{"id":15899,"date":"2026-05-15T20:07:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T00:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christskingdom.org\/staging\/8402\/?p=15899"},"modified":"2026-08-01T08:01:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T12:01:43","slug":"the-end-of-the-age-christs-coming-and-the-rapture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christskingdom.org\/staging\/8402\/the-end-of-the-age-christs-coming-and-the-rapture\/","title":{"rendered":"The End of the Age, Christ\u2019s Coming, and the Rapture (365)"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The End of the Age, Christ's Coming, and the Rapture<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\"\"By Steven J. Hogan<\/p>

~ A Saturday Morning Post #365 ~
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Matthew 24:3<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0\u201cWhat will be the sign of Your\u00a0coming<\/strong>\u00a0and of the\u00a0end<\/strong>\u00a0of the age?\u201d<\/em>\u00a0The disciples knew they were living in an age ruled by Gentiles, and that Jesus, who had been with them for nearly three years, was the Christ, the King who would defeat their enemies and begin ruling over Israel and the entire world. But they wanted to know when, and so they ask Jesus to give them signs that would alert them to the end of this age and His coming.\u00a0

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Their questions for Jesus are extremely relevant, especially in these end-times, and He answers them in Matt. 24:29-31. But before that, He tells them many things that will happen in the years leading up to His coming. Jesus does this because He does not want you to be caught off guard, but to be expecting Him, and looking forward to being with Him. In this post, I focus on the end of this age, Christ\u2019s coming, and the rapture of the church as described in Matt. 24 and other related verses.\u00a0

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There are three points I must make before we begin looking at Matthew 24:
*\u00a0Christ\u2019s coming occurs after the end of this age<\/u>. Jesus answers the disciples\u2019 questions by saying the skies go dark (Matt. 24:29), signaling the end of this age – and then after that, the skies light up, signaling His coming (Matt. 24:30-31). So the coming of Christ is just after the end of this age.\u00a0

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*\u00a0The rapture of the church is the first thing to happen at Christ\u2019s coming<\/u>. 1 Th. 4:15 says,\u00a0\u201cWe who are alive and remain<\/u>\u00a0until the\u00a0coming<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0of the Lord\u2026\u201d<\/em>\u00a01 Th. 4:17, the classic rapture verse, says,\u00a0\u201cWe who are alive and remain<\/u>\u00a0will be\u00a0caught up<\/u>\u00a0together with them in the clouds\u2026\u201d<\/em>\u00a0There is the exact same wording in the first part of both vss. 15 and 17, and equating them makes it clear that the rapture takes place at Christ\u2019s coming. This is also seen in Matt. 24:29-31 and 2 Thess. 2:1.\u00a0

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*\u00a0Believers are glorified at Christ\u2019s coming<\/u>.\u00a0\u201c\u2026 so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ\u2019s at His\u00a0coming<\/strong>\u201d\u00a0<\/em>(1 Cor. 15:22-23).\u00a0<\/em>The phrase\u00a0\u201cmade alive\u201d<\/em>\u00a0means to be glorified – and vs. 23 explicitly says this occurs at Christ\u2019s coming. 1 John 2:28, 3:2 also explain that we will be glorified at Christ\u2019s coming. \u201cWhen He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His\u00a0coming<\/strong>\u2026 We know that when He appears\u00a0<\/em>(at His coming),\u00a0we will be like Him.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>And to be like Jesus is to be glorified. Note Phil. 3:20-21.\u00a0

<\/em>Let\u2019s now look more closely at the end of this age and Christ\u2019s coming:
Matthew 24:4-8<\/strong>. Jesus wants us to know that these birth pains, the deception, wars, rumors of wars, famines, and earthquakes, are\u00a0\u201cnot yet the\u00a0end<\/strong>\u201d\u00a0<\/em>(vs. 6), that the end of the age and Christ\u2019s coming is not yet, is not imminent, is not right at the door (vs. 33). Vs. 8 says the occurrence of\u00a0\u201cthese things are merely the beginning of birth pains\u201d<\/em>\u00a0– that is, much more needs to happen before this age comes to an end.\u00a0

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Matthew 24:9-14<\/strong>\u00a0focuses on Christians who are experiencing tribulation, and I believe it\u2019s great tribulation, for vs. 9 says they (unbelievers)\u00a0\u201cwill kill you, and you will be hated by all nations.\u201d <\/em>During this time of tribulation, Jesus instructs us to preach the\u00a0\u201cgospel of the kingdom\u2026 to all the nations, and then the\u00a0end<\/strong>\u00a0will come\u201d\u00a0<\/em>(vs. 14).\u00a0<\/em>It\u2019s after great tribulation and the preaching of the gospel to the whole world that the end is come, that this age is over, and Christ returns to rapture the church.\u00a0

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Matthew 24:13<\/strong>\u00a0tells us,\u00a0\u201cThe one who endures to the\u00a0end<\/strong>, he will be saved.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Again, we read about the\u00a0\u201cend\u201d<\/em>, and the one who perseveres, who overcomes to the end of the age will be saved. The word saved is not speaking about spiritual salvation, but about physical deliverance, that Christians who endure to the end of this age will be rescued from an evil world – and then glorified. James 5:7 also talks about endurance –\u00a0\u201cBe patient, brethren, until the\u00a0coming<\/strong>\u00a0of the Lord.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0The word patient is similar to endure, and God encourages us to not quit, to be patient, to keep going until the Lord\u2019s coming.\u00a0

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Matthew 24:15-21<\/strong>\u00a0focuses on the Jews. Vs. 15 speaks of the\u00a0\u201cabomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0The setting is Jerusalem, and the Antichrist defiles, desecrate the Jewish temple, for he\u00a0\u201ctakes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(2 Th. 2:4). Dan. 9:27 predicts that this takes place in the middle of Daniel\u2019s 70th<\/sup>\u00a0week, at the 3\u00bd year mark.\u00a0

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2 Thessalonians 2:1-10 says that the coming of Christ is after the coming of the Antichrist. Vs. 1 speaks of\u00a0\u201cthe\u00a0coming<\/strong>\u00a0of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0From vss. 2-4, we learn that the Antichrist is revealed for who he really is when he desolates the temple, and that this occurs before Christ\u2019s coming and the day of the Lord. This is confirmed by vs. 8:\u00a0\u201cThat lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His\u00a0coming<\/strong>, that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan.\u201d\u00a0

<\/em>These verses make it abundantly clear that the Antichrist comes, is revealed, and then Christ comes, and He returns to gather all the believers. Since the Antichrist desolates the temple at the midpoint of Dan. 70th<\/sup>\u00a0week, then Christ\u2019s coming must take place sometime after this. So it happens during the 2nd<\/sup>\u00a0half of the 70th<\/sup> week, but we don\u2019t know when, we don\u2019t know the day or hour.\u00a0

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Matthew 24:22-27<\/strong>. Great tribulation begins in Jerusalem and spreads to the elect, to the chosen, to those in the world who aren\u2019t worshiping the Antichrist – and it\u2019s the worst persecution ever (Matt. 24:9, Rev. 13:14-17). And the devil does all these signs and wonders to deceive, to mislead people (Rev. 13:11-13). One of his goals is to get the elect to believe that Christ is already on earth. But that\u2019s a lie. To convince us that He\u2019s coming in the skies, Jesus says,\u00a0\u201cJust as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will be the\u00a0coming<\/strong>\u00a0of the Son of Man\u201d\u00a0<\/em>(vs. 27). Like lightning, Christ\u2019s coming is seen in the sky above, and it\u2019s sudden, dramatic, brilliant, and unmistakable. Matt. 24:30\u00a0

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The evidence is clear that Christ\u2019s coming (vs. 27) is after the Antichrist\u2019s coming (vs. 15), and that Christians are living on earth during the evil rule of the Antichrist and his persecution of the church. But then Christ comes to save them out of this world, to glorify them, and take them to Himself.\u00a0

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Matthew 24:29-31.<\/strong>\u00a0The disciples\u2019 questions are answered. So what do we learn? 1) Great tribulation is cut short by God. 2) Skies go dark, the sign of the end of the age. 3) Christ\u2019s shekinah glory, a brilliant light, the sign of Christ\u2019s coming, precedes His coming and shatters the darkness. 4) Those on earth\u00a0\u201csee the Son of Man\u00a0coming<\/strong>\u00a0on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.\u201d<\/em>\u00a05) There\u2019s a great trumpet sound, and Christ sends His angels to gather the elect from the\u00a0\u201cfour wind<\/em>s (believers on earth)\u00a0and from one end of the sky to the other<\/em>\u00a0(believers in heaven).\u201d Note Mark 13:27.\u00a0

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Matthew 24:32-36.<\/strong>\u00a0All these things (22, in fact) must occur before the end of this age and Christ\u2019s coming. The people who see and hear about these things know the general time of His coming. And God has appointed a specific generation of believers who will witness all these things and sense that Christ\u2019s coming is drawing near (Heb. 10:25). So we can know the general time. We also know that His coming happens after the midpoint of Dan. 70th<\/sup>\u00a0week, but we don\u2019t know the specific time. Jesus stresses the point that we don\u2019t know the day or hour for it’s stated 6 different times, Matt. 24:36, 42, 44, 50; Matt. 25:13; Mk. 12:32. But we can know the season, the general time of Christ\u2019s coming, and I believe it will be our children\u2019s or grandchildren\u2019s generation.\u00a0

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Matthew 24:35\u00a0<\/strong>–\u00a0\u201cHeaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0This emphatically emphasizes the truth, supremacy, power, and eternality of God\u2019s word. This kind of verse is rare, is scarcely found in God\u2019s word. And it could be in any chapter, highlighting the truth of that chapter. But it\u2019s here in Matt. 24, pounding home the reality of these few verses, and of the entire chapter. This eschatological, exclamation point is shouting,\u00a0\u201cListen up, Jesus is coming back and He told you what happens before His return. He told you because He doesn\u2019t want you to be surprised by the birth pains and great tribulation, and so you are excited and looking forward to His return – and are telling others about it!\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Christ\u2019s 2nd<\/sup>\u00a0coming is the most exciting, most important thing to happen since His 1st<\/sup>\u00a0coming, and God wants you to be ready, waiting, and doing His work! Rev. 22:7, 12, 20\u00a0

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Matthew 24:37-41<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0\u201cThe\u00a0coming\u00a0<\/strong>of the Son of Man will be like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating, drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage…\u201d<\/em>\u00a0In the final years before Christ\u2019s coming, unbelievers are living like everything is normal. But they are evil, hate Christians, and turn them in to the authorities (vss. 9-12). They mock Christians, saying, \u201cWhere is the promise of His\u00a0coming<\/strong>?\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(2 Pet. 3:4). We live in a sinful world, but it will be much worse in the last days, especially when that lawless man, the Antichrist, is ruling the world and persecuting Christians.\u00a0

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So unbelievers are eating, drinking, buying, and selling, oblivious to what is about to happen (Lk. 17:28). Suddenly, the skies grow dark, but are immediately lit up by Christ\u2019s coming. The sinners, in great shock and scared to death, know they cannot escape from Jesus Christ, the Almighty God, the holy Judge, the King of the world.\u00a0\u201cThen there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Christians are saved from a very wicked world, taken off the earth, and glorified!!!\u00a0

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A generation of Christians living on earth will witness all these events leading up to the end of this age and the coming of Christ. There will be the beginning of birth pains; the Antichrist is revealed at the midpoint of Dan. 70th<\/sup>\u00a0week; and there\u2019s great tribulation. Then sometime in the next 37 months, Christ comes back. At that time, He gathers all God\u2019s children to Himself, and takes them home to heaven.\u00a0\u201c\u2026 and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Psalm 23:6\u00a0

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1 Thess. 2:19-20<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0\u201cWho is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His\u00a0coming<\/strong>. For you are our glory and joy.\u201d<\/em>\u00a01 Thess. 3:13<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0\u201c\u2026 that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the\u00a0coming<\/strong>\u00a0of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>1 Thess. 4:15<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0\u201cWe who are alive and remain until the\u00a0coming<\/strong>\u00a0of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep\u2026 we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/em>1 Thess. 5:23<\/strong>\u00a0– \u201cMay the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved compete, <\/em>without blame at the\u00a0coming<\/strong>\u00a0of our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d\u00a0

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P.S. Here is an article that shows you the importance of Christ\u2019s second coming: \u201cOver 100 New Testament Verses on Christ\u2019s Second Coming.\u201d<\/em><\/a> I would also encourage you to use the search bar to look for posts on the rapture, and there are many of them.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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