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Author	: Bill Kochman
Publish	: Sep. 15, 1997
Update	: Jun. 18, 2025
Parts	: 06

Synopsis:



As I explain in a number of other articles which you'll find listed at the end of this same series, back in 2011-2012, my personal understanding of Bible prophecy began to undergo a major change. By July of 2016, my new theological perspective had solidified, and I published a seven-part series entitled "Jesus Christ's Return: Have We Been Deceived?", in which I expressed and explained my new understanding concerning some of the words of the ancient Prophets, as well as the words of Jesus and the Apostles.

You see, when I authored the original version of this series back in September of 1997, I was of a very different mindset than I am twenty-eight years later today. As I point out in the aforementioned series, as well as in more recent articles such as "Fight Against Futurism!", in 1997 I very strongly embraced a particular doctrinal belief system -- that is to say, a theological perspective -- which is commonly referred to as Futurism.

For those of you who may have never heard of this word, and who thus may not fully understand what Futurism is, in the simplest of terms, it is a doctrine and belief system which takes ancient, already-fulfilled prophecies, and places them in our current time, or in the future, as if they have not been fulfilled yet. It is in fact because so many modern Christians now approach Bible prophecy from this false base, and this very misguided understanding, that they have become so terribly confused. You see, if you start off on a false premise and a false assumption, then everything you believe after that is false as well. It is just one lie built upon another, and one deception built upon another. That is just the way it works.

My dear friends, if you doubt that this is so, simply visit some of the many popular social networks and see what some of those Christians are saying and teaching, and you will be convinced. There is now so much doctrinal confusion out there, that it is mind-boggling. But the real tragedy is that while many of said Christians may be very sincere and well-meaning with regard to their beliefs, nevertheless, they don't even realize that they've become deceived, and that through their actions of sharing their false beliefs, they are unknowingly spreading the deception even further.

So exactly how do we avoid falling into this subtle snare? One of the best things that we can do is to not become so dogmatic, and so unbending in our personal understanding of the Scriptures, to the point that we reject anything which contradicts our current views. If we are truly being honest with ourselves, we need to acknowledge that none of us has a monopoly on the truth. Thus, we need to maintain a certain level of humility, and admit that we are all still learning and growing in matters concerning our Christian faith and doctrine.

I can certainly say this for myself. In fact, not only am I constantly learning new things as I continue to delve into the depths of God's Word, but I am also willing to change my views when the Scriptures reveal to me that I've been wrong about something. If you doubt that this is so, then consider the fact that right now I am in the process of updating this current series. Over the years I have authored a number of articles where I discuss this very topic, which you'll find listed at the end of this same series. These include the following ones, which I encourage you to read as your time permits:

Are You Flexible?
Facebook False Prophets and Misguided Teachers
Humility in Our Understanding of God's Word
My Evolving Theology
Please Stop Misinterpreting the Scriptures
Understanding the Bible in Context

The simple fact of the matter is that we must all trust in the Lord's guidance, and not in our human wisdom in order to understand these prophetic mysteries. We must put on the mind of Christ, and not try to understand these Scriptural truths with our carnal minds only. We must be led by the Holy Spirit of the Lord in our understanding. We must all diligently compare Scripture with Scripture, and rightly divide the Word of truth, as we are advised to do in the following group of verses:

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."


"For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ."


"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."


"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."


"These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so."


As long as we all remain spiritually flexible, and do not become overly adamant concerning our personal beliefs and pet theories, the Lord will be able to continue to enlighten us, and to expand our understanding of the mysteries of His Word. Now as far as the interpretation of Bible prophecy is concerned, any degree of extreme rigidity on our part, could not only stunt our spiritual growth, but even make us guilty of the same things of which the Lord accused the Scribes and the Pharisees of old. As I point out in articles such as the series "The International Jew and the Protocols Of Zion", it is indeed sad that they had made such a god out of their own rabbinic traditions, that when Jesus came along with God's truth, many of them fully rejected both Him and it, as is clearly born out by the following group of Bible verses:

"And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition."


"Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye."


"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."


To continue, our sincere desire and hunger for the truth, through a correct understanding of God's Word should be our primary concern and motivation as we study Bible prophecy, and any other part of the Bible for that matter. We should not continue to embrace erroneous ideas and interpretations which have been clearly shown to not be in agreement with the truth which is found in God's Word. We must not idolize or make gods out of our personal beliefs. Neither should we continue to vehemently defend our false ideas once we have been shown to be in error. To do so is merely a matter of personal pride. Thus, we need to utterly forsake them.

Of course, at the same time, there is a delicate balance to be found in my words. In other words, once we've performed a judicious study of God's Word, and once we're convinced that God has revealed the truth to us, then by all means, it is only proper that we should firmly stand by what we believe He has shown us, keeping in mind, and tempering our beliefs with the thought that we are only human and still prone to possible doctrinal error. Thus, as the Apostle Paul taught in his discourse regarding meat eaters and vegetarians that is found in the fourteenth chapter of his Epistle to the Romans, we need to be persuaded in our own minds regarding what we believe to be true, but not neglect to maintain a healthy and humble attitude as well. Consider these verses:

"A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight."


"One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind."


In the final analysis, each one of us must live and believe according to our own measure of personal faith. After all, it is by that alone that we will each be judged in the final day. We will not be weighed in the Divine Balances according to what other people believe, or according to what church or organization we happened to affiliate ourselves with in this current life. Rather, we will be judged as individuals when we ultimately appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ, in order to receive our just reward, or else our punishment, as the following group of Bible verses clearly reveals:

"But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment."


"So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God."


"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."


"Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead."


"For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?"


Having now explained all of the above to you, let us return to our primary discussion regarding Futurism, and the Great Tribulation and the Rapture. One of the core beliefs behind Futurism is the belief that the return of Jesus Christ will occur at some point in the near future. However, even saying "near future" is a subjective phrase, the reason being that there are a lot of different points of view within Futurism. As a result, when someone states that the Lord will return soon, it is actually wise to inquire of such an individual exactly what they mean, because for some of them, "soon" is a matter of days, while for others, it could actually mean weeks, months or even years from now. In other words, there is simply no consensus. Everyone has their own particular belief regarding the word "soon", and this can quickly and very easily lead to confusion.

As I mention in the series "The Woman in the Wilderness and the 144,000", this very flexibility is in itself one of the key deceptions of Futurism; because due to its flexibility, a person who promotes Futurism has a layer of protection, so that it can be challenging to prove them wrong. Just ask a Futurist what they mean by "soon", and you will see exactly what I mean. If you continue to press them regarding what they mean by "soon", while they may heehaw around for a bit, eventually, they will be forced to resort to what has become the usual standby by saying something such as "No one knows the day or the hour". Thus, "soon" becomes an ambiguous word within Futurism. Do you understand?

Personally, I don't buy into that nonsense. As I point out in other articles, I believe that God is very specific when it comes to Bible prophecy. In other words, I am convinced that each prophecy has one specific fulfillment. It is not like a reusable battery, or a reusable rocket shot into the sky by Elon Musk. Once a prophecy has been fulfilled, well, it has been fulfilled, and it simply can't be recycled into something else according to our personal belief system. Yet sadly, I see so much of this happening today. Some of those misguided teachers now promote the erroneous belief that a prophecy can have multiple fulfillments, or what they call partial fulfillments, and then a final full fulfillment. I don't think so. That would be very confusing.

But concerning the Futurists, the worst of the lot are no doubt the date setters. Sadly, despite the fact that every single one of their predictions and interpretations has failed miserably during the past two hundred years, such foolish individuals just never seem to learn their lesson. And thus, you can still find some of them promoting their misguided doctrines on some of the social networks where they continue to set specific dates for the Rapture, or for the Lord's Return, or for some other prophetic event.

This practice is quite prevalent on Facebook, which appears to be one of the favorite stomping grounds for these types of misguided individuals. I cringe every time I come across one of their deceptive posts. Now, I would say something to them, but I have already learned through experience that it will be to no avail. Such people either want to argue with me, or else they will just delete my comment and block me.

At any rate, it is upon this core belief in the near future return of Jesus Christ that a number of other beliefs are based. Most notable among these are those which concern the exact timing of such events as the theorized construction of a third Jewish temple in Jerusalem, the signing of the Holy Covenant, the rise of the Beast and the False Prophet, the appearance of the Two Sackcloth Witnesses in Jerusalem, the Great Tribulation, the 144,000, the Mark of the Beast, the destruction of Babylon the Great, the Battle of Armageddon, and the Rapture. The Futurist-leaning interpretation of all of these events form a part of this widely-accepted belief system.

As I said a moment ago, twenty-eight years ago when I wrote the original version of this series, I was a rather solid Futurist, and there was no way that anyone could convince me to believe otherwise. I had the very same expectations as so many other Christians. I embraced the same beliefs as many of my Christian friends still do today. I earnestly clung to the firm belief that many of the events I just mentioned to you were future events, and not past, fulfilled events. Most importantly, I enthusiastically awaited the return of Jesus Christ during my lifetime with eagerness and anticipation. Furthermore, I preached Futurism quite fervently to others for forty-two years of my adult Christian life. So, yes, I was quite sold-out to the doctrine.

So what happened? Well, after embracing Futurism for about forty-two years of my life, the Lord began to shake up my Futurist beliefs, and He challenged me with certain verses which we find in the New Testament that clearly contradict what I had so fervently believed for so many years of my life. You can read about the specific whys and wherefores in the aforementioned series called "Jesus Christ's Return: Have We Been Deceived?". But the end result of my renewed study of the Scriptures is that I really had no choice but to make a complete U-turn in my understanding and personal belief system. I had to totally re-evaluate everything I had believed regarding Bible prophecy up until that point in my life. If I had not done so, I would still be sharing the deceptions of Futurism to this day. Instead, I chose to be flexible, and you can thank the Lord for that!

One of the byproducts of that major theological shift in my personal thinking is that I had to begin the very lengthy process of going back and re-reading all of my BBB Bible articles and series which had been written up until that point, and editing each one of them accordingly, so that they conform to my current beliefs. Thus, after I had written "Jesus Christ's Return: Have We Been Deceived?" in 2016, in which I fully explained how and why I had made such a dramatic shift in my thinking, I began to update all of my other articles and series where I discuss Bible prophecy to some degree.

My friends, that is precisely what I have been slowly doing ever since that year, and I am still far from done, because this is a one-man ministry, I am getting old, my health is now in very slow decline, and I just have so many different things that I need to attend to with the BBB ministry. In other words, in addition to updating all of my old articles, I am constantly writing new articles, creating new graphics, composing new poems and songs, compiling new topical KJV Bible Verse Lists, and keeping busy posting on the social networks. Trust me; it is a lot for an old guy like me, my friends. As such, your prayers are very much appreciated.

But, thank the Lord! Finally, after having authored this series almost twenty-eight years ago, I am getting around to giving it an update. And boy, let me tell you, it is needed, because my understanding regarding the precise timing of all of the major prophetic events -- Great Tribulation, Rapture of the Saints, Christ's glorious Return, etc. -- has changed dramatically. So then, shall we begin?

Due to the very mysterious and oft times cryptic nature of Bible prophecy, as well as our limited human understanding, there are a number of events within eschatology -- that is to say, within the study of Bible prophecy and the end of all things -- which have been assigned quite a variety of interpretations by those people who strive to understand God's Holy Word. One of these issues involves the precise time frame for, as well as the length of, a period of great suffering which in the Gospels, Jesus refers to as "great tribulation". He also says that it will be a time of such great affliction as the world has never known before. This period has likewise been referred to by some people as "Jacob's Trouble".

This latter name is derived from the fact that this terrible time of great persecution involves the Jews and the nation of Israel. The terms "great tribulation", "tribulations" and "Jacob's trouble" find their origin in Bible verses such as the following. In some cases, these verses are referring to personal trials and tribulations which were endured by First Century Christians, while in other cases they are referring to a specific, intense period of suffering and persecution which came upon the Jews as a whole. It is the latter which I discuss in great detail in the series "Vespasian, Titus and the Fall of Jerusalem":

"Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even THE TIME OF JACOB'S TROUBLE; but he shall be saved out of it."


"And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be A TIME OF TROUBLE, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book."


"For then shall be GREAT TRIBULATION, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elects sake those days shall be shortened . . . Immediately after the TRIBULATION of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."


"For in those days shall be AFFLICTION, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be . . . But in those days, AFTER THAT TRIBULATION, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory."


"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have TRIBULATION: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."


"Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through MUCH TRIBULATION enter into the kingdom of God."


"But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, INDIGNATION AND WRATH, TRIBULATION AND ANGUISH, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;"


"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall TRIBULATION, OR DISTRESS, OR PERSECUTION, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us."


"Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; PATIENT IN TRIBULATION; continuing instant in prayer;"


"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us IN ALL OUR TRIBULATION, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation. For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;"


"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, BUT WE GLORY IN TRIBULATIONS also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."


"I speak not this to condemn you: for I have said before, that ye are in our hearts to die and live with you. Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful IN ALL OUR TRIBULATION."


"For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that WE SHOULD SUFFER TRIBULATION; EVEN AS IT CAME TO PASS, and ye know. For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain."


"We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth; So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith IN ALL YOUR PERSECUTIONS AND TRIBULATIONS THAT YE ENDURE: Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, FOR WHICH YE ALSO SUFFER: Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to THEM THAT TROUBLE YOU; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day."


"I John, who also am your brother, and COMPANION IN TRIBULATION, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ."


"And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and TRIBULATION, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and YE SHALL HAVE TRIBULATION TEN DAYS: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."


"Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her INTO GREAT TRIBULATION, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works."


"And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of GREAT TRIBULATION, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them."


Please go to part two for the continuation of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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