WARNING: DANGER AHEAD!

I was a school bus driver for five years. I’ll never forget the day when two of my riders nearly didn’t make it home in one piece. During my second year I was off loading two students on a very busy street. My stop paddle was out and my reds were flashing. As a bus driver you are trained to always be checking your mirrors. Just as my two students were about to step off the bus I caught a glimpse in my right mirror of a car pulling around me. Picking up speed rapidly it drove up onto the shoulder and flew by the bus, just a couple of feet away from the door. If I hadn’t yelled at the two girls to stop they would’ve stepped right into the path of that on coming vehicle. I shudder even now to think of what could’ve happened if I hadn’t been aware of my surroundings. At that moment the lives of those two girls rested in my being an alert and sober driver. And if they hadn’t heeded my warning, the result could have been disastrous as well!

Jesus gives warnings to His followers throughout His instruction of what to do and what to look for prior to the event of His coming with His angels to gather the elect. Before He even begins He says in Matthew 24:4: “See to it that no one misleads you.” He said false Christs and false prophets will come in His name and mislead many. During the time of great persecution that will follow the abomination of desolation He warns that false Christs will try to lure out those believers who have gone into hiding. These false Christs and false prophets will be able to perform great signs and wonders. In verse 25 He says, “Behold, I have told you in advance.” The last verse in the book of Matthew is a command to teach His new disciples - from all nations - not just the Jewish disciples – to observe all He commanded, even what He commanded and warned about in Matthew 24!

Paul gave the same warning to the Thessalonians about being deceived before he gave instruction concerning the timing of the Lord’s coming and our gathering to Him. 2 Thessalonians 2:3: “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it (the day of the Lord, initiated by the church being gathered together to Him – 2 Th. 2:1-2) will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed.”

We are warned by Paul not to be deceived about the timing of the day of the Lord which is initiated by the church being gathered sometime after Antichrist is revealed. We are warned by the Lord not to be deceived by the false Christs and false prophets who will try to lure believers out of hiding during the time of the great tribulation. Don’t listen to anyone who says Jesus is in the wilderness or in a building. (Mt. 24:26) We are to stay put until the natural lights go out. Luke tells us to be looking up for His coming and he gives us specific things for which to look to know when His return is truly imminent. (Luke 21:25-28)

If my understanding of the timing of the rapture is wrong, when the church is gathered, all I will leave behind are my preparations. If I am right, for those who have heeded the Lord’s warnings and instructions, there will be no confusion as to what is happening. They will not be prone to fall prey to the deceivers who are going to try to lure believers out of safety.

The Lord has given us a roadmap to follow and signs to look for and instructions to survive.

1 Th. 5:4-6: “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.”

HE'LL NEVER LET US GO!

A friend from church sent me this note and the video link below.

"Dear Kathy, I think, dear one, you will see every single thing I saw in this video. I've watched it several times and still it moves me. Notice the scriptures. The song is so simple and not even sung by some phenomenal voice, but it's simplicity confounds and comforts me. I am thankful for you."

(Get out some kleenex first.)

Click here to watch the video.

Whatever comes our way, He'll never let us go!

Revelation 12:11 - "And they overcame him because of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death."

Even in death He will never let us go. We'll simply be ushered into His presence, into His loving arms, and into never ending joy.

I'm thankful for you too Beloved Friend.

THE RESULT OF THE GREAT TRIBULATION ON THE CHURCH

Some in pretrib understand the prewrath view to be saying that the Church needs to undergo discipline to become worthy to dwell with God and that is one reason why the prewrath view has the Church going through the great tribulation. If that were the case, it would make our salvation based on something other than the atoning work of Christ on the cross and all those who have died in Christ without going through great tribulation are not fit for His kingdom.

Paul says in Colossians 2:10: “…and in Him you have been made complete…” (Paul doesn’t say that in tribulation or persecution we have been made complete. He does tell Timothy that all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 2 Tim. 3:12)

Paul goes on to say in Colossians 2:13,14, “And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”

The cross took care of all of our transgressions. (There’s that 100% word!)

And I’m sure you know these very familiar words of Paul to the Ephesians in chapter two, verses eight and nine…”For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works (or going through tribulation!), that no one should boast.”

Prewrath understands Scripture to teach that the Church will go through the great tribulation because Paul says the Church is resurrected and raptured at the event of the Lord’s coming and the Lord says the event of His coming cuts short the great tribulation against the elect.

When I first realized Scripture was saying that the Church was going to go through the great tribulation a twenty pound knot settled into the pit of my stomach. I grew up with the understanding that I would be raptured before the final seven years. Perhaps you are thinking, “Why would the Lord allow this to happen to His faithful and to those who love Him?”

We must remember what He says His faithful are willing to do. Luke 9:23,24: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.”

My prewrath email friend (introduced in an earlier post) reminded me recently that we are not being lead by the Shepherd into the great tribulation unprepared. He’s given us a roadmap to follow, signs to look for, and instructions on how to survive. (See Matthew 24.) She too grew up with the understanding that the Church would be raptured before the final seven years. She told me that as she grew in her understanding of end times, the less frightening it became. She offered these wise words: “There is fear in ignorance, but with knowledge comes peace.”

This has been the case for me as well. The twenty pound knot in my stomach vanished a long time ago. The Lord has replaced it with a peace and desire to plant seeds of preparation. Preparing and looking for His return doesn’t mean running around looking at the sky. It means watching for the signs and then as Peter said in 2 Peter 3:14: “Be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless.” When Christ returns we should be living a life of obedience.

Paul says in Colossians 3:1-4: “If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

The great tribulation is not to make us more fit for the kingdom of God. Christ already did that for us. The great tribulation is Satan’s last ditch effort to rid the world of God’s children because he knows his time will be short. (Rev. 12:12) When Antichrist begins pouring out Satan’s wrath on the Church, the Church will be purged in the sense that those who are wheat (real Christians) and those who are tares (the look-alikes) will become very apparent…the tares will cut and run but the wheat will remain. Their love for the Lord will not grow cold, it will endure, even if faced with death. They will be overcomers.

1 Peter 1:3-7: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

THE RAPTURE AND THE SECOND COMING, TWO SEPARATE EVENTS OR ONE SINGLE EVENT?

In 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18 Paul tells the Thessalonians that the dead in Christ and those who remain alive are caught up at the parousia – that is, the event of the Lord’s presence or coming. (Parousia is a Greek noun.)

1 Th. 4:15: “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the parousia/coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep.”

In 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 Paul tells the Corinthians that the resurrection of believers occurs at the parousia – the event of the Lord’s presence or coming.

“But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His parousia/coming.”

In 2 Thessalonians 2:1 Paul introduces instruction regarding the Lord’s parousia – the event of His presence or coming and our gathering together to Him:

“Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the parousia/coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him…”

These three passages tie the resurrection/rapture of those who are dead in Christ and the rapture/gathering of those who are alive and remain to the parousia - the event of the presence or coming of the Lord.

The Lord Himself teaches in Matthew 24 that His parousia – the event of His presence or coming - will occur sometime after the midpoint of Daniel’s 70^th Week.

Matthew 24:15-16, 21-22, 27-31: “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place...flee…for then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall. And unless those days (of great tribulation) had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short…For just as the lightening comes from the east, and flashes even to the west, so shall the parousia/coming of the Son of Man be. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken, and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”

(Matthew 24:30 says that all the tribes of the earth will see the SON OF MAN COMING/erchomai ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. In this verse the word “coming” is the Greek verb “erchomai”. It’s always used of persons and of their movement from one place to another. So at the event of the Lord’s presence or coming the tribes of the earth will see Him coming/moving on the clouds.)

Jesus instructs that days of great and unprecedented tribulation/affliction against the elect begin after the midpoint of Daniel’s 70^th Week when the abomination of desolation is seen standing in the holy place. (The word tribulation can also be translated as “affliction”.) Jesus says those days of great affliction against the elect are cut short by the event of His presence or coming. The event of His coming will be just as the lightening comes from the east and flashes to the west. The brilliance of His glory will streak across the blackened sky and He will be seen moving on the clouds with power and great glory. His angels will be with Him and they will gather the elect.

Does Paul refer to this affliction that will be going on in reference to the Lord’s return? Look at his words to the Thessalonians in his second letter to them. Note the near/far prophetic tone of this passage…

2 Thessalonians 1:6-7: “For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire…”

His Beloved, the rapture and the second coming are one event, not two separate events. They occur together somewhere between the midpoint of Daniel’s 70^th Week but before the end. Jesus said in Matthew 24:26, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. The event of Lord’s parousia/coming will cut short the days of great tribulation against the elect and give relief to those who are being afflicted. When He is revealed the angels will gather those being afflicted, but not before the dead in Christ are raised first and raptured/gathered too!

(My very next post compares another passage with Matthew 24 giving support that the elect in Matthew 24 is the church.)

GREAT REVIVAL OR GREAT FALLING AWAY?

There are some who hold to the view that during the tribulation, the seven year period which scripture refers to as Daniel’s 70^th Week, there will be great revival. They believe many will come to a saving knowledge of Christ, possibly as a result of millions disappearing in a rapture that takes place before Daniel’s 70^th Week begins.

This great revival doesn’t seem to jive with what Jesus says in Matthew 24:9,10. These two verses are contained in His Olivet Discourse where Jesus gives instruction and warning concerning the things which will happen during Daniel’s 70^th Week.

“Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on account of My name. And at that time many will fall away and will deliver up one another and hate one another.”

What are they falling away from? The faith! When the world is given the choice to worship Antichrist or die, there will be those who once identified themselves as followers of Christ but will then deny the faith, even turning true believers over to persecution and death! Jesus says their love will grow cold. Love for who? God.

Those who believe there is going to be a great revival during the tribulation, that is, Daniel’s 70^th Week, base it on Revelation 7:9 and 14. Those verses read:

“After these things I (John) looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands…”

Notice they are wearing robes and are holding palm branches in their hands. They have bodies. Notice also that this great multitude is from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues.

In verse thirteen one of the elders asks John where this great multitude came from. It is apparent from John’s reply in verse fourteen that he didn’t know.

”And I (John) said to him (one of the elders), ‘My lord you know.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

This group comes out of the great tribulation, that time period of unprecedented affliction against Israel and the elect which starts at the midpoint of Daniel’s 70^th Week and then is cut short by the Lord’s parousia/coming.

Now, if Jesus says that many will fall away during the great tribulation but this huge multitude of Jewish and gentile believers comes out of the great tribulation, what exactly are we to make of this?

Let’s move back two scenes from where John sees this great multitude in heaven. In Rev. 6:12,13 John sees the Lamb break the sixth seal. The sign which signals the end of the age/day of the Lord occurs. (Mt. 24:29, Joel 2:31) The sun goes dark, the moon turns to blood, and the stars fall from the sky which then splits apart. Men cry out for the rocks to hide them from the presence of God and the wrath of the Lamb. After these things John sees in the next scene the sealing of the 144,000 Jews, 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. Once the 144,000 are sealed then John sees the great multitude in heaven which comes out of the great tribulation.

Let’s now switch to Mt. 24:29-31. The same cosmic disturbances which occur at the opening of the sixth seal occur here, immediately after the great tribulation is cut short by the Lord’s parousia/coming. What do the angels do who are with the Lord at His parousia/coming? They gather the elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. Mark’s account includes a gathering from the earth. The great multitude of Jewish and gentile believers which John sees in heaven after the sixth seal cosmic disturbances is none other than the elect who are gathered immediately after the great tribulation is cut short by the cosmic disturbances and the Lord’s parousia/coming!

When does Paul say the dead in Christ are raised and those who are alive and remain will be raptured with them? At the Lord’s parousia/coming. (1 Th. 4:15-17) When does Paul say believers will be resurrected? At His parousia/coming. (1 Cor. 15:23) And that’s when believers will also receive their new bodies as well! When does Matthew say the Lord’s parousia/coming occurs? Immediately after the great tribulation, but cutting it short for the sake of the elect. (Mt. 24:22, 29-31)

If Jesus says many will fall away during the great tribulation, doesn’t it make much more sense that this huge multitude out of the great tribulation is the raptured church, the elect, those chosen in Him from before the foundation of the world, both Jewish and gentile believers, those believers who have died in Christ over the last 2,000+ years who will be resurrected at the Lord’s parousia/coming as well as those who remain alive at the Lord’s parousia/coming, His parousia/coming which cuts short the great tribulation?

One last thing, Luke records Jesus asking His disciples in 18:8, “…when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

THE "ABOMILATION OF DECIMATION" - Part 2

For Part 1 click here.

This morning my granddaughter greeted me with a big smile as I entered the foyer at church.

"Grammy, I read all the way through Matthew 24 this week!"

I gave her a big hug. What's the REALLY BIG sign I said?"

"The abomination of desolation!" (Did you catch that? She pronounced it correctly this time!)

We walked into the sanctuary together. During the service I was sandwiched in by her and my husband. The sermon was out of Romans 11. Our Pastor is working his way through the book. At one point I glanced over and noticed my granddaughter had her Bible open to Daniel. She pointed to 9:27, the Old Testament "abomination of desolation" verse. I smiled and gave her a wink. A bit later she tapped me on the shoulder. This time she was in Matthew 24. She pointed to 24:15, the New Testament "abomination of desolation" verse. Another smile and wink. Then I took a quick moment and turned the pages in her Bible to Revelation 6:12, one of the "triple sign" verses. This time I did the pointing and she did the smiling. I quickly turned the pages to Luke 21 and pointed at verse 25, another "triple sign" reference. I was flashed another smile. Then I ran my finger under verse 28: "But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." She looked up at me, brown eyes sparkling and a huge grin broke out on her face. Then she whispered in my ear, "I see it Grammy, I totally see it!"

She didn't come home with me this afternoon but as she left I gave her a great big hug and then whispered in her ear, "Just as I'm holding on to you, you hold on to Truth, no matter what, ok?"

The reward was a squeeze back and an, "Ok."

THE HOUR OF TESTING

“Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth.” Revelation 3:10

This post is for all you prewrathers out there. (Pretribbers welcome too!)

Revelation 3:10 speaks of an hour of testing but just what exactly is this hour of testing? Is it the great tribulation or the day of the Lord? I’ve been leaning towards the day of the Lord because of who this verse says this test is aimed at - “those who dwell upon the earth”.

“Those who dwell upon the earth” is used nine times in Revelation. The first time is right here in Revelation 3:10. If we were to only read this verse could we determine if this phrase is referring only to unbelievers? My answer is no. There are eight other times in Revelation where this phrase is also used. The next time is in 6:10 where the fifth seal martyrs ask God how long He’s going to hold off on avenging their blood on those who dwell on the earth. Is it referring to unbelievers in this verse? Obviously. The third and fourth time used is in 11:10. This is the verse where those who dwell on the earth are having a party and passing around “Happy Dead Prophet’s Day” gifts to each other. Unbelievers here? Yes. The fifth time used is in 13:8. All who dwell on the earth will worship him – the beast. Quite obviously unbelievers here. The sixth time used is just four verses later. The second beast makes those who dwell on the earth worship the first beast. Unbelievers here? Absolutely. The seventh and eighth time used is in 13:14. The second beast deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs he performs and he also tells those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the first beast who had the wound and came back to life. Unbelievers here? Of course. The final time this phrase is used is in 17:8. This is an obvious reference to unbelievers because it says “those who dwell on the earth…whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world.” So, is it referring to unbelievers in Rev. 3:10? You’ll find what I believe to be the answer before you are finished reading this post.

I also viewed “will keep you from the hour of testing” as removal from the earth. Let’s go back to that hour of testing. Is it the great tribulation or the day of the Lord? I have a prewrath email friend with whom I’ve been discussing this verse. She is a true student of the Word and loves to teach what she’s learned. She’s a gold mine of information and is extremely gifted in the art of logic. She is patient with my questions. I even ask her questions to which she’s already given me the answer. With me it doesn’t always stick the first time. Argh!

If the hour of testing is the day of the Lord then “will keep you from the hour of testing” would mean removal from the earth. We first discussed, or, she asked me rather, “How do you see the day of the Lord as a test? Doesn’t it seem like the great tribulation is much more test-like?” She doesn’t see God’s wrath as a testing of any sort but as God’s judgment. It’s a punishment for the unbeliever’s evil and rebellious ways, for aligning with Satan. She had a point there. She reminded me that one hundred pound hail stones being hurled to the earth sounds much more like God’s wrath than a test! So how would the great tribulation be considered a test? My email friend pointed out that those on the earth, all over the earth – believers and unbelievers alike, are forced to answer the question, “Who do you serve, God or Satan?” It’s a one question test of alliance. Antichrist is giving the test and says, if you serve God then your life is required of you. So, this hour of testing, though proctored by Satan is not only a test of unbelievers but of believers alike. (That fancy word “proctored” is my email friend’s, not mine. If you look it up in the dictionary, you’ll see she used it quite appropriately.) She then pointed out that the faithful ones at Philadelphia are prepared for the test. They do what God warned them to do. He “keeps” them, or guards them within the sphere of danger from the consequences of aligning with God (death).

If you go through and read all the messages to the seven churches you will see that Jesus charges/warns each church to be overcomers, even the Philadelphian church. I asked my email friend, “What do you make of the Philadelphian church also being given a message about overcoming if they are given a promise to be guarded within the sphere of danger?” This was her reply, “Well, remember it says in 3:11 – hold fast... I think it is going to be a very hard time but overcoming is going to be “easier” for those who are prepared. I hope this is not wishful thinking. In the end, we are all called to overcome the adversity, overcome the tribulation, overcome the testing...how do we do that? By obediently studying the Word, looking for His signs, preparing for the worst as we see the fig leaves unfolding...and then holding fast to what we know is TRUTH during that trying time.”

If you think about it, isn’t it illogical to say the Lord is charging us or warning us to overcome His wrath when He’s promised all overcomers that we are not destined for it? (1 Th. 5:9) It makes complete sense to me however that the Lord charges, warns, and lays out what the rewards will be for those who are overcomers because the church is going to face the great tribulation. A clincher for me was contained in the message to the church at Thyatira. Jesus says, “And he who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations. When is the end or end of the age? The day of the Lord! The time to be an overcomer is during the great tribulation.

For now, I'm in the “great tribulation” camp as far as the answer to the question of what is the hour of testing. I’m sure Revelation 3:10 will continue to be a matter for discussion among prewrathers. One thing all prewrathers agree upon is that the church will go through the great tribulation. I’m also sure this is a verse that will continue to be debated between those in pretrib, posttrib, and prewrath.

Here’s one final bit of logic my prewrath friend posed to me. “The pretrib view believes this is a promise of rapture right before the tribulation and my question to them would be, will God only rapture the faithful believers, or as the churches imply, one out of every seven? That would be hard to justify. No, I think this is a promise of protection during the tribulation because of the faithfulness of the church, watching for the signs and preparing ahead of time.”

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

How hard are you listening, studying, and preparing?