by Susan Kohler
The meal itself was a feast: potato salad, coleslaw, barbecue beef, hamburgers, salads, corn on the cob, french fries, and a lot of desserts, everything from homemade ice cream to apple pie and chocolate cake. By the time everything was eaten and the tables cleaned up, everyone including the adults needed a nap.
As she sat at the picnic table, Nicole talked with David and Troy.
“I’m getting to the point where I’m having trouble finding topics to share with Adam,” she told them. “I’ve talked about forgiveness, charity, some parables, Saul on the road to Damascus, and more. I know there’s a lifetime of topics to study, no one ever knows it all, but what should I talk about next?”
“Have you gone through the Old Testament with him?” David asked.
“I’ve referred to it, but not in any detail.” She sipped her iced tea. “His Bible study class has gone into the Old Testament more than I have. I felt like the verses and stories from the New Testament would help me more in my effort to introduce him to Jesus. And I think it worked, but what’s next?”
“That’s it!” Troy sat upright, excited. “Talk to him about what’s next in prophesy and the end times.”
“I hate to open that can of worms,” Nicole admitted as she sipped more tea. “There’s so much dispute about what’s going to happen, even among Christians. You know, there is no rapture, the rapture will come before the tribulation or mid-tribulation, or even after. I need to do some research.”
“Then do the research, but for now... try apostasy and persecution.” David laughed at his sister’s expression.
“God only knows what I’ll find out.” Nicole sighed.
“That’s the point, isn’t it?” Troy rubbed Nicole’s shoulder. “You know what?”
“What?” she asked.
“You don’t have to have all the answers, you can tell him you’re not sure of some things. At first, to convert him, it was important for you to be on solid ground. Now you can explore with him and let him find his own answers.”
Nicole leaned into his embrace. “Good point.”
She was shocked when she went to see Adam a few days later. He had been beaten badly, his face was bruised and his wrist was wrapped. He moved slowly, and she learned one of his ribs was broken.
“Adam!” She was shocked. “What happened to you?”
“I was attacked,” he muttered, his mouth was so swollen it hurt to speak. “The Muslims in here aren’t too happy with me. My conversion to Christianity is apostasy, you know.”
“I was afraid this would happen, I’ve heard many stories about how Muslims treat apostasy.” Nicole thought as she thumbed through her Bible. “Then Jesus said unto his disciples, if any man should come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. Matthew 16:24. This tells us that as we follow Jesus we will also be persecuted for our beliefs. It will not always be easy, or even safe.”
“I know,” Adam admitted. “I persecuted Christians myself. Now I look back and feel as if it was someone else doing those things. I have so many regrets.”
“You are not the same man you were.” She smiled at him. “I know you’ve really changed. Remember when we discussed the Sermon on the Mount?” At his nod she continued, “One of the verses we call the Beatitudes says: Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Matthew 5:11-12.”
“Well, I’m blessed today then, but it’s a little hard to be exceedingly glad when my mouth hurts so much I can hardly talk.” He grinned and winced. “But I do remember you reading me this verse: But I say unto you, Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. Matthew 5:44. You not only read that verse to me, you lived it for me. You’ve shown me nothing but love, forgiveness, and patience, Nicole, thank you.”
“I’ve gotten so much back, you will never really know how much, but another thing you will never really know is how hard it was for me to come here, at first,” she admitted. “It was this verse that helped me: Bless them that persecute you, bless and curse not. Romans 12:14.”
“That’s not always easy, is it?” Adam asked softly. “Even for you.”
“No, it wasn’t easy.” She smiled at him. “But it was worth it. Since the attack, I’ve found a husband, a man I would have never met otherwise, I’ve had three beautiful children, started a new business, and found a way to help other abuse victims. Best of all, I’ve found a way to help you. I’m happy with my life.”
“I’m glad.” Adam was humbled.
“Some people claim that Christianity is a hoax. It was just a plot to promote a new religion,” Nicole told him. “That seems outrageous to me. For that to be true hundreds, maybe thousands of people had to plan together to let themselves be imprisoned, tortured, and murdered in the most violent ways possible, not because of faith, but to promote a lie. Could you let yourself be burned alive or fed to the lions without renouncing your faith in Jesus? Who would do that?” Her voice rose a bit with agitation. “Would you agree to be tortured or killed for a lie? In the case of the first Christians, what would they gain? Nothing! They would be dead. It doesn’t make sense.”
“It seems wrong,” Adam admitted.
“It happened to the earliest Christians, for example, Stephen was imprisoned and defending himself when he said: Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? And they have slain them which shewed before of coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers. Acts 7:52. His accusers then stoned him to death. His last words were very much like the last words of Jesus.”
“Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” Adam remembered the quote.
“Yes, the Bible tells us: And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus receive my spirit. And he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Acts 7:59-60.”
“That is very close, I don’t think I could be that brave,” Adam admitted.
“Then Herod killed James with a sword and took Peter to prison. He had Peter well-guarded, bound with chains between two soldiers, and more at the door. But an angel of the Lord freed him. All these stories are from Acts.”
“I’ve read Acts but I need to really study it.” Adam met Nicole’s eyes. “Have they told you that I’ve started witnessing to other men in here?”
“Adam, I’m so proud of you.” Nicole felt tears forming.
“Thank you.” He was humble.
“And Paul, who you remind me of, we’ve already talked about how he was very strong in his faith,” Nicole reminded him. “Paul is not the only one but it’s his story I’m most familiar with. One time Paul was in prison in Damascus and the Jews were planning to kill him, but the disciples came at night and lowered him down the wall in a basket.”
“He was really persecuted then, wasn’t he?” Adam was still stunned that she’d compared him to Paul.
“Yes,” she stood and stretched, “but he never felt like you would expect a person undergoing that persecution would feel.”
“What do you mean?” Adam asked.
“Well, from prison he wrote: Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice. Philippians 4:4.”
“He was incredible,” Adam admitted.
“Yes, he was,” Nicole agreed, “and I’m late. I’m sorry but I’ve got to go.”
Chapter Nineteen
“When therefore ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, Let him understand).”
(Matthew 24:15)
“I think we should talk about prophesies of the end times,” Nicole said one day. “It’s one of the things I’ve avoided discussing with you.”
“Why? I don’t mean why talk about it, I mean why have you avoided it?
”
“Because I’m sorry to say, I don’t know it well enough.” She paused and took a deep breath. “End time prophesies are confusing. It seems as if there are as many interpretations as there are people who have read and studied the verses. For me, I try to be a good Christian and put my faith in the Lord to handle the end of times and the second coming of the Lord.”
“I see,” Adam said, “but I’d like to learn more.”
“I would too. We’ll start on it, but to study this, you should read the books of Daniel and Revelation between our visits,” she pointed out. “Remember there are Biblical scholars who devote their whole lives to studying the end times. Some people think Daniel is the key to Revelation. We’ll start with some verses today and talk more when you’ve read them. Let’s start with Daniel 9.”
“Okay.” Adam opened his Bible.
“Daniel had visions from the angel Gabriel,” she began. “Most of the controversy comes from what is called Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy. I think it’s misunderstood because it means the non-believing Jews missed it, big time. It foretells the year of Christ’s birth, baptism, and Crucifixion. Also, his second coming.”
“In other words, they misread very important signs,” Adam said.
“In Daniel 8, Daniel received a vision about 2,300 years of time but Daniel collapsed and didn’t hear the entire interpretation of the vision at the time. And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up and did the king’s business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it. Daniel 8:27.”
“What a terrible thing to happen to him, to miss part of a very important vision. What did he do?” He was intrigued.
“He prayed. And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments. We have sinned and committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments. Daniel 9:4-5. After his prayers he was shown the complete vision.”
“And what was the vision?”
“It was a timetable for the end of days.” Nicole sipped her soda.
“What?” Adam was astonished. “What does that mean?”
“Well, this is a long quote, he said: Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince that shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation. And that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. Daniel 9:24-27.”
“Again I say, what?” Adam rubbed his face. “I need help.”
“So do I,” Nicole admitted. “In Jeremiah, we’re told: And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation saith the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations. Jeremiah 25:11-12.”
“Sounds very grim.” Adam frowned.
“It goes on to say: For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish. Jeremiah 27:10.” She paused. “But there’s hope: For thus saith the Lord, that after seventy years shall be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. Jeremiah 29:10.”
“It turns out that Gabriel’s vision was about the time of wrath during God’s anger with Israel because of its rebellion against Him. It will continue until Christ returns. It talks about God’s wrath against his people, how they will fall and be taken prisoner to different nations. Jerusalem, it says, will be trampled on by the Gentiles. There was a kind of preview of the tribulation under Antiochus IV. He was not a nice guy at all, but his reign ended on God’s schedule, and so will the Antichrist’s,” she told Adam, who still looked confused.
“The Antichrist?” His eyes seemed tired. “What or who is the Antichrist?”
“We’ll talk more about him later.” Her smile seemed tired. “Don’t worry.”
“Because the Jews disobeyed God’s law Antiochus was allowed to persecute Israel. Today things are just as bad and we’re all open to another madman.”
“Why?” Adam asked defiantly. “Can’t God control man?”
“He gave us all free will. We’re his children, not his puppets,” she snapped. “Man has no excuse. We’ve been warned. The Antichrist will be much worse than Antiochus was. He might be alive today already, but he is hidden until the time for him to appear. The Antichrist will attempt to rule the world, and the world will let him. Three and one-half years after the start of the Tribulation-”
“What is the tribulation?” Adam interjected. “I know, more on that later.”
“As I was saying,” she grinned, “the Antichrist will take control of what is called the revived Roman Empire and then will try to rule the world. But Christ will destroy his empire. Just like when Hitler took over Germany, and tried to take over the world. Some people, maybe many people, thought World War II was the tribulation and Hitler was the Antichrist, but far worse is yet to come.”
“Not too cheerful here,” Adam groaned.
“Remember though, God is in control. He wants us to be ready, at any moment.”
“Ready for what?”
“That depends on who you’re talking to,” Nicole admitted, “the second coming or the rapture. Personally, I think we should prepare for both.”
“I can understand the second coming,” Adam said, “but what is the rapture?”
“The rapture is the belief that Christ will take his believers with him and then return at Armageddon to defeat the Antichrist. Christians do not have to look forward with dread because we are saved by Jesus. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:9.”
“Praise God.” He was relieved.
“Now here comes the tricky part. Some people do not believe in the rapture, they say the word rapture is not even in the Bible,” Nicole admitted.
“But the Bible wasn’t written in English!” Adam protested.
“Exactly!” Nicole smiled, pleased at his insight. “I looked it up in the dictionary for the word’s origin. I always thought that Rapture came from the same root as raptor, or birds of prey that snatch up their victims, that word comes from the Latin Rapare, for birds or even dinosaurs that seize and carry off their victims. I thought, in this case, Jesus would seize and carry off his faithful.”
“That sounds good,” he admitted.
“But I also found the Latin word Raptus which means passion of ecstasy, or being carried away by overwhelming emotion. So to me, rapture is in the Bible, it’s just lost in the translation, or should I say hidden.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean it was lost in the translation into English, waiting for the time to be right for us to find it. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds,
to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.”
“That does sound like the rapture you’re talking about.”
“Most of those who turn to God after the rapture will be martyred. It’s terrible beyond anything the world has ever known. So the time to be saved is now. We want to save anyone we can from what’s coming. There are people who need to hear the gospel. Without Christ, there is no hope! If anyone says Christians are pushy, that is why.”
“Pushy like you?” His face was a picture of innocence as he teased her.
She grinned. “Daniel 9 is not symbolic, it’s a very important um, calendar of the time to come; a blueprint that prophesy is built on. This is set in 539 B.C. It was the first year of King Darius’ reign. By the way, you should read Daniel’s prayer in chapter 9, it’s amazing. This prophesy is about Israel, not just the church. Israel is still sinning, it is still estranged from God. Israel doesn’t get the vision or the prophesy; so their most Holy Place is covered over today by the Muslim’s Dome of the Rock. All the predictions of this vision are in the future. The question is how do we know how long the seventy sevens are? In the Old Testament sevens can stand for days, years and weeks of years, and a year was 360 days. That’s where the confusion comes into play, not everyone agrees about the dates. I think that most people believe Gabriel’s prediction concerns the seventy weeks that begin in 444 B.C., and the exact time that the Messiah would be crucified on the cross. When the Messiah was crucified the promises of the covenant with Abraham was also cut off until His second coming.”
“Why was God so angry?” Adam wondered. “I mean, he was already angered, but this seems worse.”
“Well, as you pointed out, he was already angry, but after Christ’s death most Jews lied about Him and persecuted His disciples. That made his anger worse, I think. So then there was a period of great destruction for the Jews. They were slaughtered, sold into slavery and scattered around the world in A.D. 70. Not only had the nation killed Jesus Christ, but God killed off the nation of Israel and they would not become a sovereign nation again until May 14, 1948.”
