If we examine the three gospel descriptions of the end times — Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 — we find only one reference to wrath: “There will be great distress [“tribulation,” KJV] in the land and wrath against this people” (Lk 21:23). This is a generic reference to wrath, not specifically to God’s wrath, and identifies it as happening during “great distress” or “great tribulation” against Israel. It seems more likely the wrath during that period is Satan’s or the world’s. Careful study shows God pours out his wrath during the “Day of the Lord,” which occurs after the “Great Tribulation.”

So when will the “rapture” of the church occur? Matthew 24 shows an important sequence that can be confirmed with other passages. Jesus described events representing worldwide turmoil, then in verse 8 stated, “All these are the beginning of birth pains.” He then describes events that relate specifically to Israel, and states in verse 21, “there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now — and never to be equaled again.” A few verses later he states, “Immediately after the distress of those days” there will be specific signs in the heavens; that is, those celestial signs occur after the end of the “Great Tribulation.”

Then he makes the statement we’ve been anticipating: “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other” (Mt 24:30-31).

Conclusion: Jesus will appear and gather the church after the “Beginning of Birth Pains,” after the “Great Tribulation,” after a cosmic disturbance but before God pours out his wrath on the world. This describes a post-Tribulation, pre-wrath rapture.

Please refer to our blog, “An Overview of the End Times,” or to complete articles on our “Articles” page for more details.

The parable refers to those who “do not hear or understand” (v 13). It quotes Isaiah about people who “will be ever hearing but never understanding” (v 14). Again, “Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts . . .” (v 15). In his explanation of the parable, Jesus said, “When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path” (v 19). “But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown” (v 23).

If the Greek word translated “understand” in these verses simply related to comprehending or grasping the meaning of something, then Jesus’ parable would be about those who were blessed with a specific mental ability. But the parable is about fruitfulness, not intelligence or lack of it, because the “good soil” in the parable is very productive.

The word translated “understand” gives us the key to that productivity. It literally describes the process of bringing things together, such as bringing facts together to gain insight; correlating new facts with older knowledge; digesting or reflecting. That is, it’s the result of intentionally processing something to gain insight from it. This is something we can all do, even if we can’t easily comprehend things.

In the parable, the seed along the path represents anyone who doesn’t correlate, digest, reflect upon or process what he hears about God’s kingdom. In contrast, the seed sown on good soil represents anyone who intentionally processes what he heard, correlates it with what he already believes to be true, digests it and reflects upon it.

God never wants us to be passive in life. Instead, he wants us actively engaged in what he’s doing. He gives us options and urges us to choose the good. He invites us to meditate on scripture; to see evidence of him in creation; to ask, seek and knock; to present our requests to him with thanksgiving, prayers and petitions.

Some truths in scripture are obvious and require little effort to grasp. Others, however, will be grasped only by those who carefully digest what scripture says, then meditate or reflect upon it. Those who do so will gain new insight that is many times greater than the initial truth they worked to understand — 100, 60 or 30 times as much. The Holy Spirit will use that initial seed to guide them into many other truths and insights about God’s kingdom.

Beginning of Birth Pains: worldwide turmoil

Great Tribulation: Satan/world’s wrath against Israel, abomination of desolation, Jerusalem trampled 42 months, 2 witnesses

Cosmic Disturbance: sun and moon darkened, stars fall, severe earthquake, terrain changes, sea roaring and tossing, people terrorized by events

Day of the Lord: Lord returns for the church, 144,000 Jews marked/protected, great multitude in heaven, God’s wrath, Lord returns with armies to set up kingdom, battle of Armageddon, Babylon destroyed, Satan into the Abyss, 1000-year reign, unbelievers to eternal punishment

Eternity: new heaven, new earth, new Jerusalem from heaven

The Hebrew word translated “vain” primarily refers to vanity, futility or worthlessness; it also can mean falseness or emptiness. Overall, it describes an absence of intended or expected results.

The Hebrew word translated “take” has a variety of meanings, such as lift up, carry, honor, exalt, desire and support. There are several Old Testament references to taking oaths in God’s name, demonstrating a wider use of this word than simply physically lifting or carrying something.

Let me draw your attention to a practice that spans cultures and time: taking an oath and a name in marriage. If a bride pledges herself to her husband and takes his name, the groom expects her to forsake all others. If she then engages in relations with others, she’s not doing what her new husband expected. That is, she made a false pledge and took his name in vain.

In that sense, it’s possible for us to take God’s name in vain by considering ourselves Christians, but not doing what he expects of us. Consider Jesus’ perspective on this:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Mt 7:21-23, NIV).

Notice he said, “I never knew you,” which means he had no intimate relationship with them. It’s possible for us to take God’s name in vain by calling ourselves Christians or God’s children, even doing religious works, but failing to honor our relationship with him.

Calling ourselves Christians but continuing to live like the world is taking God’s name in vain.

Many of us pray this prayer on a regular basis and feel very familiar with it, but notice the last sentence: “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”

We have authority on earth and it is our domain. I suggest this statement is an official invitation for God to intervene in our domain and do his will here. He gave us free will, authority and our domain, so he will not invade our turf, but intervenes only when we specifically ask him or allow him to do so. It’s been said that God will do nothing on earth unless someone first prays; this is why.

What does this suggest about people who simply trust God’s sovereignty and wait for him to take care of them without asking? They may wait a long time or may even displease him.

I suggest this pertains to everything you do: your job, family responsibilities, everything. Including the things you do well, your area of expertise or specialty, or something you’re comfortable doing because you’ve had lots of experience. Do you suppose God knows more about those things than you do? Do you think he can take care of things in that area that are a challenge for you? Can he take care of problems you’re not even aware of or provide resources you don’t even know exist? Here’s a bizarre question: If God were to do your job for a day, how would his results compare with yours? Do you think God is interested in helping with everything you do? Even when you don’t have problems?

God will not impose himself on you. He allows you to act on your own if you choose, but is eager to help you to the extent you’ll allow him. Consider giving him an official invitation to get involved in everything you do.

“Heart” is from the Greek word kardia, which refers to the innermost part of something. It might be translated soul or spirit, but because “soul” is also listed in the verse, kardia refers to spirit. Based on scripture, our spirits’ functions include our character, will, discernment and courage, among others. This is the essence of who we are.

“Soul” is translated from psyche, which is equivalent to our English word “psyche.” Scripture indicates the psyche provides our awareness, mind, intellect, reasoning, feelings, memory, decisiveness (in contrast to will) and imagination, among other functions. While our heart or spirit generally is stable and doesn’t change much, our psyche is very dynamic. It’s constantly processing what’s going on, how we’re reacting to it and deciding what to do about it. The psyche controls how we live our lives.

“Mind” (dianoia) represents our disposition, temperament or way of thinking, and probably includes our biases, the way we process information or typically respond. The mind is considered a function of the psyche, yet it seems distinct from and affects the other functions. The fact that it’s listed with the psyche suggests they’re different, though they overlap. So dianoia refers to how we generally express ourselves.

“Strength” is from ischus, which represents our ability, potential, power or strength; what we’re able to do.

So Jesus was saying the most important thing for us to do is to love God with our most fundamental nature, with every reaction and decision, every way we express ourselves and everything we’re able to do.

Simply put, love God with everything you are and do.