Podcast Episode – Eschatology Explained: Will Believers Face the Anti-Christ?

Podcast Episode – Eschatology Explained: Will Believers Face the Anti-Christ?

Pip: If you have ever wanted someone to walk you through the end times with the calm urgency of a person who has genuinely thought this through, cj at The Way of the Rabbi has been doing exactly that.

Mara: This episode follows one extended argument about eschatology — specifically, whether believers will be present when the final Anti-Christ arrives, and what Scripture actually says about that moment.

Pip: Let’s start with the question of who exactly is still on earth when things get very, very bad.

Will Believers Face the Final Anti-Christ?

Mara: The central tension here is timing — specifically, whether the Church will be present during the tribulation period, or whether a pre-tribulation rapture removes believers before the worst of it unfolds.

Pip: And the post goes straight to the source, opening with Matthew 24 and the disciples asking Yahoshua directly about the signs of the end. The audience for that teaching matters enormously to the argument.

Mara: The post sets up the key passage this way — Yahoshua is speaking privately to His disciples, and here is what He says: “So when YOU SEE, the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place, then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.”

Pip: The word “you” is doing a lot of heavy lifting there, and the post leans on it hard. If Yahoshua is warning His disciples to flee, the pre-tribulation reading has to explain who exactly He thought He was talking to.

Mara: Right, and the post addresses that directly. The pre-tribulation response is that the disciples were Jewish, not the Church. The rebuttal offered is pointed: were they not Messianic Jews, and are Messianic Jews not worthy of the rapture?

Pip: There is also the nursing-infants problem — which is the kind of scriptural detail that quietly dismantles a tidy theological system.

Mara: Exactly. The post asks why Yahoshua would say “woe to the pregnant women and for those who are nursing infants” if infants are raptured. It is a concrete, textual inconsistency the pre-tribulation reading has to account for.

Mara: The stakes the post names are pastoral, not just theological. The concern is that believers shaped by pre-tribulation teaching may be spiritually unprepared to resist the final Anti-Christ — and the post is direct: “I fear if they are not ready to stand against the final Anti-Christ, they will end up standing with him.”

Pip: That is the real weight of the argument. It is not a debate about timelines — it is a warning about readiness.

Mara: And the post closes by reading Matthew 24:29-31 alongside 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 and asking the listener to notice how much they sound like the same event. The gathering of the elect, the trumpet, the clouds — the post invites the comparison and lets it sit.

Pip: The eschatology is the stakes. And the stakes are whether you are spiritually braced for what comes next.


Mara: The thread running through all of this is preparation — not fear, but clear-eyed readiness to stand when the pressure is real.

Pip: Next time, we will keep following where the signs point. There is more ground to cover.

For More check out the posts series *Signs Read the entirety of this post here: Will Believers Face the Final Anti-Christ?

Signs 1, Signs 2, Signs 3, Signs 4

Jude (Part 1)

Jude (Part 1)

Let me start here: if you have not read Jude (an introduction), stop now and go read it . . . it will make more sense that way. However, as a reminder to those who did read it let me refresh your memory. Jude is one of four brothers of Jesus and at some point led the Church in Jerusalem. He came to faith after Jesus’ resurrection. This same Jude then pens this letter and it is powerful! As a call to repentance, as a reminder of judgment, and as a warning to stay alert as we contend for the faith.

He doesn’t waste time with small talk, antidotes, or gibber, he is very matter-of-fact. In the verses, we will look at this week, we will see his heart, and his understanding as the brother of Jesus and leader of the Church. Let’s look at verse 5, “Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe.” Here is an interesting point, there are a couple manuscripts out there as well as a few versions of the Bible that use “Jesus” in place of “the Lord”. Could these early manuscripts be more accurate to Jude’s point? i think so. Jude had come to an understanding of who Jesus was and was not ashamed of it.

We love grace, i love grace. We preach grace, i preach grace, and it is glorious! However, we mustn’t lose sight of Jesus. Jesus, actively a part of the Old Testament, who is the same yesterday, today and forever, saves us by His cross. He leads us free from the chains of sin, out of bondage and into freedom. As the Israelites out of Egypt and still, subsequently (lit. the second time) He destroys those who did not believe. Folks, there is judgment. There is a hell and it has been preached since the formation of the Church. Do not be led astray. We must continue to contend for the faith in a world that would pervert the grace of God, even some in the Church.

Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that [e]the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, [f]subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after [g]strange flesh, are exhibited as an [h]example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. (NASB)

Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved[c] a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire,[d] serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. (ESV)

Pray with me for insight, for understanding, for fresh revelation into God’s Word. Let the Spirit of God speak to our hearts through these words written by Jude inspired by the Spirit. May we grow in wisdom and faith, as we seek to walk humbly with Jesus, contending for the faith. Until next week . . .

you are loved,

cj

Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord!

The shortest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 117, it is just two verses. Yet these two verses are immensely profound in their simplicity. You want to boil things down to the minimum and just look at the core of human existence? Then here you go:

“Praise the Lord, all you nations! Worship Him, all you peoples! Because God’s faithful love towards us is strong, the Lord’s faithfulness lasts forever! Praise the Lord!”

It doesn’t get much simpler than this, Praise the Lord. Worship Him. Because, He is faithful. His love is strong towards us and He is forever faithful. Thus, we should, Praise the Lord! No matter what you are facing, no matter what difficulties or trials befall you, Praise the Lord! In the good and in the bad, Praise the Lord! In the sun and in the rain, Praise the Lord! In life and in death, Praise the Lord! In sickness and in health, Praise the Lord! In the hardest of times and in the best of times, Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord,

you are loved,

cj

I am so mad I could spit

I am so mad I could spit

i had a friend growing up named Spencer, he was both a friend and an enemy, as we fought as much as we got along. He had a funny expression when he would get upset, “I am so mad I could spit!” He never did spit, his mom was pretty strict, okay very strict. I remember one time we were swimming in the apartment pool and he yelled out, “DARN IT!” after missing a pass as we tossed a football back and forth. His momma came out of the house faster than a jackrabbit being chased by a coyote. “Spencer Allen, you get in this house right now!” Fear gripped his eyes and bewilderment my mind, “what did you do?” i asked. “I cussed,” he said, as he walked the walk of shame up to his apartment.

A few years later i got in trouble for saying, “damn it” and as i was being punished i thought about how strict my parents were; then i remembered…pour Spencer Allen. Nowadays young people are just a bunch of sailors, as the stereotype goes, cussing up a storm.  i read a Facebook post about a parent volunteering at school and witnessing this along with all the disrespect towards teachers just this morning. As a youth pastor, i interact with teens on a regular basis, and this sort of behavior is on the rise and seems to be accelerating at a high rate of speed. It reminded me of a passage in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 it says:

“Don’t be naive. There are difficult times ahead. As the end approaches, people are going to be self-absorbed, money-hungry, self-promoting, stuck-up, profane, contemptuous of parents, crude, coarse, dog-eat-dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical, treacherous, ruthless, bloated windbags, addicted to lust, and allergic to God. They’ll make a show of religion, but behind the scenes they’re animals. Stay clear of these people.”

i read this in two ways, one as a warning to watch our character. To be vigilant in our pursuit of that which is holy; body, mind, and soul. The other part is to be watchful of those we would associate with on a regular basis. Your core group of friends should be like minded as you in Christ. You are going to interact with folks found in the passage above as well you should. You may even call some your friend, again this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It becomes bad when those are your core friendships. It is easier to pull down than to lift up. Here is one more passage to end for today found in Ephesians 4:

29 Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.

30 Don’t grieve God. Don’t break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted.

31-32 Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.

You are LOVED,
cj