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?

LIKE A THIEF IN THE NIGHT, BUT FOR WHOM?

When I answered my cell phone this morning a very animated daughter was on the other end.

“Mom, you know how some say that the Lord is going to come like a thief in the night?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I was reading in 1 Thessalonians and it says …but you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief…that means for Christians He is NOT coming like a thief in the night!”

“Exactly!” was my reply.

We chatted a little bit more about the passage. I pointed out to her that when Paul penned First Thessalonians he did not put in the chapter breaks. Those came later. In the last part of chapter four Paul discusses the rapture and then moves right into chapter five telling them that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.

You say, “Now wait a minute. That sounds like a contradiction. Is the day of the Lord coming like a thief in the night, or is it not?”

The answer is yes…and yes.

Here is the text we were discussing, leaving out the verse and chapter breaks, starting with the rapture in 4:16 and moving right into a discussion of the day of the Lord through 5:6. I think you’ll see that Paul intended for this to flow together into one, nice, neat package of instruction.

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. Now as to the times and the epochs (seasons), brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 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 the 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.”

If we go back to 4:1 we learn that the Thessalonians received instruction from Paul while he and his companions were with them. From 4:13 we learn that he instructs in this first letter that those who had fallen asleep in Jesus were not without hope. "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep." Paul then teaches them regarding the coming of Christ, when believers (those who have died and those still living) will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. He even gives instruction concerning the timing of the rapture. When will the rapture happen? The rapture happens when the day of the Lord begins! They should already know. Paul tells them that nothing needs to be written to them concerning the times and seasons when the event of the day of the Lord will occur. By Paul’s words in 5:2 this was not the first time Paul had discussed the timing of these events. “For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.”

Right after Paul tells them that they knew full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night he uses the pronoun “they”. This is a group of people that while they are saying “peace and safety!” sudden destruction comes upon them. Are they calling out for peace and safety because they are not experiencing it, or are they saying they are enjoying peace and safety? I think it is logical to conclude here that Paul is contrasting experiencing peace and safety with sudden destruction. The day of the Lord, sudden destruction, will come upon a group of people who are enjoying peace and safety. I’ll give more evidence shortly as to why I believe this is the case and where in relation to Daniel’s 70^th Week this group is enjoying peace and safety.

Let’s talk about another contrast found in this passage. We just saw Paul refer to a group of people which he refers to as “they”. He then addresses a different group which he calls “you”, obviously the Thessalonians. (By way of application "you" are now present day believers since all these Thessalonian believers now "sleep".) So we have “they”, or unbelievers, and “you”, believers. Sudden destruction, the day of the Lord, will come upon unbelievers like a thief in the night but believers are not in darkness that the day of the Lord should overtake like a thief.

Remember the question “Is the day of the Lord coming like a thief in the night, or is it not?” Now you know why I said the answer is yes…and yes. For unbelievers the day of the Lord will come like thief in the night, for believers it will not!

Is there anywhere in Scripture that we are given a sign to recognize that the day of the Lord, that sudden destruction, is about to begin? If you have visited my blog before you will know that I will answer with a resounding yes!

In Genesis 1:14 when God spoke the lights into existence He said “let them be for signs, and for seasons…” Besides giving illumination and separating day from night, the heavenly lights will also serve as markers that give warning. Joel prophesies in 2:31 that “the sun will be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, BEFORE the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.” Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:29 that immediately AFTER the great tribulation, which begins after the abomination of desolation and is cut short for the sake of the elect, “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.”

Comparing these two passages, it becomes very clear that the day of the Lord, sudden destruction, His wrath, will not begin at the time Daniel’s 70^th Week gets underway when a covenant is confirmed with Israel. We know the abomination of desolation occurs at the midpoint of Daniel’s 70^th Week. (Dan. 9:27) Great tribulation immediately follows. The marker which warns that the day of the Lord is about to get underway occurs immediately at the end of the great tribulation. (In Matthew 24 it’s referred to as the sign of the end of the age.) Remember, the tribulation is said to be cut short for the sake of the elect. Once it begins, the unprecedented persecution against the elect will not run the entire 3 ½ years of the second half of Daniel’s 70^th Week. A question for you…Are the elect enjoying peace and safety during this time? Hardly! (I think you probably know where I’m going with this.) They are being delivered up to tribulation, are being killed, and are hated by all nations on account of the name of Christ. (Mt. 24:9) Who IS enjoying peace and safety during this time of wholesale slaughter against believers? Those aligned with Antichrist!! Paul writes that the day of the Lord, sudden destruction, will come upon them like birth pangs upon a woman with child. (Having birthed two children, I can tell you, when those birth pangs hit they hit like a sledge hammer!)

Is there any other place in Scripture where the warning marker for day of the Lord is recorded? Oh yes…at the opening of the sixth seal in Revelation 6:12-14: “And I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. And the sky split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.”

Did you notice the additional information we get when the sign of the day of the Lord occurs? Not only do the lights go out but there will be a huge earthquake. Look at the response of those who had been enjoying “peace and safety” up to this point:

Revelation 6:15-17: “And the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come; and who is able to stand?”

Sheer terror will encompass those who had been enjoying peace and safety! No longer will they be saying “peace and safety!” When the sky splits apart and the earth trembles and shakes they will call for the mountains and rocks to fall on them for they will recognize God’s presence and the impending wrath of the Lamb!

What should the believer’s response be when the sign occurs marking the end of the age and the day of the Lord? (Do you remember Jesus words to us in Mt. 28:20? “…and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”)

We find the believer’s response to the marker of the end of the age and day of the Lord in Luke 21:25-28: “And there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth dismay among the nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD with power and great glory.

This next part just stirs my heart: “But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

We are not to cower and hide. We are to lift up our heads! This is the point at which we will be gathered into the arms of our Savior, our Redeemer, our Deliverer! Mt. 24:31: “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.” (For those who want to say this is a gathering only in the sky, go to Mark 13:27 and you will see the farthest end of the earth is included as well.)

When the world is suddenly enveloped in darkness and the earth and heavens are shaken, the Lord is signaling the end of the age. The day of the Lord is about to occur. He is warning that destruction is about to fall on those who turned away and rejected Christ and aligned themselves with Antichrist. But for those who have acknowledged Christ as Lord and Savior and have held to their testimony, it’s the signal that His coming and their deliverance is very near. And don’t forget, Paul says the dead in Christ shall rise first!

“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 the 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…For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Thessalonians 5:4-6, 9

I’m looking forward to that next phone call from my daughter.