100TH POST

This is officially my one hundredth post to Overcomer! If you have not read my prewrath testimony, I would encourage you to click here. This will take you to my very first post and will explain why I changed from a pretribulational understanding of the gathering of the church to the prewrath position.

So why are there different views? Why is there confusion? Since the sum of God’s word is truth (Psalm 119:160) and it does not contradict itself, it is obvious that we come up with different views because the understanding is incomplete on our part!

I always accepted the pretrib position because it is what I grew up with. It’s been two and half years since I was challenged by a friend to become a Berean and do a study on my own. When I began comparing scripture with scripture it became very clear to me that I had to change my view.

If you are just beginning a study of your own, let me encourage you to begin with looking at all the day of the Lord passages - in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. Isaiah, Joel, Ezekiel, Amos, and Zephaniah all talk about the day of the Lord. Paul discusses it at length with the Thessalonians. An understanding regarding the day of the Lord is what made all things fall together for me. The confusion and the contradiction all melted away. Scripture is clear that true believers are not destined for God’s wrath which occurs during the day of the Lord.
We are never promised however deliverance from tribulation. Jesus said that in the world we would have tribulation. (John 16:33) I now clearly see that scripture teaches that the church will go through the great tribulation which Jesus called Satan’s wrath in Revelation 12:12. God’s wrath, the day of the Lord, and Satan’s wrath, the great tribulation, are two separate events. From Matthew’s account of the Olivet Discourse we learn that Jesus says His coming and gathering of the elect will cut short Satan’s wrath or the great tribulation. (Mt. 24:21-31)

As of this writing, Easter is just three days away. I was reading in John 21 this morning, the account where after His resurrection, the Lord told Peter by a breakfast fire by what kind of death he would glorify God. Peter looked over and saw John and asked the Lord by what sort of death John would die. The Lord’s words are startling, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”

I see the Lord saying three things to Peter and by way of application to us as well:

“It’s My choice as to who will live until I come.”
“Don’t concern yourself about it.”
“Concern yourself with being faithful to Me until death or until I return.”

(An interesting note: Peter was told he would die. The Lord was clear that He would not be returning before Peter's death. Peter could not say His return was imminent. The Lord has given us signs for which to watch to know when His return and our gathering is near...Mt. 24, Mk. 13, Luke 21, 2 Th. 2.)