THE TRUE CHURCH AND THE GREAT TRIBULATION

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THE TRUE CHURCH AND THE GREAT TRIBULATION

WHERE WILL THE TRUE CHURCH BE DURING THE GREAT TRIBULATION?

Where will the True Church {True Believers} be, during the World-Wide: _ Time-of-Greatest-Trials; Time-of-Most-Horrendous-Trouble; Time-of-Worst-Unimaginable-Catastrophes; Time-of-Unsurpassed-Devastation; Time-of-the-Wrath-of-Almighty-God; Time-Of-The-Great-Tribulation? Bible scholars have debated this question for centuries. They have asked ... is the Church going to be on earth to suffer the wrath of God? We know that none of us are perfect, for scripture tells us _ “For all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God” (Romans 3:23), and anyone who is honest knows that this is true. Do we therefore deserve some of God's wrath? There are three questions that scholars ask concerning the Church and the Rapture. … Will we be taken off the earth: … before; … during; … or after the Tribulation? They know that the Bible says that God the Son is going to come for His own and rapture [or translate / transport] us­­ off the earth, as we are told in (John 14:1-3), (I-Thes.4:16-17), (II-Thes.2:1), and (I-Cor.15:51-53). There are those who believe that we will be here on earth for the entire seven years of the Greatest Time of Trouble that mankind will have ever seen, for they apparently believe we deserve all God's wrath. Then there are those who believe that we will be taken from the earth around the mid-point of the tribulation, because we are not as bad as the rest of the world, but deserve some punishment. Then lastly there are those who believe that we will be removed from the earth before God's Wrath begins, because Christ paid for our sin in full. If you have read my first post ... "Why Did We Not Listen To Christ" ... then you already know that I am of the latter group. I believe and I know that Jesus Christ the Son Of God totally and completely paid in full for all our sin … upon the cross. “For by grace are we saved through faith and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God [a gift cannot be paid for in the slightest way, because it would cease to be a gift] and not of works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

HOW CAN I KNOW THAT CHRIST TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY PAID FOR MY ETERNAL LIFE?

The Lord through the prophet Isaiah said: “For all our righteousness is as filthy rags in God’s sight” (Isa.64:6). Therefore we could never, / can never, do a righteous work [toward salvation or any other thing to gain God’s approval], until we have been spiritually reborn / purchased / redeemed by the blood of Christ. You see _“There is none righteous, no not one” … “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom.3:10, 23)}. Therefore we can do nothing righteous before we receive Christ in saving faith being washed, and changed spiritually inside, by Christ’s sinless, pure, and holy blood. “Therefore if anyone be in Christ, they are a new creature [a new person]: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new” (II-Cor.5:17). Then in (Heb.11:6) _ “Without faith it is impossible to please God!” We can do nothing to please God until we come to Christ and are born again spiritually. You see, salvation is a done deal before we can even think about starting to live a Christian life. Therefore the motivation for living the Christian life should be [has to be] to please the one who “bore our sin upon the tree” (the cross) giving us eternal life “For the Lord himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree” (I-Peter 2:24), and not to try to pay for it ourselves, because we cannot! Can you not see that when the Lord cried out on the cross, as he breathed His last breath, “It is finished”, that He did not mean that His physical life was over [He was not concerned about His life _ He knew He would be resurrected in three days (John 2:19-21) (Mk.14:58 / 15:29)], but He meant that His payment for man’s sin was finished / done / completed / paid in full! Hebrews (10:10-14) says: _ “After Christ had sacrificed Himself once forever for sin, He sat down at the right hand of God the Father … For by one sacrifice of Himself, He has perfected forever them who are sanctified.” [ If we are “perfected forever”__ then there is absolutely nothing left for us to do for salvation.] When we truly, with our hearts, repent, .........
 ...[{Repent: to want to turn from sin to Christ} _ Some have thought that, to repent, we need to suffer some great anguish, physically to the point of blood, that is not what God wants, you see Christ has already taken all the suffering for us. Its a matter of the heart, God just wants us to desire to cast off our sin, to turn from it [You see, we do not have the power to cast off our sin until we receive Christ, and then His Spirit will provide the power required as we desire it. As we grow in Christ, God will give us the strength to slowly overcome sin.]...

........ and after repenting then believe upon Christ Jesus receiving Him as our own personal Savior [He paid for your sin on the cross, just as He did for mine]. His righteousness is imputed to us in that moment, in that very instant! …. "God made Him [Jesus] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might have [or be made, or become] the righteousness of God" (II-Cor.5:21). Also Jesus said: _ “He that hears my word [with their heart] and believes on Him who sent me has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is past from death unto life” [in that very moment] (John 5:24).  Peter said (in Acts 10:43-44): _ “To Him [to Christ] all the prophets give witness, that through His Name whosoever believes in Him shall receive remission of sins… While Peter yet spoke these words, the Holy spirit fell upon all those who heard the word”. Before Peter could finish his sentence, God imparted His Holy Spirit to all who heard, giving them His new birth into His family. Then Paul said (in Romans 10:17): _ “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God”. The logical conclusion is that salvation comes instantly while yet hearing the word and receiving it in faith!! And in that very moment we are past from eternal death unto eternal life!! And that’s faith …in Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God!! Jesus says: _ “Come un­to me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” (Matt.11:28)… “There’s nothing left for us to do! …“We can rest!” We can rest in Him and His finished work. He would not have told us ____ ___“I will give you rest” ... if there was more toward salvation for us to do! God does want us to do good works in helping those in need, and in spreading His Gospel around the world, but it does not help pay for even one tiny part of our salvation. Jesus paid it in full, we work out of love for Him.
This instant coming of salvation does not necessarily come the first time we hear the Gospel of Christ. It took me hearing it three times before I truly believed, and I have heard of some people having to hear many times for years before they truly believe. And sadly, of course, some never believe… and pass from this world without eternal life. But the very moment that we truly believe that Christ took our place [personally] on that old cross, He gives us eternal life without hesitation, for He is anxious to do so. I know because He gave me His Holy Spirit in the very moment that I believed upon Him, and my life was forever changed. 

Now back to:

WHEN WILL THE RAPTURE OF BELIEVERS OCCUR?

God has given us the answers to these questions about the timing of the Rapture of believers and the answers to many, many more mysteries of His word. If we ask him to lead us and yield ourselves to His will, “No matter what it might do to our life” … [No matter where He might ask us to go, or what He might ask us to do: _ such as to be a missionary; or a preacher; or a Bible teacher; or a bold witness for Him; or one who helps the poor; or the sick/ injured; or the hungry; or those hurting emotionally; or the elderly.] … If we truly yield to God’s will” _ He will then, open up the great mysteries of His word to us, and use us in some way in His glorious work.

WILL WE BELIEVERS BE HERE ON EARTH FOR THE SEVEN YEARS OF THE GREAT TRIBULATION?

 In Revelation 2:25 Christ tells the Church of Thyatira: “But that which you have already … hold fast till I come”. It is clear that the Church of Thyatira is present in the world today from the description the Lord gave of it, and it is also clear that it will be present at the time of the Rapture. At this point in Revelation there has been no mention of the Great Tribulation Judgments. All the events in chapters 1-5 occur before any judgments start. Chapter’s one thru three describe the characteristics of the Churches thru their 2000 years of existence. Chapter four describes the Church’s translation from the earth to heaven. Chapter five describes what the Church will first see in heaven. It is obvious that the judgments do not start until chapter six. This means that the first four chapters of Revelation are speaking of the Church through the two thousand years from Christ’s institution of it, thru the present time [called the Church Age] to the calling of the Church to heaven. In chapter four the apostle John, being a figure of [as representing] the Church, is called to heaven [a picture of the Rapture]. Then in chapter six the Great Tribulation starts.

HOW BAD WILL THE GREAT TRIBULATION BE?

Christ in Matthew 24:21-22 said of this time: _ “For then shall be Great Tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved.” There are twenty-one total judgments in the Great Tribulation of the book of Revelation: _There are Seven Seal Judgments starting in chapter six; _ there are Seven Trumpet Judgments starting in chapter eight; _ And there are Seven Bowl Judgments starting in chapter sixteen. The judgments increase in intensity with each progressing event, as God is trying to bring everyone possible to repentance and Christ for eternal life. In (Rev.7:9, 13-14) John is shown that a great multitude that no one can number does come to Christ during the Great Tribulation.  It will be the greatest soul harvest the world has ever seen!

ARE THERE ANY JUDGMENTS IN THE FIRST CHAPTERS OF REVELATION?

There is only one place where any hint about a judgment is found in the first five chapters. It is in (Rev. 3:10) where Christ says to the Church of Philadelphia [it is a picture of all true believers]:  _ “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also KEEP YOU FROM THE HOUR-OF-TRIAL that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.” There have been many trials for man through history, and we would not know which one the Lord was speaking of, if He had not said the three words “the whole world”. There has not been a worldwide global trial [time of unsurpassed trouble covering the entire face of the earth] since Christ made this statement, and the only one prior to that was the worldwide flood of Noah, 5000 years ago. I know that the two world wars which took the lives of 60 million people were so very devastating, but they are no comparison to what Revelation speaks of, in that it states that billions will die [One third of the world’s people will perish in the war shortly after the mid-point of the Tribulation (Rev.9:18). {World population is now _ 7 billion [one third of 7 = 2.3 billion}]. Later at the end, during the battle of Armageddon the blood will flow up to the horses’ bridles for 176 miles (Rev.14:20).  You say horses _ in this day and time? Yes! Russia has a very large equestrian mounted military division, as well as a few other nations. I believe the reasons the mounted-divisions are being formed is because horses can traverse unbelievably rough terrain that no vehicle can, also they have no radar signature, and they make little noise. But I believe the foremost reason is because of the EMP nuclear bomb threat that can take out all electrically controlled vehicles {including electronic ignitions in our automobiles}, machinery, weapons, aircraft, missiles, computers, TV, appliances, air conditioners/ furnaces, cell phones, land-lines, radios, radio stations, TV stations, and all electrical generating stations, over an area of several thousand square miles. These EMP bombs are designed to produce a gigantic electro-magnetic-pulse. When detonated at a very high altitude the EMP can irradiate a huge land area, thus short circuiting everything that can carry [all metals] an electrical current, thus burning out and destroying every electrical device in the exposed area! This area could be as large as a whole nation, with the result of throwing that nation back into the eighteenth century, no electrical anything!

THE FINAL WORD OF OUR CREATOR:

This time in the near future that we looked at above referred to as:  “The HOUR OF TRIAL to come upon the Whole World”, is found in the final book of the Holy Bible (Rev.3:10) [Revelation! God’s final word!] is the worldwide period called THE GREAT TRIBULATION, of unprecedented devastation [greater than Noah’s flood]. But we can see in (Rev.3:10) above, that Christ was saying that the “Hour of Trial” would not occur in the Church age, but is going to come “after He keeps us from The Great Trial” [by translating us off the earth like He did Enoch [in the first book of the Bible], in the twinkling of an eye (Gen.5:24 / Heb.11:5 / I-Thes.4:13-18 / I-Cor.15:51-53). The conclusion is that there are no judgments in the first five chapters of Revelation: they are the time of the Church, first on earth in chapters one thru three, then in heaven in chapters four thru five. The Church is spoken of eighteen times in the first three chapters and is not mentioned again until verse seven of chapter nineteen. This is because the events that are occurring during chapter six-verse one thru chapter nineteen-verse six, are dealing with the Great Tribulation and THE CHURCH IS NOT HERE ON EARTH! We are in heaven with the Lord and God our Father [at the marriage supper of The Lamb of God (Jesus)]. But we, the Church, will be coming back immediately afterward, in chapter nineteen-verse seven thru twenty-one, with the Lord as He stops the most horrendous war that man will have ever seen, Called ARMAGEDDON: Where the armies of the entire world _ “will be cut in pieces though all the nations of the world be gathered together against Jerusalem” (Zechariah 12:3/ 14:1-3). The armies [likely more than a billion troops {China alone boasts of a 200 million (0.2 billion) man army}] will surround Israel with the intent to totally destroy every Jew {including every man, woman, child, and baby}. In (Rev.19:11, 20-21) _ “And I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse; and He [Christ] that sat upon it was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He does judge and make war.” “And the beast was taken, and the false prophet who performed miracles on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest of them [kings and armies] were killed with the sword [the Word of God (Heb.4:12)] that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.”   Christ the Lord Jesus will defeat those armies as the blood fills the valley of Megiddo and save Israel from it all (Rev.14:20). Christ will then set up His throne in Jerusalem, where He will rule His Kingdom of peace over the entire earth forever and ever!

NOW IF THERE ARE THOSE WHO ARE STILL NOT CONVINCED AS TO WHERE THE CHURCH WILL BE:

Then let us look at a few more scriptures:  The first thing that we need to understand is that Jesus is God. He is the second person [or personality] of the God Head [or whole being of our Creator]. He is GOD THE SON! In the gospel of the apostle John in the first chapter, verses 1, 3, 10, 14 John says: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”  … “All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made.”  … “He was in the world and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.” … “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us full of grace and truth.” Then in John 8:56-58 _ Christ said to some of the religious leaders: “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.” Then said the Jews to him, you are not yet fifty years old, ___ and have you seen Abraham?? Jesus said unto them, “verily, verily, I say unto you, BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS, ---- I AM.”  The Lord Jesus was telling them that He has always been…. He has always existed. He is eternal God! Also in (Colossians 1:15-19) the apostle Paul said: “Christ, God’s Son is the image of the invisible God, the first born of creation. For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers:  all things were created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things and by Him all things consist.” (That is by Christ, all things:  exist/ hold together/ He is the adhesion of the universe). Then in Hebrews chapter one [on Christ’s deity] (Heb.1:1-3) Paul says: “God, who at many times and in various ways spoke to our forefathers, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds [all the universe]. Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person and sustaining all things by the power of His word, when He [Christ] by Himself had purged us from our sin [on the cross], sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high [God the Father]. You see there was nothing left for Him to do, so He sat down, salvation was finished [paid for in full]. Then in verse 5 God the Father speaking to His Son says:  “Thou art my Son, this day I have begotten thee!” (KJV) “You are my Son; today I have become your Father!” (NIV)  Then in verse 8:  “But unto the Son He [the Father] says, your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom”. The Father then again in verse 10 says: “In the beginning Lord you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.” Another scripture in I-Timothy 3:16 says “Beyond all question Great is the mystery of Godliness:   “[God was manifest in the flesh], He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by [with] angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, and was taken up into glory.” God the Son/the Creator was indeed here upon this planet in a human body 2000 years ago, fulfilling hundreds of prophecies, as He became the sacrificial Lamb of God … [Early in Christ’s ministry, (in John 1:29) John the Baptist saw Christ at a distance, pointed at Jesus and shouted _“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”] … At the end of the Lord’s ministry He fulfilled God’s indescribable prophecy of love by becoming The Lamb of God, making the sinless sacrifice for all mankind providing eternal life for all who repent and receive Him [Christ Jesus] as Savior, Lord, and God.

LET US LOOK NOW AT A VERY IMPORTANT PRINCIPLE OF GOD’S CHARACTER:

In (Hebrews 13:8) _ the Bible says: “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” This verse tells us that “Christ, God the Son, never … ever changes! Another scripture supporting this is in (Ecclesiastes 1:9) _ “The thing that has been _ it is what will be again, and that which has been done is that which will be done again.” Both of these scriptures tell us that God does not change. What God has done in the past, He will do again. In other words, how God has done certain things in the past, He will do those same-type of things the same way in the future. You say:  “Do you mean that God cannot come up with a new way to do things?” To answer this question, let us look deep into the makeup of our Creator. God tells us that He is a perfect, all knowing, all-intelligent, omnipresent, all-powerful being. He has always been totally perfect in all his makeup __ if He were to change His way of doing things __ He would no longer be perfect! He has always known what is right and perfect and has had the power to do it. He will not change from perfection, believe it, it is absolutely true! This is important for us to believe that God will not change, because God has given us some examples in the Bible of the very same kind of thing as we are discussing.

WHAT DOES GOD DO WHEN HE IS ABOUT TO BRING HIS WRATH?

·        What did God do with Lot and his family just before He rained down fire and brimstone upon Sodom and Gomorrah? [These two cities were totally overtaken with sexual sin of all types with no thought of God or of right living.] God sent two angels (in the form of men) to bring Lot and his family out of the cities, saving them from the wrath and destruction! (Genesis 19:24-26)

·        What did God do with Enoch shortly before the flood? ___ Scripture says in (Genesis 5:24) _ “And Enoch walked with God_ and he was not _ for God took him.” In (Hebrews 11:13) _ “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death and he was not found.” God translated Enoch from off the earth … before He brought His wrath upon it!

·        What did God do with Noah and his family before He brought worldwide judgment of the global flood? “God was sorry that He had ever made man, because his thoughts were evil continually” Paraprased (Gen.6:5-6). God lifted Noah and his family up out of the judgment _ in the Ark __ saving them from the flood! Para. (Genesis 7:13, 23).

God has not changed __ He will never change __ what He did before He will do again __ because He has always done the right and perfect thing. In each case above, GOD SAVED THE RIGHTEOUS FROM HIS WRATH. Also the apostle Paul in (I-Thes.1:10) said __ “And (believers) to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, who delivered us from the wrath to come.” (KJV) / …[“even Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” (NIV)]

WHEN WILL JESUS DELIVER US FROM THE WRATH TO COME?

He will do that at the Rapture when He comes out of heaven to translate all the redeemed from off the earth to heaven in a moment, in the twinkle [the blink] of an eye [Before the Great Tribulation Starts]. “Behold I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep [die], but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”  (I-Corinthians 15:51-53).

WHY ARE WE DELIVERED FROM THE WRATH TO COME?

We are kept from it because Jesus took our wrath on the Cross. He took all-our wrath for us __ there is none left for us to pay!!

Then in (I-Thessalonians 5:9, 10) the Apostle Paul states _ “For God has NOT appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. Who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.” [Scripture many times uses the word “wake” for the word “alive” and the word “sleep” for believers whose bodies are “dead” in the grave]. In the first part of this verse we are told that we are not appointed [or destined] to wrath. We don’t have any wrath left to pay for __ Christ Jesus paid it all __ therefore we are not sentenced to judgment / to wrath. Now looking at the last part of the verse, we see that a time is coming when believers will live together with Christ __ whether we are alive or dead!!! When is that time? It will be at the Rapture of all believers. This verse ties our not being appointed to wrath, to us living together with Christ forever whether we are alive or dead ...

.......................  {the rapture is tied directly to our escape from wrath}. 

The Apostle Paul again in (I-Thessalonians 4:16-17) says:  
“For the Lord himself, shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:  and the dead in Christ will rise first, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

WHAT CAN WE CONCLUDE FROM THE PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE THAT WE HAVE READ?

“The conclusion we have to draw is that ... we are not appointed to wrath” ______ WE ARE APPOINTED TO RAPTURE!!! 

That _“WE SHOULD LIVE TOGETHER WITH HIM (CHRIST) FOREVER” ___ Praise and glory be unto God our blessed loving Savior, Lord, Father, our God! _ THE CHURCH OF CHRIST JESUS WILL NOT BE HERE ON EARTH DURING THE GREAT TRIBULATION!!!  __ Amen! _And Amen!______ May the Lord God have praise and glory forever and ever for what He has done ... for us!

Jesus says: _ “He that comes to me I will in no wise cast out”

May God help you to see His great love and grace for you is my prayer.

(Scripture was taken from the: NIV, KJV, NKJV, YLT, DNT, NLT, ASV, NRSV, ESV, and Amp versions of the Bible.) (Some verses are paraphrased from a combination of these versions in order to clarify their meanings.)                                                                                 8.7R-8.22G-12.41R