Intro to the End Times is a series walking through some of the key themes of the story of Jesus’ return from a historic premillennial perspective, with special focus on knowing the heart of Jesus as we partner with God through the most dramatic chapter of human history.

(Full disclosure: I love to recommend resources to help you in your journey, and when I do I use Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase something through my links, I may receive a small commission. But if there’s a resource you want, I encourage you to get it wherever works best for you!)

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The subject of the end-time Harlot Babylon is HUGE in Scripture. The longest Old Testament prophecy (Je. 50-51) and the longest New Testament prophecy (Re. 17-18) are both about Babylon. It’s also called a mystery. Although we have a ton of biblical information, there are still many aspects that are veiled. No doubt many of these details will become more clear as we see them unfold!

Like we did with the timeline of end-time events, I think the simplest way to lay out what we know about the Harlot Babylon is some Q&A.

What is the Harlot Babylon?

The entity we call the Harlot Babylon is described in many places in the Bible, but we get her name most clearly from Revelation 17:

“Then one of the seven angels… said to me, ‘Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.’ …I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: ‘Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.’ And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints…”
(Revelation 17:1-6)

This brief introduction tells us several key things, which the rest of chapters 17 and 18 develop:

• She is luring people worldwide into sin (“prostitute”, “dwellers on earth have become drunk”, “cup full of abominations”)
• She is global (“many waters”, “dwellers on earth”, “kings of the earth”)
• She is connected to government (“kings of the earth”)
• She is connected to the antichrist (“sitting on a scarlet beast”)
• She is economically prosperous (“gold and jewels”)
• She is complex and difficult to understand (“mystery”)
• She is the absolute height of wickedness (“mother of prostitutes”)
• She is martyring the Church (“drunk with the blood of the saints”)

The Harlot Babylon is a prosperous, global system of wickedness with anchors in every area of society that seduces the earth into the fullness of sin.

We also see that she is described as Babylon, the ancient enemy of Israel whose roots go all the way back to the tower of Babel (Ge. 11:1-9). Just as the geographic region of Jerusalem has been dear to God’s heart since long before it was recognized as His city (Ge. 14:18), so Babylon has an ancient history of rebellion against God. God has always known its end time destiny.

Why is she called a harlot?

Throughout the Bible, “prostitute/whore/harlot” (in various translations) is used to symbolize idolatry, because Israel is supposed to be married to God. The primary meaning of the term “harlot” here is that she is drawing people away from God, but that will also involve a lot of literal sexual immorality. In fact, in the ancient world the two often went hand in hand, as people would go to pagan temples to have sex with prostitutes as a form of worship. Spirituality and sexuality are closely intertwined.

The Harlot Babylon is the ultimate contrast to Jesus’ bride, the church, who is identified with the New Jerusalem (Re. 21:2, 9-10). The end time storyline is really a tale of two cities– Babylon and New Jerusalem, the harlot and the bride, each with both literal and symbolic dimensions.

So is it a city, system, or culture?

All of the above! The Harlot Babylon is based in the literal, rebuilt city of Babylon as its capitol. It’s also a worldwide system of government, commerce, etc. It’s also a culture of wickedness where a the fullness of sin is not only tolerated but celebrated. And let’s not forget that in the middle of all of this is a demonic religion, probably with elements of many major religions that is able to unite the earth together.

This quote from Peter Herder’s book Babylon sums it up well: “Imagine a single city possessing the economic power of New York, the political power of Washington DC, the cultural influence of Hollywood, and the religious influence of Jerusalem.” (Babylon, page 29)

Is the Harlot Babylon super tolerant, then? Or is she persecuting the church?

The Harlot is SUPER tolerant of sin! Not so much of righteousness. If the church is refusing to dance to the Harlot’s tune, the Harlot will absolutely persecute her. Remember, Revelation 17:6 says she is “drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.” There absolutely will be many martyrs as we stand up for truth and refuse to bow to Babylon’s system.

So Babylon is comfortable for everyone but the church?

Um, no. Remember all that wealth and luxury the Harlot has? That didn’t come without corruption and exploitation. Revelation 18:11-13 lists the merchandise that has made her wealthy, and concludes with this chilling phrase: “and slaves, that is, human souls.”

I often think of the Harlot Babylon like the Capitol in The Hunger Games. On the surface, it’s bright, shiny, flamboyant, wealthy, and excessive– but it’s built on a dark web of oppression, slavery, and murder.

How is the antichrist involved?

The Harlot and the antichrist have an interesting relationship. One the one hand, the Harlot comes first, gradually building over decades before the rise of the antichrist and in full strength during the first three and a half years of the tribulation. On the other hand, she is riding on the beast (Re. 17:3), which means that he’s supporting her in some way and she’s relying on him to carry her. However, later on the antichrist is the one to overthrow the Harlot Babylon system to install his own governmental system (Re. 17:16). It’s likely that the antichrist is a rising political star within the Harlot Babylon system, loudly singing her praises, while secretly planning to overthrow her for his own benefit.

From a spiritual perspective, the Harlot Babylon is what unites the world and dulls its discernment to make them ready to receive the antichrist. Satan uses the Harlot to hand the world to the antichrist on a silver platter. By the time the antichrist sets up the abomination of desolation in the temple and demands worship (Mt. 24:15, 2Th. 2:3-4), the world is already so far under the sway of darkness that it’s easy to accept. Plus, there’s already united global infrastructure in place.

How will God judge the Harlot?

When the antichrist overthrows Babylon, that’s actually God using the antichrist to judge the Harlot for her wickedness–and then He later thoroughly judges the antichrist too. Wait, what? God uses evil to judge evil, and then judges that evil for being evil? Yep, that’s totally a thing in scripture (Je. 25:8-14).

Revelation 18 describes the earth in shock and mourning over the sudden and dramatic fall of Babylon. Overnight she will be struck with fire and plagues that completely shatter her prosperity and power. This is God’s judgment against her.

Is the Harlot Babylon happening now?

In my opinion, here in 2022, we’re currently in the “birth pains” phase of the story (Mt. 24:4-8). We’re beginning to see escalating crisis and wickedness, and we may speculate over what developments might evolve into that system, but we’re not in full-blown Harlot Babylon mode yet. But that is the next step on the end-time agenda, so stay tuned!

How should the church be preparing?

When the disciples asked Jesus about the signs of His coming, the first thing He said was “See that no one leads you astray.” (Mt. 24:4) Deception will be the church’s primary enemy. A few verses later, Jesus also warned, “Because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.” (Mt. 24:12) Sin and deception lead to once-fiery love growing cold. In my opinion, this is the scariest part of the entire end time drama.

There will be a great falling away (Mt. 24:10-12, 24; 1Ti 4:1; 2Th. 2:3) and we cannot suppose we are automatically immune to it. I’m speaking for myself– there is no guarantee that I will be faithful to Jesus through the Harlot Babylon if I don’t keep actively pursuing Him.

There are four primary challenges for the end-time church that will lead many down this path:

• Fear (because of the crises)
• Offense (at God and others)
• Lust (to dull fear and indulge the flesh, not only sexually)
• Deception (away from God’s Word)

So what’s the remedy? Luckily, the Holy Spirit has abundant grace to help us stay steady if we keep leaning into Him. The way we do that is simple– not easy, but simple: fiery first commandment love for Jesus.

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
(Mark 12:30)

Keep abiding in Him.

Keep a vibrant and consistent prayer life.

Keep close to the fellowship of believers.

Keep studying and praying the Word.

Keep check on anything that would draw you away from Him.

“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy…”
(Jude 24)

He’s able to keep you. We don’t have to be afraid that we will accidentally lose our salvation, but we also “have need of endurance” (He. 10:36). Let’s keep pressing into Him and keep “first love” (Re. 2:4) alive so that we can be part of the victorious bride that triumphs over Babylon!

Further Resources

For further study, I recommend the book I mentioned earlier, Babylon: The Resurgence of History’s Most Infamous City by Peter Herder with Benji Nolot.

For a slightly different take on the Harlot Babylon with some really interesting insights, check out Joel Richardson’s book Mystery Babylon: Unlocking the Bibles’ Greatest Prophetic Mystery, which is also offered as a free ebook.

For solid teaching resources on the Harlot Babylon, you can find a long series and a short series at tprdfw.com.

Finally, I really love the way Babylon is portrayed in the film Ballads of the Revelation by Frontier Alliance International. You can watch it free online, and here’s their delightful foot-stopping ode to the fall of Babylon (the lyrics of which I currently have as a poster on my wall):

Intro to the End Times is a series walking through some of the key themes of the story of Jesus’ return from a historic premillennial perspective, with special focus on knowing the heart of Jesus as we partner with God through the most dramatic chapter of human history.

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In the last post, we talked about the promises of the Abrahamic covenant, which is unconditional and unbreakable, and the Davidic covenant, which narrows the focus to David’s line. But in order to fulfill His promises to Abraham and David, God must make Israel righteous, which has never yet fully happened in history. He will do this the same way He made us righteous– through the blood of Jesus in the new covenant. We could summarize these three covenants this way:

• Abrahamic covenant – WHAT – land, descendants, blessing to the nations
• Davidic covenant – WHO – a righteous, eternal king from the line of David
• New covenant – HOW – by putting His law in their hearts

In this post, we’re going to look at how this promise unfolds in the drama of the end times.

All Israel Will Be Saved

There is a fixed point in the future when all Israel is going to get saved. The magnificent wisdom of God is to cause this to happen at the transition of the age, as Jesus returns to establish His kingdom. Zechariah 12 describes the climactic battle of Jerusalem at the end of the Tribulation when God opens Israel’s eyes to who He is and give them the gift of repentance.

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.”
(Zechariah 12:10, cf Revelation 1:7)

Earlier in Zechariah, there’s a phrase that brought me to tears in the prayer room when God started giving me His heart for Israel: “Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me.” (Zec. 2:9) Can you hear the emotion in this phrase? “Oh, Israel, then you will finally know!” How His heart longs for this day! You can hear this same ache when He says:

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem… How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! …For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
(Matthew 23:37-39)

So how is God going to accomplish this?

In Romans 11, Paul lays out a plan of such delicately balanced wisdom that only God could have conceived of it. God allowed the majority of Israel to reject the gospel, thus pushing the gospel out to the Gentiles, but the plan is to use the salvation of the Gentiles to provoke Israel to jealousy, so that they recognize and return to their God. This forces humility in all of us: the Gentiles must recognize that their faith rests squarely on the Jewish covenant, and Israel must recognize that the Gentiles have truth that they need!

“…through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous…. a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, ‘The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob'”
(Romans 11:11, 25-26)

When Jesus returns, Israel will see Him coming on the clouds, then riding through the desert delivering them again with miracles even greater than the Exodus (Mi. 7:15, Je. 23:7-8), and with the testimony of the faithful church through the Tribulation fresh in their minds, they will recognize with sudden, brilliant, terrible clarity that Yeshua was the Messiah all along. They’ll realize that He wasn’t just the gentile Christian God; He’s their own Mighty One of the Exodus, the Son of David, YHWH in flesh. They will mourn and repent, and be granted salvation spiritually and physically as He wipes away their sins and rescues them from the antichrist all at once.

And Jesus’ heart will burst with joy as His family welcomes Him home.

Before we move on: who exactly is “all Israel”? Answer: every Jewish person left alive on earth at that point, assuming they haven’t taken the mark of the beast. There are a number of verses referring to “those who are left” or the “survivors” of Israel turning to the Lord, following a time of great judgment. You’ll also see the phrase “in that day” a lot- this is a key phrase that almost always refers to the end times or the millennium!

“In that day the branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel. And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning.”
(Isaiah 4:3)

“In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob… will lean on the LORD… A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. …only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness.”
(Isaiah 10:20-22)

“And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.”
(Joel 2:32)

Jacob’s Trouble

Satan is well aware of God’s promises in the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants, and he knows that they’re all tied together. He’s figured out that the way to best way to strike against Jesus is to strike against His covenant people. In fact, Jesus said something really specific about His coming related to the people of Jerusalem, and Satan was paying attention:

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem… you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
(Matthew 23:37-39)

To Satan, this looks like a loophole! He failed at preventing Jesus from being born, but if he can just prevent Jerusalem from saying, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord,” he can prevent Jesus from coming back! To a large extent, anti-Semitism throughout history can be traced back to Satan’s desire to prevent Jesus’ return by eliminating the people whose invitation He has bound Himself to.

During the Tribulation, one of Satan’s top priorities is furious aggression against Israel, who is shown in this passage of Revelation as a woman:

“And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth.”
(Revelation 12:13-16)

The Old Testament as well describes the Tribulation as a time of intense trouble for the people of Israel:

“Alas! That day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob [NKJV ‘Jacob’s trouble’]; yet he shall be saved out of it.”
(Jeremiah 30:7)

“And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.”
(Daniel 12:1)

Satan’s fury, via the antichrist, will be intensely focused on Israel, much like Hitler’s fury during World War II. The question of Israel will become a dividing point among the nations, as we each have to decide whether we will stand with God in His love for His people, or stand passive and allow the antichrist to have his way. Even today, antisemitism is mounting, as Satan lays the foundation for the worst persecution of the Jewish people the world has ever known. (For more on God’s covenant with Israel and the history of antisemitism, I highly recommend the free documentary series Covenant and Controversy.)

Our Response

However, there’s lots of good news in the midst of the bad news. I’m grateful that every verse I shared above highlights God’s rescue of the Jewish people. A few posts from now, I’m going to cover what Jesus does when He appears- how He does the Exodus all over again and dramatically saves His people. For the moment, we can be assured that even in the midst of great persecution, there are also dramatic miracles taking place (like the earth opening up to swallow the dragon’s flood in Revelation 12!) and the Gentile church is rising up to stand with the Jews.

Which brings us full circle to the beginning of this post: all Israel will be saved when the Gentile church provokes her to jealousy. Can you imagine the kind of witness it will be when Gentile believers are hiding Jews in their homes like Corrie ten Boom, serving them with such love and compassion, and even laying down their lives for them? That witness of costly, faithful love will make a deep mark on the Jews, and no doubt will lead many of them to faith in their Messiah.

The deeper I have delved into studying the end times, the more I discover that it all centers around Israel. Whether you realize it or not, your theology of Israel will absolutely inform your eschatology. Is God really faithful to all of His promises? Is there still a unique place in His story for Israel?

I once heard a chilling statement from a teacher who was explaining their belief that there will be no tribulation because it all was fulfilled at the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD and we’re currently living in a symbolic millennial reign. Someone asked, “But what about Israel?” and the teacher immediately laughed and said, “I don’t care about Israel.” It hit me like a knife. They immediately backpedaled and said that they care about Israel as equally as they care about any other unsaved nation, but I felt like the enemy had just tipped his hand. His hatred for Israel seeps into our bad theology and impacts whether we will stand with the plans of God or not.

We urgently need to come into agreement with God’s love for Israel. The story of the Bible, especially regarding the end times, doesn’t make sense until we see that it’s all Israel-centric. God will be faithful to His promises to Abraham and all Israel will be saved, and Jesus will reign as the Son of David from Jerusalem forever. Satan will rage, and we must be ready to stand up and bear witness to Jesus’ sacrificial love for His people by even laying down our own lives for them.

When Israel at last confesses, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord,” we will take Psalm 24 as our songbook and sing to Jerusalem,

“Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle!”
(Psalm 24:7-8)

A few of my favorite resources on Israel:

(Full disclosure: I love to recommend resources to help you in your journey, and when I do I use Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase something through my links, I may receive a small commission. But if there’s a resource you want, I encourage you to get it wherever works best for you!)

• Covenant and Controversy documentary series by Frontier Alliance International
• Defending Christian Zionism by David Pawson
• When a Jew Rules the World by Joel Richardson (free ebook)
• One King: A Jesus-Centered Approach to the Question of Zion and the People of God by Samuel Whitefield (my review)

For more recommendations, check out my Resources page.

Intro to the End Times is a series walking through some of the key themes of the story of Jesus’ return from a historic premillennial perspective, with special focus on knowing the heart of Jesus as we partner with God through the most dramatic chapter of human history.

(Full disclosure: I love to recommend resources to help you in your journey, and when I do I use Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase something through my links, I may receive a small commission. But if there’s a resource you want, I encourage you to get it wherever works best for you!)

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As I’ve mentioned before, one of God’s primary objectives of the end time storyline is the fulfillment of His promises to Israel. The entire story of the Bible is Israel-centric; the rest of us as Gentiles get the privilege to be included, but we must never forget that we are in a Jewish story.

Unfulfilled Covenant

The Jewish story starts with God’s covenant with Abraham, which is a major cornerstone of the gospel (Gal. 3:8). The Abrahamic covenant has three specific and far-reaching promises that have not yet been fulfilled, and ultimately cannot be fully fulfilled until Jesus comes.

“Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'”
(Genesis 12:1-3)

I used to think that these promises had been already fulfilled. Land- the nation of Israel happened. Descendants- there sure are plenty of Jews. Blessing- Jesus came! And yes, those are all significant measures of fulfillment, but the full extent of what God had in His heart can only be fulfilled when Jesus returns.

1. Land
   Abraham and his descendants will permanently inherit the full extent of the promised land as an “everlasting possession” (Ge. 15:18-21, 17:8). This space is far larger than Israel currently occupies (map here). Currently, 47% of Jews worldwide live in Israel. The prophets foretold of a future time that they would dwell in the land securely, without fear of attack (Isa. 32:18). The problem is, they can’t unless they are walking in righteous relationship with God. He warned them of exile when He gave the law to Moses (Lev. 26:27-33). Until the people are completely righteous, they can’t fully possess their inheritance forever (Isa. 32:17-18, 60:21).
2. Descendants
   God not only promises Abraham lots of descendants, but that the nation as well as Abraham’s name would be “great” (Ge. 12:2). The prophets describe a day when Jerusalem will be a praise in the earth and everyone will be in awe at the glory of God that clearly rests on her (Isa. 61:9, 62:1-7). This hasn’t happened yet, and we have the same problem here as with the land. They cannot be “great” until they are righteous (Pr. 14:34).
3. Blessing to the Nations
   Jesus’ birth through the line of David was a big part of this fulfillment, but the day of full salvation/blessing/restoration for the nations hasn’t yet dawned. When Jesus establishes His kingdom on earth as the Jewish King ruling from Jerusalem, the nations of the earth will be more blessed than they ever dreamed possible!

Remarkably, God in His wisdom has tied these three promises together in such a way that they all rely on each other and can only be fulfilled when Jesus returns. When He comes, all Israel will be saved when they are provoked by the fullness of salvation coming to the gentile church (Ro. 11:11-15, 25-26). Then they will be righteous and can possess the land and be a great nation- which will overflow with blessing to the nations as Jesus establishes His kingdom in Israel and to the ends of the earth forever!

Also, let’s note that these promises were given to Abraham, not only his descendants on his behalf. In order for God to be faithful to Abraham, He has to actually give these things to Abraham. The problem is, Abraham is currently dead, and he died without receiving the promises (He. 11:13). The only way for God to be faithful to Abraham is to resurrect him and give him the fulfillment in the next age.

Unbreakable Covenant

We need to be firmly aware that the Abrahamic covenant is NOT the same as the Mosaic covenant (the Law given at Sinai), aka the “old covenant” that was superseded by the new covenant. It’s much older and deeper. Most significantly, the Mosaic covenant is conditional, but the Abrahamic covenant is unconditional. It’s secure no matter what because it’s based on God’s faithfulness to Himself, not anything man does or doesn’t do.

When God affirms the covenant with Abraham a few chapters later, He actually puts Abraham to sleep and passes between the covenant offerings Himself (Ge. 15:12-20). Traditionally, the two parties were supposed to do that together. By not letting Abraham participate and doing it all Himself, God was saying, “You’re not making any promises; I’m making all the promises, and I’m going to be faithful to this covenant because of Me, not because of you.” This is the nature of God that our faith is based on! As 2 Timothy 2:13 says, “if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.”

Jeremiah 31 makes the distinction between the new covenant and the Mosaic (not Abrahamic) covenant explicit:

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt… I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people… they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
(Je. 31:31-34)

God contrasts the new covenant with the Mosaic covenant (the Law given when He brought them out of Egypt), not the Abrahamic covenant. The new covenant is God’s way of making Israel righteous so He can fulfill the Abrahamic covenant. Like Paul says in Romans 11:26 that “All Israel will be saved,” God says to Jeremiah that “they shall all know Me.”

The next few verses are just as striking, because God swears that His covenant with Israel to make them a nation forever is secure.

“Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the LORD of hosts is his name: ‘If this fixed order departs from before me, declares the LORD, then shall the offspring of Israel cease from being a nation before me forever.’ Thus says the LORD: ‘If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below can be explored, then I will cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done, declares the LORD.'”
(Je. 31:35-37)

This is crucial for the church to understand, otherwise we’ll become arrogant against Israel and start to imagine that God can just erase His covenant with Israel and give the promises to gentile believers instead. This is called “replacement theology” or “supercessionism” (sometimes also called “better covenant theology”). I am convinced that it’s a theologically-veiled deception born out of Satan’s hatred of Israel. Replacement theology argues that because the majority of Israel rejected Jesus, God not only judged them with the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD but has permanently divorced them from being His people. In Jeremiah, God rejects this in the strongest terms, saying that He will never cast off Israel because of their sin.

Just to be sure, let’s jump to the New Testament. Paul says clearly about the election of Israel: “The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (Ro. 11:29)

Davidic Covenant

Generations after the covenant with Abraham, God singled out David as the one through whose line the promises would come. In 2 Samuel 7, David got it into his heart to establish God’s house of prayer, and God responded with a promise to establish David’s house forever.

“And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. …your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.”
(2 Samuel 7:9-10, 16)

I used to think that this referred to Jesus’ throne in heaven today. He’s King right now, right?

Well, yes and no. Of course as God He’s King over the universe, but He’s not currently reigning on David’s throne like God promised. Where is David’s throne? In Jerusalem. On earth. The Son of David has not yet taken His rightful throne.

“Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom… from this time forth and forevermore.”
(Isaiah 9:7)

“At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the LORD…”
(Jeremiah 3:17)

“I heard one speaking to me out of the temple… ‘this is the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel forever.”
(Ezekiel 43:6-7)

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely.”
(Jeremiah 23:5)

Psalm 2 describes this Davidic King as the Anointed One, which is where we get the term “Messiah.”

“The kings of the earth set themselves… against the LORD and against his Anointed… the Lord… will speak to them… ‘As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.'”
(Psalm 2:2-6)

Israel has been waiting for this promised King, the Anointed One, to come reign on David’s throne in Jerusalem, bring perfect peace to those who dwell in the land of Israel, and bring blessing to the nations by establishing the kingdom of God on earth forever. No wonder they were confused by Jesus’ first coming! They weren’t wrong; God just had a different timing than they were expecting. But He will come again, and He will do all He said.

This is only the tip of the iceberg of the promises. (For example, I didn’t even touch God’s promise to do the Exodus all over again!) The Abrahamic covenant is the core of God’s promises to His people, and all that follows is detail about how He will fulfill it, with the Davidic covenant being arguably the biggest detail. In the next post we’ll unpack how these promises are fulfilled, along with Satan’s rage and God’s deliverance, in the story of Jesus’ return.

Note: Much of this blog was based on things I learned in Samuel Whitefield’s book One King. I wrote about it a few years ago, and I highly recommend getting your hands on a copy! (Full disclosure: I am an Amazon affiliate, so if you make any purchases through my links I may receive a small commission.)

Intro to the End Times is a series walking through some of the key themes of the story of Jesus’ return from a historic premillennial perspective, with special focus on knowing the heart of Jesus as we partner with God through the most dramatic chapter of human history.

(Full disclosure: I love to recommend resources to help you in your journey, and when I do I use Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase something through my links, I may receive a small commission. But if there’s a resource you want, I encourage you to get it wherever works best for you!)

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In this series on the end times, I’ve spent the past few posts taking a break from the main storyline to talk about some of the positive things that the church is experiencing, like protection, prayer, and revival. In this post, we’ll look at the church’s unique message to carry during this time.

Forerunners Preparing the Way

Throughout Scripture, in every transitional generation, God has raised up messengers to proclaim what’s coming. As Amos 3:7 says, “For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.” He’s really into partnership, and His desire is that we would lean in close to hear His voice, so we can spread the message of what He’s doing.

The end times are no exception. As we discussed early in this series, God wants His people to understand the end times. The unbelieving world that hasn’t been listening to the Word will be surprised as by a thief in the night, but as 1 Thessalonians 5:4 says so clearly, “You are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.” He wants us awake, aware, and partnering with Him to release His purposes on the earth.

Forerunners of Jesus’ First Coming

In the generation of Jesus’ first coming, God raised up prophetic voices to announce what He was doing.

• Simeon had been waiting for years for the Messiah, and God had promised he would see Him in his lifetime. He met Jesus as a baby in the temple, and prophetically declared who He was as God had shown him. (Lk. 2:25-35)
• Anna was a prophet, intercessor, and worshipper who lost her husband early in their marriage, and spent the next 60ish years of her life in the house of the Lord. After Jesus came to the temple as a baby, she declared the message of His coming to anyone who would listen. (Lk. 2:36-38)
• John the Baptist was especially anointed to fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy of “one crying in the wilderness, ‘prepare the way of the Lord.'” (Lk. 3:4, Is. 40:3)

Though their message was rooted in Scriptures about the coming Messiah, it required additional prophetic insight to say, “NOW is the time.” In other words, they weren’t just called to proclaim the Word of God as it had been written for thousands of years; they were called to discern the season and apply the Word to declare that ancient prophecies were actively being fulfilled in their day. They were on the cutting edge of a move of God that irrevocably shifted all of  human history.

Forerunners of Jesus’ Second Coming

The coming of Jesus in the sky to establish His kingdom on earth is the most dramatic transition in all of human history. Before that final moment, He wants to mobilize believers as messengers to declare who He is and what He’s doing. This is His kindness and mercy to not leave the earth without a witness.

• Daniel prophesies of “wise ones” (or “maskilim” in Hebrew) in the end times who know the heart of God and are able to explain what He’s doing to others.

“the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. And the wise among the people shall make many understand”
Daniel 11:32-23

“And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.”
Daniel 12:3

“And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand.”
Daniel 12:10

• Jeremiah prophesies of ones who “stand in the council of the Lord” to get clarity of what’s on His heart as He’s releasing judgment, and promises that there will be ones in the end times who understand it clearly.

“For who among them has stood in the council of the LORD to see and to hear his word …The anger of the LORD will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the intents of his heart. In the latter days you will understand it clearly.”
(Jeremiah 23:28-20, see also 30:23-24)

• Isaiah prophesies of those who proclaim the “good news” to Israel, and this gospel is simply “Behold your God!” announcing that He’s coming as a warrior and a shepherd.

“Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news… say to the cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God!’ Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might and his arm rules for him… He will tend his flock like a shepherd”
(Isaiah 40:9-11)

What Are We Saying?

When the disciples asked Jesus about the signs of His coming, Jesus gave them several very specific things to watch for, and then said, “this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14) When we proclaim the “gospel of the kingdom,” it’s much more than the simple message of personal salvation. The gospel of the kingdom says, “THE KING IS COMING! He’s going to shatter everything that opposes Him and establish His kingdom forever!”

Here are a few of the central emphases of the forerunner message:

1. Jesus is Coming
   First, He’s coming back for real! There will be many scoffers who say it’s not real (2 Pe. 3:3-4), but we’re called to be bold about this truth- He IS gonna split the sky and take over the world, and the clock is ticking.
2. He is a Bridegroom, King, and Judge
   In the drama of the end times, Jesus’ heart is most fully on display as a bridegroom with passion for His bride, a king who rules in power, and a judge who will not tolerate wickedness. All three are true at the same time.
3. Deception is Coming
   When Jesus teaches about the end times, He mostly emphasizes coming deception that will incredibly persuasive (Mt. 24:3-4), both from the antichrist himself and from the escalating culture of wickedness that precedes him. We must be anchored in the Word to stand firm.
4. Jesus is Bringing Righteous Judgment
   In the midst of God’s judgments, we declare that His ways are “just and true” (Re. 16:7). It won’t be a popular message, but we agree with Him as He does whatever it takes to cleanse the earth and bring righteousness.
5. The Bride Must Be Ready
   As “friends of the bridegroom” like John the Baptist (Jn. 3:29), we call the church to live radically abandoned with all our hope in His appearing. We must be ready with oil in our lamps (Mt. 25:1-13), anchored in these truths and ready to be faithful even unto death (Re. 2:10).

How Does a Forerunner Live?

Forerunners have understanding of what God is doing before it’s obvious to everyone else. They often seem deluded or obsessive to the rest of the world. Noah must have sounded like a crazy person for decades, building a giant boat in his front yard and talking about a global flood, years before people had ever even seen rain. John the Baptist certainly didn’t seem very “balanced” or rational out there in the wilderness, wearing camel hair and eating locusts!

So here’s my first piece of advice: accept that your lifestyle will seem extreme to others, even many in the church. (You may enjoy the book Nazirite DNA by Loe Engle – check out my review.)

With that in mind, here’s the lifestyle I’m talking about: throw yourself headfirst into living the Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5-7). Im summary, here are the main lifestyle themes we are to walk out:

• Pray daily
• Fast weekly
• Do justly
• Give extravagantly
• Live holy
• Lead diligently
• Speak boldly

Forerunners must spend lots of time studying the end times straight from Scripture, while soaked in a lifestyle of prayer and fasting. Think of it as a journey, not a destination. There are 150 chapters in the Bible that are specifically focused on the end times, and we’ll never finish mining truth from them!

Finally, don’t forget to aggressively embrace humility. It’s easy to get an elitist mindset about the forerunner calling, especially when you’re new to it. Kill that thing with fire every chance you get. Remember that your job is to be a friend of the bridegroom and point people to Jesus, not yourself. Pride is counterproductive to going anywhere in God. Take every opportunity to go low, even when you feel hurt and misunderstood. God sees.

Are You a Forerunner?

When I did my house of prayer internship in 2012, the question I was carrying in my heart was, “Is the forerunner thing real, and is it for me?” Over my months of Bible study and prayer room time, God spoke to my heart through His word that it was indeed real, and it was indeed for me.

The invitation to be a forerunner messenger isn’t restricted to a chosen few, but open to all. Anyone can hear the invitation to know and proclaim His heart related to His return and say yes to it. Of course, God is still sovereign and it’s true that He strongly emphasizes the forerunner ministry to some while He seems to have different priorities for others, but anyone who finds their heart drawn toward this message is more than welcome to say yes to it.

If you’re reading this and feeling a desire well up within you to be one who will “prepare the way of the Lord”, to understand and declare the message of His coming- that’s the Holy Spirit. It’s not your flesh, and it’s not the devil. God is nudging you to position yourself to be a faithful witness of His story in the days to come.

You can say yes. Be one of “those who are wise” who will “prepare the way of the Lord.”

Intro to the End Times is a series walking through some of the key themes of the story of Jesus’ return from a historic premillennial perspective, with special focus on knowing the heart of Jesus as we partner with God through the most dramatic chapter of human history.

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We’ve hit 14 posts in this series! That feels like a lot to me because at The Prayer Room 14 sessions is a semester’s worth of a Bible class. Of course, a blog post is quite a bit simplified compared to an hour-long class session; this series will probably land at a few over 20 posts (and still be just an overview!).

For the past few posts, I’ve been taking a pause from some of the broader events to focus on the experience of the church during the tribulation. We talked about protection, then prayer, and now we’re talking about revival.

Good and Bad at the Same Time

As we discussed much earlier in this series, the end times are both dramatically glorious and dramatically terrible at the same time. Some groups within the church tend to emphasize one or the other, and either one is an unhealthy and inaccurate imbalance. Even as there will be all kinds of pressures and judgments besetting the earth, there will ALSO be a great revival as God pours out His Spirit and the bride comes into her maturity and authority. (Check out my earlier post Are the End Times Good or Bad? for more of a breakdown.)

And to some extent, these two realities fuel each other! Do you remember the riot in Ephesus that erupted because revival was bankrupting the idol industry (Acts 19)? Real revival causes disruption in society that causes unbelieving society to push back on Christians. But of course, God uses persecution to refine and stir up the church, even to the point that the witness of the martyrs becomes seed that leads to many new salvations! Persecution and revival go hand in hand. Can you imagine the fury of the Harlot Babylon and later the antichrist directed at a fiery, anointed bride that refuses to bow to their lies?

So let’s look at the biblical promise of end-time revival.

Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.”
(Joel 2:28-32)

You’re probably familiar with these verses, since Peter made them famous in Acts 2. In their original context, though, it’s clearly an end-time passage. Verses 30 and 31 reference “wonders in the heavens and on the earth”, in conjunction with the “great and awesome day of the Lord” (ie, the return of Jesus). These things have not happened yet.

So why did Peter reference this passage at Pentecost?

In Acts 2, the Spirit was poured out on the disciples in the upper room. They began speaking in tongues and preaching boldly, and there was clearly a new anointing resting on them. In explaining what was happening, Peter quoted Joel 2 and said, “This is what Joel was talking about.” (Acts 2:16-21)

And indeed it was! However, it was not the full and final fulfillment. A lot of pieces were missing. There were no “blood and fire and columns of smoke.” The sun wasn’t turned to darkness and the moon wasn’t turned to blood.

There’s a really simple rule in interpreting Bible prophecy. “If it hasn’t happened yet… it hasn’t happened yet.” This prophecy was partially fulfilled, but not completely. Pentecost was only the start; the Spirit will be poured out again in an even greater measure.

There’s another principle called “dual fulfillment.” Many prophecies in Scripture have dual fulfillment: a first, smaller fulfillment, and a later, fuller fulfillment. This doesn’t lessen the validity of God’s word at all; God loves to give us early shadows to help us imagine what the full fulfillment will be like.

In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit inspired Peter to use Joel 2 as the best way to explain what was happening, and it was totally valid to say “This is that.” But in the context of the end times, there will be a much fuller expression that the world has never yet seen. Judging by the specific signs mentioned, this will probably take place during the sixth seal in Revelation 6:12-13, but even before that, God is going to be pouring out His Spirit more and more as the church reaches maturity.

Global Harvest

In Matthew 24, arguably the clearest end time chapter in the Bible, Jesus promised, “this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Mt. 24:14) Missions organizations tell us that we’re very, very close. It’s very realistic that this could be complete in our lifetimes, and Jesus will not return until it occurs.

In Revelation, we see the fulfillment of this promise with the great multitude from every nation:

“…by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
(Revelation 5:9)

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands… These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
(Revelation 7:9, 14)

“Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.”
(Revelation 14:6)

These verses paint the picture of a global harvest of souls, with people from every people group on earth coming into the kingdom in a massive influx. Many prophetic voices in recent years have referred to a “billion-soul harvest” in the end times.

All Israel Will Be Saved

One people group in particular is guaranteed a revival.

“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people…they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
(Jeremiah 31:33-34)

Of course, this is the new covenant that Jesus inaugurated with His death and resurrection, and Gentile believers are graciously grafted in and allowed to share in Israel’s promise. Paul details this promise and grafting in Romans 11, culminating in, “And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, ‘The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob’.” (Ro. 11:26)

When Jesus comes, Israel will finally recognize Him as their God and Messiah. They will welcome Him into Jerusalem and say “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” (Mt. 23:29) and every Jewish person alive on earth at that time will be saved.

Zechariah describes this as a time of great repentance and mourning as they finally realize who Jesus is:

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.”
(Zechariah 12:10)

Soon in this blog series, I’m going to talk a lot more about Israel and their promises. It’s a huge component of end-time prophecy, and truthfully, our eschatology will always be at least a little off balance until we put Israel in the center.

How to Partner with God for Revival

Even before the final BIG revival, I believe God will continually pour out His Spirit more and more as the church matures. So how do we align ourselves to agree with God for revival?

1. Get a big vision
   Search out stories of historic revivals to whet your appetite for what God can do when He moves. I recommend season one of the Gripped podcast by Billy Humphrey and Corey Russell.
2. Pray for it
   Make intercession for revival (in your nation, city, and local community) a regular part of your prayer life. Throughout church history, intercession has always been the way that God has ushered in revival.
3. Foster a ready lifestyle
   What kind of people will be ready to hold what God wants to pour out? It will be a worshipping, praying, fasting, humble bride that God will anoint with His Spirit.
4. Keep loving Jesus
   Remember, we’re not in this for the cool stories and dramatic experiences. We’re in this because we love Jesus. Let’s stay faithful and keep loving Him and savoring His presence, however big or small we feel it. He’s the one we want.