Frankie Mazzapica - End Times Timeline - Part 2
Thank you for tuning in. The title of today’s message is «The End Times Timeline Part Two.» Next week will be Part Three. We’re going to dive right into it. Last week, I talked about how we can tell when the Lord is going to come back by watching Israel. The Bible states that the Lord will return when certain things happen in Israel. I discussed that last week, but now I want to focus on the Lord’s return.
We know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, hung on the cross on Good Friday, and came out of the grave on Resurrection Sunday, which we call Easter. There will be a day when He returns, and the clouds will part. The Bible has sign after sign that indicates, «Look, when these things happen, I’m coming back for the second time.» He will return for Christians—believers who have said, «I will love what You love and hate what You hate. I will fight this desire to sin to be righteous before You. In my areas of weakness, I will ask for help and call on You.» I want to encourage you that there is a difference between wickedness and weakness. Sometimes we encounter areas of weakness, and that’s when we come to the Lord and say, «Lord, I need Your mercy. Forgive me, and I also need Your grace to make me strong in this area. I want to live a pleasing life for You.»
These are the people the Lord will return for—the ones worshipping Him in this church, who lay their lives down. However, this only pertains to half of those who attend church. The other half may just attend church. Now, how do I know there’s a distinction? This is a different sermon for another day, but in Matthew 24:40, it says, «Two will be in the field working; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.» If you go to Matthew 25:1, you find ten people waiting for Jesus to return. Five of them grew tired of waiting and banged on the door, pleading, «Please let us in.» When five of them entered, the Lord yelled from inside, «I don’t even know you.»
When you take these two stories, they illustrate that half of those who believe in the Lord may not go to heaven. They might say, «Jesus, I believe in You,» but let’s remember that even Satan believes in Him, and that’s not a big deal. It’s the people who have laid down their lives. What does it mean to lay your life down? It means, «I am here to serve You. I am here to worship You. This is why I am here. How can I worship You? How can I praise You? I am here to serve You.» When that is your attitude, you are a son or a daughter of Christ.
If you’re like me and feel you need help, you might say, «God, I legitimately need help. If You don’t help me, I will remain weak here forever.» Sometimes you receive help immediately and aren’t weak in that area again; other times, you require God’s assistance daily. Remember, God has compassion for weakness but not for wickedness. Thus, He returns for about half of the global church.
The cool thing is that I see everyone here and can tell you care. You could have chosen not to attend, but you did. Let me show you a timeline for the United States—a sequence of events to consider that indicate, «Okay, when these things happen, Jesus will return for a second time.» I’m an intellect, and like many of you, I want to identify unprecedented events that have never happened before. If something has occurred a million times, then what are we excited about?
Here’s the timeline: Way before this, we have Adam and Eve. Long before that, in the Old Testament, God’s children, Israel, disobeyed Him and turned their backs. They began living sinful lives, so He allowed their land to be overtaken, scattering all the Jews, God’s people, throughout the earth. Jesus, however, came to Israel. He was born in Bethlehem, raised in Israel, and conducted His ministry around the Sea of Galilee. He was crucified just outside of Jerusalem and rose again in Israel.
Now, all of Jerusalem has just been destroyed, but check this out: it is going to be restored. Jesus dies on the cross, and timeline-wise, He is resurrected, marking the start of the Church age in Acts chapter 2. This leads to the Rapture. I need some help with my iPad. I don’t really like speaking with notes because when I look down, it seems chaotic. Here we go—let’s read this verse together in 1 Thessalonians 4:16. This is about the Rapture: «For the Lord himself…» Sorry, my son Luke wasn’t reading; we’ve got to start over.
Real loud now: «For the Lord himself… we are caught up!» We go up; we get up! Jesus never touches the earth during this time. Now, give me the timeline again so we can all see it clearly. The next thing that happens is we go up, and Jesus does not place His foot on the earth until later. After that, we come down after seven years. While we are in heaven, we experience the wedding of the Lamb; it’s a massive celebration. This is when you stand before God at the throne, where He judges you with loving kindness. Nobody is getting in trouble; He hardly even remembers your sins.
Instead, He looks at all the wonderful things you did. He skips over your sinful moments because you repented, and you are rewarded for every hardship you overcame—every time you wanted to lose your temper but didn’t, every time you struggled to forgive someone but did anyway. The Bible says when you come to the house of the Lord, it’s assumed you will worship. All of these are rewards.
Sometimes in life, you may not earn rewards because your efforts are tainted. Hebrews 6:1 says, «Let us move beyond the elementary teachings.» There’s a list of the basic things, called the elementary teachings at the «elementary school» level where you learn your vowels. Number one is to ask for repentance for dead works. What are dead works? They’re the things you do not for God but for yourself. For example, if I preach in front of you to gain glory for myself rather than for God, then I gain no reward for it.
The Bible states in 1 Corinthians 3:12 that on Judgment Day, when we stand before God, some people will find their work is made of gold, silver, and jewels, the real stuff. Others, however, will realize they lived for Him but weren’t purposeful in doing things for the Lord—they built their lives with wood, hay, and straw. When He sets their works on the altar, the fire will consume everything but the gold, silver, and jewels. This fire will reveal whether your life had any value in the kingdom. You will receive rewards for your works.
If all your works burn up, you still go to heaven, but you won’t have rewards. Why would you need rewards? The Lord gives you crowns that you will wear forever. The Bible says you won’t feel worthy of these crowns, and you’ll take them and lay them at His feet. He gives you crowns, and rewards determine your job and position during the millennial reign and for eternity.
You may say, «I’ve been working my whole life; I don’t want to work anymore.» This is not that kind of work. Think of it like responsibilities rather than burdens. The Bible says in John 5:17 that the Father is always working, and Jesus is always working, so we are, too.
What happens next? The Tribulation occurs while we are in heaven. During the Tribulation, bombs will fall and countries will fight like crazy. There will be no Christians left on the earth. It will be horrible, an unspeakable nightmare you don’t want to be a part of. After these seven years, we will have already had the wedding and received wonderful rewards. Don’t fear that judgment; it won’t be about showing you what you missed. Instead, it’s just about, bang, bang, bang—rewards, rewards, rewards.
After seven years, Christ comes down and places His foot on the earth, and you and I come down with Him. At that point, Satan is cast into the abyss. For 1,000 years, God and Jesus rule the earth, and you and I rule with them. For the sake of time, think of the Garden of Eden. The Bible says the wolf and the sheep will lie down together; it will be a time of incredible peace. For those of you who wrestle with depression or anxiety—who don’t like yourself or the trajectory of your life—know that all that negativity will be gone during those 1,000 years.
However, within that time, people will still have babies. There will be no evil spirits to tempt these newborns, who will grow up in a world where Jesus has reigned for 1,000 years. Now, it’s not fair that you and I fight bravely against every demon while they live in peace. I love my children, but they don’t get a pass for a short time.
Satan is released, but I won’t go into all the details; I don’t have time. And please don’t send me any books on the subject. Every time I talk about this, I get inundated with books to read, and I can’t. Satan will be released for a brief time. Afterward, all the sinners—the non-believers of Christ—will stand before a different throne: the Great White Throne of Judgment, where they will only face the consequences of their sins, and they will go to hell with Satan for eternity while we live in the New Jerusalem forever.
If you find yourself struggling to keep your head above water, remember that the Lord sees this. The Bible says in Psalms 56:8 that He tracks every worry and catches every tear in a bottle. He notices you reaching for His presence. When you stand before Him at the Judgment seat, He will acknowledge that you could have turned your back but didn’t. That will be a glorious day!
Now, I want to share three unprecedented events that indicate the second coming is near. Here we go:
1. The Rapture will occur during the days of Noah and Lot, as mentioned in Luke 17 and Matthew 24. In that time, there was a small remnant of believers, while the rest of the world was filled with sin. For instance, if you are married, enjoy your intimacy—but the enemy’s strategy is to tempt you to engage in sex before marriage and then, after marriage, to keep you from it altogether.
There was a time in the 20th century when Hollywood had conservative censorship standards due to the Hays Code, which set global guidelines for film. For example, in «I Love Lucy,» Lucy and Ricky were married but couldn’t share the same bed on TV. The same was true for The Dick Van Dyke Show. They were portrayed as married, yet they couldn’t be shown in the same bed. Now, however, we see shocking content in popular shows. Unprecedented events like this show how far we’ve strayed from previous norms.
2. There is also a move towards a cashless society and ID systems. Revelation 13:16 states, «No one can buy or sell unless they have the mark of the beast.» The mark could be like a barcode on your hand or forehead. We’ve become increasingly cashless; now you don’t even need cash. All you need is your phone, and biometric systems authenticate you.
If I offend anyone today, I apologize, as reading the Bible in this context is difficult. When I stand before God, I know He won’t ask me how many friends I made but what I preached. While I may seem strong on stage, please know I am just a regular person off-stage, and I often question what I say.
3. The Earth is groaning. Romans 8:19 says, «For creation waits…» Since Adam and Eve fell, creation has been longing, asking for liberation. Some may think this is impossible, but nothing is impossible with God; when you see it, you realize God is at work.
Unprecedented prophecies indicate Christ’s second coming is near. All the signs in the Bible show us when He will return, but the Rapture comes first. If we see signs indicating the second coming is near, the Rapture could happen at any moment—perhaps even now.
So if you’re living half-in and half-out of your faith, let your emotions lead you. Don’t allow that attitude to persist any longer. The Bible teaches that the Rapture will occur in the blink of an eye; after that, all signs point to Christ’s second coming. Don’t get complacent.
If you want to play worship music in your car or home, do it. Long to be in the house of God and seek righteousness. When you pray, simply say, «I love You, Lord,» repeatedly. Sometimes when I’m driving, I glance at the empty passenger seat and say, «I need You. I love You.»
Let’s stand on our feet. Next week will be Part Three. I’d like our prayer partners to come down. If you need someone to pray for you, that’s what they are here for. If all prayer partners are busy, please come to the front, and we will direct you to someone available. If you’re in this room and feel unready to meet the Lord—if your heart were to stop beating in the next five minutes and you aren’t ready—then you are the most important person here.
The moment could come when the Rapture happens, and now is not the time to be unprepared. To get ready, simply say, «Jesus, I’m sorry for my sins, and from this day forward, I will worship and long for You.» If you say that prayer and the Rapture occurs, you’re going up. So I invite all who need prayer to come forward to let someone pray for you, whether it’s about family, finances, or today’s topic.
I ask that no one leaves until we sing this song just once through. After that, you may go if you wish, or stay longer if you’d like. May the Lord bless you, keep you, shine His face down upon you and be gracious to you. May His countenance be lifted up on you and bring you peace. In Jesus' name, amen.