of podcasts ago. But like when you see all these signs, there will be people connecting the dots and saying, see, this is the Book of Revelation. But then then there'll be people who so don't believe in God. They're going to say, of course you're going to say that, right, right, because there is a logical explanation, right. The logical explanation is aliens. Well, I mean, well. That's what they're going to do though, right, that's what they're. Going to say, say, say, you know, it's it's certainly logical to yeah, to I would think half of the world or more sure, absolutely they believe in aliens. Yeah. Well, so most of the world just believes whatever the experts say and what the science leads to. So alls they have to do is have a couple of sciences, get on TV and go this is what we believe in. Shame on you don't. You're not allowed to post anything on Facebook or Twitter. That's any different from what we just told you. It was aliens quit arguing with us. Hey, by the way, uh, we don't have that much time, but just really quickly, do you believe in aliens? No? Yeah, so so so the my professor I think I mentioned this way back in h Daily. My college professor pointed out that in Genesis it said he created the stars and the hosts of them. So he said, so there's room for aliens. But at the same time, theologically doesn't make any sense, and like that, but like I also heard another hero of mine. Talking about to be clear that the hosts that Hebrew word is a huge number of them. Yeah, the hosts would be the huge number of right, right, right, implying that there are more stars than you can see? Is what? What? Which is true? That that's which is what the Hebrew word is saying. Which is along the same lines where he says a host of heavenly angels. That's right. It's not talking about the hostesses and the hosts of the you know, welcome to our star. It's not talking about. Right, which we would say. On this star if they landed on if they landed on this planet. We'd shoot them. That's really well anyways, go ahead anyway. The but then I so one of my hero is Lui Giglio talk about if God's billboard was the universe to remind us of how big he is and how small we are, then he's done a good job, did a great job, because if it's a if creation is supposed to reflect the Creator, then an infinite and expanding universe that we will never get to see the ends of that reminds us of how big God is. But it can't be big enough. So if you think about it that way, then it makes total sense. Absolutely, yeah, absolutely, So you have this rapture that happens most Christians believe it happens before what we call the Tribulation begins. Now, the tribulation last seven years is divided. We've already said this divided into two three and a half year segments, and during that time many things happen. Most of what we talk about next happens over the next few days happens during the tribulation. So we can't cover it all right now, but we'll just start dealing with issues that happened. One of the very first things that happen happens is It talks about how the governments of the world begin to trample the Holy City. They trample the Holy City for forty two months as three and a half years, and I will give power to my two witnesses, and they'll be closed in burlap and will prophesied during those twelve hundred and sixty days. So some people believe that those witnesses eleven Yes, Revelation chapter eleven. Some people believe those witnesses are Elijah and Moses, or Enoch and Moses. We don't know. The Bible doesn't say, but it seems to be resurrected. Profits it seems to be who is prophesying outside Jerusalem and the whole world to be able to see it. And then they get assassinated in front of the whole world. The whole world. Sees their bodies, sees them being assasinated, and nobody picks up their bodies. They just lay outside the city during that time. Well, in John's day when he wrote this, he couldn't fathom how the whole world and everybody on the planet could see it. But you and I carry a TV in our pocket, right, we could see it. My daughter would see it. In five minutes after it happened, right right, So it's different now than so we're closer. And then it goes on and it says in chapter eleven, it says, but after three and a half days, God breathed life into them and they stood up. So he resurrects these two prophets to get assassinated and terror struck all who were staring at them. And then a loud voice from heaven called out to the two and prophets and said, come up here, and they rose to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched. Yeah, this is the last great these are my people. Let me get your attention one more time. Moments. This is God's final warning to the world, and the whole world watches these two dudes ascend to heaven. And this, among all of the signs, is a crystal clear explanation. This is not figurative, it's not vague, it's not metaphorical. That's right. This is very specific, like this is going to happen. Because he's talking about two humans to prophets, he mentions a specific city. He talks very specifically about the number of days and the literal heaven. So all that to say. Other things in Revelation may symbolize things, but we believe this is a sign that is pretty crystal clear. If you ever watching on your phone or on TV and you see two guys get assassinated outside the city of Jerusalem, and three days later they rise from the dead, and then you hear God shout from heaven buckle up, come on up, and then they send to heaven on a cloud. It's happening. Yeah, yeah, I'm pretty sure it's happening. You need to fall to your knees repent of your sins and calling Jesus. But you know what the world's going to say. It was aliens, right, that's for sure. So I think we're going to have to wrap up here. You don't think you want to just read through this? I do. Okay, Well, let me read through Revelation chapter twelve because there's this little pause and it kind of summarizes the spiritual war that's happening between Satan, the Dragon and Jesus. Even as birth. We think of the Nativity as the cute little baby in the manger, but this is pretty crazy. Here's what he says, Then I witnessed this is in Revelation twelve. Then I witnessed in heaven an event of great significance. I saw a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant, and she cried out because of her labor pains and the agnity of giving birth. And then I witnessed in heaven another significant event. I saw a large red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, with seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept away one third of the stars in the sky and he threw them to the earth. He stood in front of the woman as she was about to give birth, ready to devour her baby as soon as it was born. She gave birth to a son who was to rule all the nations with an iron rod, and her child was snatched away from the dragon was caught up to God to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness where God had prepared a place for her. Earth for twelve hundred and sixty days. Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels, and the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. This great dragon, the ancient serpent called the devil or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world, was thrown down to earth with all his angels. Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens. It has come at last salvation and power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth, the one who accuses them before our God day and night. And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die. Therefore, rejoice, oh heavens, and you who live in the heavens, rejoice. But terror will come on the earth and the sea, for the Devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has little time. So we don't have a ton of time to unpack this. There's some a million things, a million. Things in there. But let me say two or three sentences. Number one is that as we read revelation, it may seem so scary, but at the same time this gives us an indication that things are always scary in the spiritual realm. Yeah, yeah, right, So this. Is describing the birth of Christ. You know, you know, there's so much in there with sweeping away one third of the star is talking about one third of the angels going down with the devil and all these kind of things, but then also war in heaven, war in heaven. But again, it's just it's another thing that just lets us know that God's in control always and even though there are evil forces, God wins. He's always won. He won this battle, He's not going to lose. And it's just it's a great thing to be able to look at the birth of Christ and see it in this way that there was actually a battle that took place as Mary was given birth to Jesus. And the Bible says that the devil loves to accuse believers. The guilt doesn't always come from God, right, once you've had your sins forgiven, guilt comes from the devil. He loves to accuse you. But it says they, the people that he's accused, have defeated him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony. The two bullets in your gun to defeat Satan is the fact that Jesus shed his blood for you and the story that God's told in your life. Those are the two bullets that knock Satan out every time. Wow. Right, well, our time has come to an end and so we will see you hopefully tomorrow on the Bible. Guys,