Christians: Day of Judgement, what happens before/during/after?

Question

I am not sure if I am understanding this right, hence the questions.

1. So before Jesus comes back to Earth, how long will the period known as Tribulation last and how will it be?

2. Then the judgement starts. Only 144,000 go to Heaven next to God, all God-fearing people that accepted Jesus as their saviour stay on Earth, in which good will rule, so it will be like Paradise again. Is this right?

3. And all the rest of the people go to hell?
What happens with good people from other religions or atheists? Do they also go to hell?

4. What happens with those Christians who, despite having accepted Jesus, commited sins? Are they forgiven provided they repented?

I know it sounds like a naive question, but I am a recent convert, so it is a real doubt.

God bless you all.

I ask about Tribulation again because there seems to be different interpretations about Matthew 24. Some say that is related to something that already happened in Jerusalem in the 1st. century. And the concept of "rapture" does not seem to be accepted by all denominations.

See this for example: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Av0QXucQQ3QWcJ92BQ.lEwHd7BR.?qid=20070520191425AASfamd

Answer 1

Sounds like you have converted to a JW???
1. Jesus takes the Christians out of the world (rapture of the Church) Christians go to heaven to be with Jesus waiting for the end of the great Tribulation.
2.Great tribulation starts 7 years
3. Battle of Armageddon ends with Jesus returning with all of the Christians with him to establish his own Govt. and rule on the earth for 1000 years from Jerusalem..
4. After this is the Great White throne judgment of everyone that is not saved.

Your other questions
*144,000 are Jews that preach the gospel during the great tribulation (nothing to do with going to heaven)
* There are no really good people (sinless) you are either saved by the blood of Jesus or you are not saved at all.
* Christians should be keeping a very close relationship with Christ and he forgives them daily for whatever they have done.
* after the 1000 year reign of Christ and another short period of time then God will recreate the whole universe with a new heaven and earth. Then the believers will be living here on the new earth (paradise re-created)

This is really brief and I have not included scriptures but I can and it will be very lengthy as it is a lot of info.. If you are listening to the JW's the will reject this with a lot of things that are not in the Bible..
You can also e-mail me and I will answer..

Answer 2

Hi G, Here is what the scriptures say...

1. So before Jesus comes back to Earth, how long will the period known as Tribulation last and how will it be?

Seven years. This is called the "seventieth week of Daniel" according to the prophetic time line given to Daniel. It is also called the day of Jacobs Trouble.

2. Then the judgement starts. Only 144,000 go to Heaven next to God, all God-fearing people that accepted Jesus as their saviour stay on Earth, in which good will rule, so it will be like Paradise again. Is this right?

No, that is incorrect. The 144,000 are Messianic Jews that spread the Gospel during the tribulation period. Those that accept Christ before the tribulation are removed before the tribulation starts, and will reign with Christ for 1,000 years after it ends.

3. And all the rest of the people go to hell?
What happens with good people from other religions or atheists? Do they also go to hell?

That is another question altogether. You are not thrown into hell for being a good or bad person. Did you ever see the movie "Titanic"? Remember watching it leave the dock and everyone was happy and saying goodbye? You, however, knew that this voyage was doomed. This is the world. The entire world is doomed. But God has a lifeboat called Jesus that is big enough for everyone. All you need do is get inside the boat.

2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that ANY should perish but that ALL should come to repentance.

4. What happens with those Christians who, despite having accepted Jesus, commited sins? Are they forgiven provided they repented?

This is yet another question that requires a longer answer. Are we talking willful sin? The occasional lapse in judgment sin? A lifestyle of sin? A bondage?

Remember, works are an evidence of salvation, not a means TO salvation. If you are truly saved, your works will reflect it in your actions, attitude and good works.

Feel free to contact me at any time for answers.

Answer 3

I do not study the Tribulation - There are three theory's of the Tribulation. Pre-Tribulation rapture (Christians are taken before the tribulation), Mid-Trib. (Christians are taken in the middle of the tribulation) and Post-trib. (Christians are taken after the tribulation. I PERSONALLY HAVE DEVELOPED MY OWN IDEA ON THIS AND CALL IT PAN TRIBULATION;
meaning that it won't matter whether it is pre, mid, or post because if I stick close to Jesus it will all PAN OUT.

The only theory I can remember hearing about the tribulation is that it may last 7 years. I don't know the full basis for this theory, but it is not of great importance to me.

The 144,000 are of the tribes of Israel and are Jewish virgins
who will take a stand for Christ and be martyred. The final destiny of all God's people is a new earth and new heavens wherein dwells righteousness. God is going to send New Jerusalem down from Heaven and then come and live there.
Read Revelation Chapters 21 and 22.

All people who have not accepted Christ as their Lord and Saviour will be sent to the Lake of Fire. Read Revelation 20:11-15.

I believe only God knows what sins His people are guilty of and He will decide their fate with perfect judgment.

Answer 4

1. According to Daniel 9:27, the period referred to in Scripture as the Tribulation, "the time of Jacob's Trouble," and the Day of the Lord, etc. will last 7 years. Although your Bible may read "week" at Daniel 9:27, the actual Hebrew word used there is "seven."

2. The concept that only 144,000 will go to Heaven is incorrect; this is taught by Jehovah's Witnesses and some other cults. The 144,000 are Jewish men (Rev. 7:4) who will receive salvation through faith in Jesus very early in the Tribulation. It's likely this is due to the prophet Elijah, who returns BEFORE the Tribulation (Malachi 4:5-6) to preach repentence and reconcile the "sword" (argument) Jesus brought to the Jews over His true identity (Matt. 10:34-39). Once these men have been trained, they'll preach the Gospel to ALL of humanity -- Jew and Gentile alike -- and a huge number of people will be saved because of them (Rev. 7:9).

Prior to the Tribulation, the Church will be taken away (1 Thes. 4:13-18) so the earth may turn to unrestrained sin, in preparation for judgement (2 Thes. 2:1-12). This "catching up" is referred to as the Rapture. After the Second Coming, Jesus will set up a Kingdom lasting 1,000 years. During this time, He will purify the earth and those who remain on it because they survived the Tribulation. These people will have children and the earth will slowly be repopulated. All Jews will be saved, even from birth (Romans 11:26); however, this will not be true for Gentiles born during the Millennial Reign, who will have to decide whether they'll follow Jesus. Any who won't will die before they reach 100 years of age (Isaiah 65:20). Paradise will be restored when God the Father comes to dwell on earth after the 1,000 years are over (Rev. 21).

3. By the time Jesus returns, ALL of humanity will have heard the Gospel and been given a choice. Any who reject the Gospel are condemned. The question of salvation PRIOR to the Tribulation for Gentiles who haven't heard the Gospel is an interesting one. Those who've never heard the Gospel, yet follow the basic commands God gave to Noah at Genesis 8:20-22 and 9 (worship God only and don't kill), referred to as the Noahide Covenant, will go to Heaven. Jews who've never heard the Gospel, yet retained their faith will also go to Heaven.

4. Yes, as long as they TRULY repent. God can read our hearts and He knows whether we've repented or not.

5. For an EXCELLENT study on Matthew 24, go here: http://www.pre-trib.org/article-list.php#Thomas%20Ice Click on Thomas Ice's name and you'll see his various articles. He has written a 30+ article detailed analysis of Matthew 24 and 25 (known as the "Olivet Discourse"). I would say the "pre-trib.org" web site is the best on the internet regarding the Rapture. There are articles written by very scholarly, godly men (including my own teacher) that are sure to further educate you.

Answer 5

For !900 years the church had a different interpretation of endtime events. It was not until the Scottish Theologian Darby created a paradigm shift into adopting his dispensationalists view of eschatology that a seperation of Apocalyptic literature with some of revelation relating to Israel and some of it relating to the Church was adopted. A champion of this view is the "Left Behind" series whereby Christians are mysteriously "raptured" out of a great tribulation. Those left behind are then forced into accepting Christ as an actual experiential death sentence. This view also pretends to be pro-Israel when in reality it is a racist theology that encourages Jews to return to Israel so they can be slaughtered in an endtime haulocaust. If you take a more sensible approach to Matthew 24 you will see that Jesus was talking to those present at that time at His Olivet discourse.
The Great Tribulation of which Jesus said would come soon upon that generation was the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70AD. In Apocalyptic language phrases are used that the hearers understood to be from Old Testament language. Phrases such as the Coming of the Son of Man in the clouds, The stars falling from the sky, the moon turning red with blood, the heavens and the earth shaken...these are all metaphors for the judgement of God upon the nation Israel for their rejection of their Messiah. This is not a popular view in the church today but it was the way it was interpreted for 1900 years before the advent of dispensationalism.
The phrase the end times has to do with the end of the old covenant and the advent of the new covenant where in Old Testament Prophecy it is said that God will dwell not in any temple but in the hearts of the believer. We are thus "raptured" up into heavenly places with Christ in the Spirit and His Kingdom has come down to earth in the hearts of His believers. Satan has been bound in the sense that His infuence is limited by the prescence of God's people on earth.
We still have the Battle of Gog and Magog where Russia will create an alliance with Iran (Persia) and go after the oil in Israel and then later when Babylon (Iraq) becomes the financial/economic/cultural mecca of the world the Battle of Armegeddon where the wrath of God again judges the nations of the world. But I see no mysterious dissapearance of millions as evangelicals have been duped into believeing since the Great Tribulation they hope to escape from happened in 70AD just as Jesus said it would. That is not to say that we as Christians should escape trials and tribulations throughout time for surely we have not and even today Christians are martyred for their faith.

Answer 6

Read:
Revelations(18-22)
Daniel
Matt 24-25
1 & 2 Thes
2 Peter

Answer 7

Well I found this article about it. On May 21, "starting in the Pacific Rim at around the 6 p.m. local time hour, in each time zone, there will be a great earthquake, such as has never been in the history of the Earth," he says. The true Christian believers —he hopes he's one of them —will be "raptured": They'll fly upward to heaven. And for the rest? "It's just the horror of horror stories," he says, "and on top of all that, there's no more salvation at that point. And then the Bible says it will be 153 days later that the entire universe and planet Earth will be destroyed forever." Sadly there is no straight answer for this.

Answer 8

kinda sounds like you are a Jehovah witness..
all people who believe in Christ go to heaven not just 144'000
when Christ comes he takes all believers and the rest stay to endure hell on earth. if you are a good person or an atheist you still go to hell because you didn't believe in Christ and those Christians that did believe and still continued to sin well the price of sin is death... you get to go to heaven for judgment day and see all its glory but if you still are the sinner in Christ then you just die cease to exist you don't get to stay in heaven.. if you are Jehovah witness get out and find you a protestant Church

Answer 9

Don't your unanswered questions give you doubt of the authenticity of your recently accepted religion. The more questions you ask the sooner you will realise that you must find your own answers. Those answers may not form the basis of any established religion, but they will be right for you.

Answer 10

You and the religious nuts spend WAAAYYYYY too much time worrying about that stuff. The nuts believe without any evidence.. if you argue with them they are just going to say, "The bible says it is true, so it is true." Life is short, have fun, stop stressing... enjoy!