Good Morning Meetpastordan Readers… welcome to part three of a series entitled, “The Time of the End. Are We There Yet?” This part deals with The Great Tribulation and the Rapture. (Granted, “Rapture” is not a Biblical term, but it is so commonly used and it no doubt refers to the hope for all Believers found in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18. Therefore, I’ve decided to continue its use here. And I suspect that this presentation of the Rapture at the end of The Great Tribulation might be disturbing to those who hold to pre-trib thinking, but that’s OK too. My current study of Revelation changed my thinking regarding this matter.) So…that’s it for my clarifiers. 😊
Last week I talked about Christians enduring periods of tribulation, meaning times of trouble, from the first century until present times – just because they were Christ-followers. But in End-Times prophecy, the time of Tribulation is presented in two parts. The first part contains many signs, such as those found in Apostle Paul’s discourse in 2 Timothy 3:1-5, and Jesus’ discourse found in Matthew 24: 4-8. (You can review these signs in last week’s blog found at www.meetpastordan.com and click on blog.) In the later discourse, verse 8 ushers in The Great Tribulation with this statement: “But all of this will be only the beginning of the horrors yet to come.” In other words, the first part of the End-Times Tribulation is a lining up of signs concerning people and their attitudes and behaviors, an increase in false prophets and messiahs, an increase in turmoil and aggression between countries, and environmental catastrophes that indicate The Great Tribulation is coming.
The Great Tribulation will be characterized by the revealing of the Anti-Christ or Beast, and the man of lawlessness, also referred to as the false prophet. It will also be a time when people will have to make a choice between taking the mark of the Beast or remaining true to their faith. And to make matters worse, without the mark of the Beast, one cannot participate in commerce. Unfortunately, it will also be a time of extreme persecution for Believers. Jesus describes this time in Matthew, 24: 21-22: “For that will be a time of greater horror than anything the world has ever seen or will ever see again. In fact, unless the time of calamity is shortened, the entire human race will be destroyed. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones. (Us Believers.)
Apostle Paul describes it this way in 2 Thessalonians 3:3–4, 8-12 : “For that day (the return of Christ) will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed – the one who brings destruction. He will exalt himself and defy every god there is and tear down every object of adoration and worship. He will position himself in the temple of god, claiming that he himself is God. This evil man will come to do the work of satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. He will use every kind of wicked deception to fool those who are on their way to destruction because they refuse to believe the truth that would save them. So God will send great deception upon them, and they will believe all these lies. Then they will be condemned for not believing the truth and for enjoying the evil they do.” But here’s the good news: When Jesus returns, “He will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy the man of lawlessness by the splendor of His coming.”
But at the end of the Great Tribulation (in Revelation, before the Lamb breaks the seventh seal), an incredible event happens. As the four angels, who were holding back the onset of the wrath of God, were preparing to release its fury, another angel carrying the seal of the living God shouted, “Wait! Don’t carry out your duty until the seal of God has been placed on the foreheads of His servants.” 144,000 were marked with the seal of God. They were the ones coming out of the Great Tribulation. They washed their robes in the blood of Jesus and made them white. (They held firmly to their faith. They did not take the mark of the Beast, therefore they were martyred for their choice.) They will never again be hungry or thirsty, and they will be fully protected from the scorching noontime heat. For the Lamb who stands in front of the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to the springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe away all their tears.” Revelation 7: 3-4, 14,16-17)
In 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18, Apostle Paul gives us his words regarding the Rapture. “I can tell you this directly from the Lord. We who are still living when the Lord returns will not rise to meet Him ahead of those who are in their graves. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the call of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, all the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with Him forever. So comfort and encourage each other with these words.”
Apostle Paul also comforted the Corinthian Believers when he told them about their resurrected bodies. “Let me tell you a wonderful secret God has revealed to me. Not all of us will die, but we will be transformed. It will happen in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, the Christians who have died will be raised with transformed bodies. And then we who are living will be transformed so that we will never die. For our earthly bodies must be transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die.” (1 Corinthians 15: 51-53)
What follows the Great Tribulation is the wrath of God. I have decided not to spotlight that event because we, as Believers, luckily will not be here. We will be with Jesus. But for those with inquisitive minds, I can direct you to Revelation 8-9, 16, 20;7-15. It’s not for the faint of heart, and it is extremely difficult to read, but have at it if you will.
Next week I will write about Jesus’ return and the New Jerusalem. Feel free to respond to this message and please “like” and share with other social media friends.
May God Bless You Abundantly…
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
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