What happen after the Great Tribulation?

What happens after the Great Tribulation?

After the “times of the Gentiles” (Lk. 21:24) and the “number of the Gentiles” (Rom. 11:25) have come to pass, comes the Great Tribulation. The devil will unleash his fury upon the earth and earth will experience the greatest pain and destruction on a global scale like never before, affecting every nation and every people. In God’s mercies, God will put an end to it at the end of the seventh year. Prior to this, the church would have been raptured and the focus will once again be upon Israel whom God had never abandoned but had sworn will protect and love eternally. God will at this time turn away the ungodliness of Israel who will once again return to God on a national scale. Jesus will then return to Earth to rule over all nations for one thousand years. There will be peace on earth, no more war nor pestilence. He will restore the health of the earth and all will be good. Even a child can play with a lion without fear. The presence and influence of satan and his cohorts will be no more, being locked away in the abyss for a thousand years. BUT this is not yet the endgame. At the end of the thousand year rule, satan will be released back on earth. He will cause all nations to rise up against God in one final battle. This will bring about the total annihilation of both planet earth and its inhabitants. And then the end shall come. Two things to ponder at this point.

1. Why? Why allow satan to once again cause havoc on earth? The devil is called the destroyer. It is in his nature to destroy all that which is good and which is of God. As for the inhabitants of earth, why forgo such peace on earth and pursue the path of destruction? That’s because of the H-Factor (the Human factor). As long as human is born, the sinful nature abides. No one is born sinless. Unless mankind is redeemed, his sinful nature will wreck havoc even without the presence of the tempter (devil). For one thousand years (even though ruled under righteousness) the sinful nature will still walk the path of pride, forsaking God and good. God will not contend with man forever. The thousand years will prove human’s sinful nature and the need for redemption. Given thousand more years to come, mankind will still remain the same as proven in history past. In God’s plan since the beginning of time, this has to end and it ends with the Final Battle.

2. God’s “mansion”. John 14:2-3:  “In my Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come and receive you to Myself, that where I am there you may be also”. This saying of Jesus has been widely misunderstood. Jesus wasn’t talking about big and luxurious houses awaiting faithful departed Christians (Have you ever wondered if Adam and Eve ever owned a house in Eden?). Let me paraphrase what Jesus said: “In my Father’s universe (house) are many solar systems (mansions)”. Earth is just a teeny tiny speck of dust that belongs to a teeny tiny solar system which is part of billions of solar systems throughout the entire universe. Our God is not just God over the earth. He is the Creator of the entire universe. Out in the universe, God made many “mansions”. Heaven is where the throne of God is and the Universe is His expanse. When we are done here on earth, just as Adam and Eve populated the earth, we will “populate” the universe. This has been God’s plan all along. We had been so narrow minded to think only of earth when God created the entire universe with all the “mansions”. This brings into perspective eternity. If I were to live immortally on earth, it doesn’t quite make sense. God have bigger things in store for us.

The endgame on earth is the Final Battle. But what God had planned is never ending. We don’t know all things (how can we?). Our finite minds (at this present time) cannot fathom everything about God and His creation. The moment mankind was created, we were created to discover, to learn. So we are inquisitive. We are unsettled with so many unknowns. We are restless. We are in awe at every turn of revelation. There is so much to learn yet we don’t have enough years to learn it all. It will take more than a life time to even uncover a teeny weeny bit of knowledge about the universe. We are on a journey of discovery and it does not just stop here on earth. God is beyond earth. I do feel for the learned. They have the privilege over the norm to know things that the average Joe does not even bother about. They study the science of things yet they know they don’t have enough years to learn it all. They crave for knowledge. They thrive in discoveries. Well, I have good news for them. “In my Father’s house are many mansions”. Learning doesn’t have to be limited to this life time. You have all eternity to learn IF you so desire. But don’t just look at the marvels of creation. Look too at the Creator. But sadly …

“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God”. (Psalms 14:1a)

How could you have existed if your parents did not? Things evolve but it all began with God, the Creator of all. Endgame? I don’t think so. Like the old saying: “You ain’t seen nothing yet.” I am looking for the stars. This world is not my home. I am just a passing through. I am looking yonder. God is good. In fact, God is awesome indeed.