Every Knee Will Bow Down
Every Knee Will Bow Down
God Makes Himself Known, Part 5 (All Will Know)
Check out earlier posts in God Makes Himself Known series:
God Demonstrates His Power: Part 1 (Egypt)
God Defends His Honor: Part 2 (Phillistines)
The One True God: Part 3 (Who deserves worship)
Jesus is God: Part 4 (Jews & Gentiles)
Throughout history, God has shown His power and glory at different times and different places and to different people, but never shown it to everyone at once. The time is coming when God will show His power, glory, and judgement to all mankind.
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17) {emphasis mine}
God’s first end times miracle will be the rapture of the church. All true believers (dead & alive) will be taken out of this world, given new, perfect, eternal bodies, and join Jesus in paradise. The world will see these Christians disappear. They will be there one moment and gone the next.
I always thought it strange, that after the Bible’s prophecies of the church being raptured, that most people would not believe God had removed His followers. I think something (maybe fallen angels pretending to be aliens who have rescued mankind) will make people not get panicked about millions of Christians all disappearing in an instant. Maybe it will be solely based on people’s hard hearts and their unwillingness to consider an unpleasant thought (that they were left behind), but life will go on.
The Bible makes it sound like there will be a short time of disarray, but then a man will come who make peace for a time (the Anti-Christ). After 3.5 years, things will get worse than they have ever been in the history of mankind.
The 7 Seals
In the end times, the world will experience unfathomably hard times. At first everything that happens will be things that have happened before, just worse. In Revelation 6, we see each of the 7 seals opened:
White Horse = Conquering
Red Horse = Takes away peace so men slay one another
Black Horse = Famine
Pale (Ashen) Horse = A quarter of the earth killed by war, famine, pestilence, and animals.
Those who trust in Jesus are martyred.
Awesome, terrifying natural disasters:
— A great earthquake,
— the sun becomes black,— the moon becomes like blood,
— the stars fall to earth,
— the sky is split like a scroll,
— every mountain & island moved out of its place,
— everyone from kings to slaves hide in fear due to the wrath of the Lord.
The 7 Trumpets
The opening of the 7th Seal leads to the 7 trumpets which are more terrifying than the first 6 seals and in faster succession. These miraculous signs of God’s wrath are beyond anything mankind has ever experienced and to a degree never experienced. First there is a half hour of silence and reprieve before the sounding of the trumpets in Revelation 8 & 9:
Hail & fire, mixed with blood, fall to earth and “a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.” This burning will likely destroy crops and kill livestock causing famine.
“something like a great mountain burning with fire [asteroid?] was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood, and a third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed.” A mountain sized asteroid would cause terrible tsunamis. The death of a third of the sea creatures will cause worse famine. The destruction of a third of the ships will cause a disruption in international trade leading to shortages and prices skyrocketing.
“a great star [comet?] fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters.” A third of the waters of earth are poisoned. If you don’t have clean water, you die. People will be dying of thirst and of drinking the poisoned waters out of desperation.
“a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were struck, so that a third of them would be darkened.” The world will experience fearful darkness. Sinful man hid their evil deeds under the cover of darkness and will now experience darkness that they don’t want.
A “star from heaven” (most likely a fallen angel) falls to earth with the key to the bottomless pit and “smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit. Then out of the smoke came locusts [fallen angels that procreated with women: see Genesis 6] upon the earth.” These “locusts” will torment those who reject God and are forbidden from harming the remaining plants. The torment will last 5 months and will be so bad that people will desperately want to die.
Four angels will “kill a third of mankind.” Death comes through an army of 200 million that kills with “fire and smoke and brimstone” that comes out of their mouths. The fourth seal resulted in the death of a quarter of mankind. The sixth trumpet will then lead to an additional third of mankind dying.
The 2 Witnesses
God’s wrath will be unimaginably bad, but God still cares and he sends two witnesses to witness to the world to make sure that every person on earth has the opportunity to repent and turn to God. Many will, but many more will reject God despite His miraculous judgements upon them.
And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire. (Revelation 11:3-6) {emphasis mine}
God’s two witnesses will:
Prophecy
Shoot flames out of their mouths to devour those who want to harm them
Stop the rain as judgement
Turn water into blood
Strike the earth with every plague
After 1260 days, God will allow:
The beast to kill them
Their bodies lie in the streets watched by the world as the world celebrates
But after 3.5 days, the witnesses will be raised from the dead in the view of every person on earth and be raised in the air up to heaven. God’s unmistakable power will be demonstrated in a way that there will not be any excuse for any person to reject Him as God and Creator.
And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. (Revelation 11:13)
At this point the unholy trinity (Satan always copies God because he can’t create anything himself) will rule the world and will begin to seriously persecute all those who have believed in Jesus and trusted Him as savior.
Amazingly, after all that God has demonstrated, the majority of people will worship the Anti-Christ rather than their creator who is the one, true God.
Additional Witnesses
As if the two witnesses that are seen by every person on earth is not enough, God sends other witnesses. He makes sure that every person truly knows who He is, what everyone is expected to do, and the consequences of refusing.
First God marks 144,000 Jews, 12,000 from every tribe, to be witnesses throughout the world. Then God sends an angel up in the sky to witness:
And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.” (Revelation 14:6-7)
He sends a second angel to warn that Babylon the Great has fallen. He then sends a third angel to give warning to people against following the Beast (Anti-Christ) or receiving his mark.
“If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” (Revelation 14:9b-11) {emphasis mine}
Most of those who believe and are saved during the seven year tribulation will be martyred, but they are promised “rest from their labors” and that “their deeds follow with them”:
… “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’ ” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.” (Revelation 14:13b)
The 7 Bowls
The final miracles that show the wrath of God against those who refuse to trust in Him come in the 7 bowls (or vials). These are poured out in very rapid succession, probably hours or a few days.
“… a loathsome and malignant sore on the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image.” (Revelation 16:2b)
“the sea … became blood like that of a dead man; and every living thing in the sea died.” (Revelation 16:3b) Notice that this blood isn’t like the other instances where it is like fresh blood. This blood is “like that of a dead man.” Every creature in the sea died, and I’m sure caused a rotting, putrid mess that smelled of death.
“… rivers and the springs of waters … became blood.” (Revelation 16:4b) God gave those who had murdered the prophets blood as the only thing they could drink, as a just punishment.
“… the sun … was given to it to scorch men with fire.” (Revelation 16:8b)
“… his [the beast’s] kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain.” (Revelation 16:10b) [clarification mine]
“… the Euphrates … water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east.” (Revelation 16:12b)
“… a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done.” (Revelation 16:17b) and “… there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth …” (Revelation 16:18b) “And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, came down from heaven upon men. …” (Revelation 16:20-21a)
More than half of the population of earth will be killed during the tribulation. Some will repent and turn to God, but then pay with their lives. Others will willfully disobey and reject God and refuse to submit to Him despite knowing who He is and why He should be worshipped. God will have shared His mercy and then His wrath in order to turn people back to Him, but too many will be hard hearted and reject Him. They will be guilty and every punishment they receive will be well deserved. Justice will ultimately be served.
The 4 Hallelujahs
Right before the end the whole earth will hear the voice of a great multitude in heaven saying:
“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her.” And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises up forever and ever.” And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” And a voice came from the throne, saying, “Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.” Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. (Revelation 19:4-6) {emphasis mine}
The 2nd Coming of Jesus
Last of all is the greatest moment in all of history when Jesus returns to earth as Lord and King to claim His own and to judge those who rejected Him and lived evil lives.
And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. (Revelation19:11-13)
The most magnificent man who ever lived, the eternal, creator God comes down from heaven in the sight of all with all of His followers behind Him dressed in white, but all those, both man and angel, who refused to worship Him and submit to Him decide to line up for battle against Him. They somehow think they have a chance against the very one who upholds their life with the power of His mind. All of the men who took the mark of the beast will line up for battle against their creator.
The Millennium
Of course these rebels have no chance. The beast and false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire. The rest are destroyed by the sword in the mouth of Jesus while His followers watch, never having to lift a hand or dirty their white attire. Satan is bound for a thousand years and Jesus reigns over all of the earth for a thousand years on earth fulfilling the promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, David, and everyone else in the Bible. There will be a thousand years without the evil influences of Satan and his fallen angels. What a wonderful time that will be, but sadly, not all will fully submit to the perfect, sinless, creator God and one more moment of glory will be shown before the earth is burned with fire.
Judgement Throne of God
At the end of 1,000 years, there will be one more rebellion when Satan is released.
I used to think it strange that God would allow Satan to be released again to mislead, but I think it is a test to expose those who are not really trusting in Jesus. During the millennial reign, there will not be much outright sin, but not all will follow with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength. Many will be going through the motions. They will be going along to stay out of trouble, but not because their hearts are following Jesus. When temptation comes along, many will turn away from God again into judgment. Satan will gather people from all the nations to surround the saints, but God will send fire down from heaven to devour all of the rebels
And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Revelation 20:10)
Great White Throne Judgement
In the end, everyone that rejected Jesus will have their lives judged at the Great White Throne.
And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. (Revelation 20:12)
We are all sinners and do not want to be given what we deserve. We want God’s grace. Those who had trusted Jesus before the tribulation were judged by Jesus to determine their rewards. Those who rejected Jesus will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgement and will experience the just wrath of our holy, creator God. I hope you will be one of those who trust Jesus, otherwise you will receive your just punishment:
And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15)
By the end every person who has ever lived on earth will know who God is and will understand how much they have failed Him. Every knee will bow — whether in awe or in terror.
God made Himself known through His creation. God made Himself known through His blessings. God made Himself known by coming to earth to die for mankind to take away our sins. God made Himself known through His written word. God made Himself known through His wrath. Nobody can reject Him and claim they did not know.
Trust Jesus.
your sister in Christ,
Christy
Bible verses are NASB (New American Standard Bible) 1995 edition unless otherwise stated
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13And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying,
“To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.” (Revelation 5:13) {emphasis mine}
If we trust Jesus as Savior we can bow in awe and gratefulness, but if we reject Jesus, we will bow with the same awe, but with fear, trembling, and horror in the knowledge that we willingly rejected our holy, all-powerful creator God and we will receive His wrath as we deserve.
Sorry to end on a down note, but as the saying goes, “The first step is to know you have a problem.” Denying the truth is never in your best interest and I hope to see all of my readers in heaven some day.
Trust Jesus.
your sister in Christ,
Christy
1Blow a trumpet in Zion,
And sound an alarm on My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
For the day of the Lord is coming;
Surely it is near,
2A day of darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and thick darkness.
As the dawn is spread over the mountains,
So there is a great and mighty people;
There has never been anything like it,
Nor will there be again after it
To the years of many generations.
3A fire consumes before them
And behind them a flame burns.
The land is like the garden of Eden before them
But a desolate wilderness behind them,
And nothing at all escapes them.
4Their appearance is like the appearance of horses;
And like war horses, so they run.
5With a noise as of chariots
They leap on the tops of the mountains,
Like the crackling of a flame of fire consuming the stubble,
Like a mighty people arranged for battle.
6Before them the people are in anguish;
All faces turn pale.
7They run like mighty men,
They climb the wall like soldiers;
And they each march in line,
Nor do they deviate from their paths.
8They do not crowd each other,
They march everyone in his path;
When they burst through the defenses,
They do not break ranks.
9They rush on the city,
They run on the wall;
They climb into the houses,
They enter through the windows like a thief.
10Before them the earth quakes,
The heavens tremble,
The sun and the moon grow dark
And the stars lose their brightness.
11The Lord utters His voice before His army;
Surely His camp is very great,
For strong is he who carries out His word.
The day of the Lord is indeed great and very awesome,
And who can endure it?
12“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“Return to Me with all your heart,
And with fasting, weeping and mourning;
13And rend your heart and not your garments.”
Now return to the Lord your God,
For He is gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness
And relenting of evil.
14Who knows whether He will not turn and relent
And leave a blessing behind Him,
Even a grain offering and a drink offering
For the Lord your God?
15Blow a trumpet in Zion,
Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly,
16Gather the people, sanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the children and the nursing infants.
Let the bridegroom come out of his room
And the bride out of her bridal chamber.
17Let the priests, the Lord’s ministers,
Weep between the porch and the altar,
And let them say, “Spare Your people, O Lord,
And do not make Your inheritance a reproach,
A byword among the nations.
Why should they among the peoples say,
‘Where is their God?’ ” (Joel 2:)
If you don’t want to miss a post, please consider subscribing, so you know when new posts are published. Unfortunately, my life will not allow for a perfect schedule of posts.
If you have any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you. I will try to reply to your questions and comments as quickly as possible. I’m sure life will sometimes get in the way, but know that your input is valuable to me. Some responses may be direct to you. I may address some with a blog post.
Join Christy’s subscriber chat