Is It The Perfect Will Of God To Rapture The Church Before The Great Tribulation?
Question : I have read your Q & A article titled, 'When Will The End Time Tribulation Start?'. It is very interesting to know how God has planned to take the Church just after the abomination of desolation, but before they could be caught by the Antichrist to be pressured to take his mark or else die. The Church will overcome deception to be raptured by understanding the times and seasons that will be revealed to every believer personally by conviction of the Holy Spirit from the Father God because we are not in darkness (1 Thess 5:5-11). Even just with a literal understanding of what Jesus spoke to the Church, we could understand the Book of Matthew Chapter 24 better through what you have revealed and I understand that if the gospels was only given to the Jews for their understanding, God would not have placed it all in our hands to read and expect it all to happen. It is a perfect lineup with Scripture than any other Pre Tribulation, Post Tribulation or Mid Tribulation theory. But this one doubt came up to me from reading the verse in Revelation 13:5-10 which says, "5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. 6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. 7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints." My question is, if God has already given the saints in to the hands of Antichrist for forty two months which starts from abomination of desolation to the end of 7 years, then why should God rapture the Church against His own will?
Answer : Greetings! It is a very deep question that you have touched. From the above verses that you have quoted itself, you are right in saying that God gives His authority to rule over the entire earth in to the hands of Antichrist for three and a half years leading up to the battle of Armageddon in which God will defeat him and will throw him in to the lake of fire forever. But from the abomination of desolation see the sequence in which Antichrist will take over the entire earth in to Satan worship through deception first and then tyranny. From the day of abomination of desolation which is the exact middle of the Daniel's 70'th week will start the second three and half years in which Antichrist will seat himself as god in the temple to rule over the entire earth, he will first at that time will start to declare in defiance by opening "his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven." This will start from Jerusalem as Jesus has already told all the people who see it to flee away from it expecting rapture to take place anytime after that (2 Thess 2:3-4; Matt 24:15-20). There will be a short time after this for him to take a census over the entire earth and bring all the people as his subjects to force them to take a mark and worship Satan, and also Antichrist will make himself be worshiped by all people. God has forewarned and revealed his children to be ready at this point of time because this short time will be strategically used by Him to rapture the Church away from the Great Tribulation that will succeed it immediately. This is why Jesus told the believer of the end time to flee from Judea which is Jerusalem when they see the abomination of desolation take place in the Jewish temple, which is actually the starting point of the deception of Antichrist that will start and cover the whole world in a matter of months or even within a month (Matt 24:15-21, 23-28). Jesus told all the believers of the end time to flee Jerusalem because later He himself explains in a metaphoric language that the rapture will happen like a lightning starting from one end of the earth to the other, and as a result all the dead and the living born again believers will be strengthened and changed in a moment of time to have a glorious immortal body to fly out of this earth like eagles rising up to the sky line to be with Jesus forever and ever (Matt 24:27-28; 1 Thess 4:16-18; Isa 40:28-31).
So after the rapture of the Church only then God grants the Antichrist authority, "7 ...to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." If the Church has been taken up before it is enforced with the mark of the beast or face death by Antichrist, then who are the saints that God is speaking about in the above verses? We know that all the believers will be taken up in the rapture who are born again because of the paid blood of Jesus with which He has redeemed them (Acts 20:28; Matt 25:1-13). The above people who are left behind people will not have real faith but will have been religious enough to have a form of godliness but denying the power of God to let it change them within their heart spiritually (2 Time 3:5). These left-behind name sake christians who had all the knowledge of God about the rapture as they were within the Church physically and not spiritually, will repent when the mass disappearing of people will be announced by the world media. Immediately they will submit their lives to God and become a saint by faith and patience to follow Jesus literally even if it costs them their very lives (1 Peter 2:21). They will not accept the 666 mark of the beast which is the number of his name (Rev 13:16-18), and therefore many millions of saints will be beheaded by the sword at that time for their faith (Rev 13:9-10).
We could ask, then why Jesus said the believers to watch and pray (Mark 13:32-37), the answer is because Jesus wanted all those inside the Church before the rapture to understand and check their heart by submitting themselves to God to know within them that they are truly born again, as the spirit of lawlessness within the Church of the end time will make it hard to understand one's spiritual status by one's action, and therefore believers and unbelievers will begin to sleep with religious act will hide themselves within it even until rapture happens (Matt 24:40-44, 45-51; 25:3-5; Rom 8:9; 2 Cor 13:5-6; Jude 1:3). The anointing—the oil of Scripture—is directly related to the Holy Spirit’s work in our life (2 Cor. 1:21-22). The Holy Spirit’s anointing makes us sensitive to God and his still small voice (1 John 2:20). We must understand that the anointing oil of the Holy Spirit will be present with the believer while unbelievers will not have it. So all the unbelievers and believers will start to sleep together spiritually at the time of arrival of Jesus. Jesus himself has revealed that He might delay to take the Church away from the bride's house which is the earth to the Father's house in New Jerusalem of heaven until the moment of Antichrist tyranny upon the Church believers will be about to come upon them (John 14:1-4; Matt 25:6-13). I believe though the authority over the earth will be handed over to Antichrist by the withdrawl of the Holy Spirit conviction at the middle of Daniel's 70th week (2 Thess 2:6-8; John 16:7-15), yet the power over the saints or in other words power over the Tribulation-saints will be "granted to him [a little later over a few months or within a month] to make war with the saints and to overcome them," and at that time he will also be given complete "authority ....over every tribe, tongue, and nation" as the Church will not be present under him (1 Thess 1:10; 2 Thess 1:6-10).
So even in the above Scripture you have shown, the Church will be raptured first before the Tribulation saints will go through the Great Tribulation and come out victorious by martyrdom (Rev 7:13-17; 14:9-13; 20:4-6). It is revealed again and again in the Scripture that the only perfect will of God is to rapture the Church before the Great Tribulation starts (Rev 3:10; Luke 21:34-36). This why I choose to call this concept of rapture that God reveals in the Scripture as the Real-Pre-Trib Rapture because it will start some time after the abomination of desolation, but just before the Great Tribulation which Antichrist will kick in!!!!
Much Blessings...
Answer : Greetings! It is a very deep question that you have touched. From the above verses that you have quoted itself, you are right in saying that God gives His authority to rule over the entire earth in to the hands of Antichrist for three and a half years leading up to the battle of Armageddon in which God will defeat him and will throw him in to the lake of fire forever. But from the abomination of desolation see the sequence in which Antichrist will take over the entire earth in to Satan worship through deception first and then tyranny. From the day of abomination of desolation which is the exact middle of the Daniel's 70'th week will start the second three and half years in which Antichrist will seat himself as god in the temple to rule over the entire earth, he will first at that time will start to declare in defiance by opening "his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven." This will start from Jerusalem as Jesus has already told all the people who see it to flee away from it expecting rapture to take place anytime after that (2 Thess 2:3-4; Matt 24:15-20). There will be a short time after this for him to take a census over the entire earth and bring all the people as his subjects to force them to take a mark and worship Satan, and also Antichrist will make himself be worshiped by all people. God has forewarned and revealed his children to be ready at this point of time because this short time will be strategically used by Him to rapture the Church away from the Great Tribulation that will succeed it immediately. This is why Jesus told the believer of the end time to flee from Judea which is Jerusalem when they see the abomination of desolation take place in the Jewish temple, which is actually the starting point of the deception of Antichrist that will start and cover the whole world in a matter of months or even within a month (Matt 24:15-21, 23-28). Jesus told all the believers of the end time to flee Jerusalem because later He himself explains in a metaphoric language that the rapture will happen like a lightning starting from one end of the earth to the other, and as a result all the dead and the living born again believers will be strengthened and changed in a moment of time to have a glorious immortal body to fly out of this earth like eagles rising up to the sky line to be with Jesus forever and ever (Matt 24:27-28; 1 Thess 4:16-18; Isa 40:28-31).
So after the rapture of the Church only then God grants the Antichrist authority, "7 ...to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." If the Church has been taken up before it is enforced with the mark of the beast or face death by Antichrist, then who are the saints that God is speaking about in the above verses? We know that all the believers will be taken up in the rapture who are born again because of the paid blood of Jesus with which He has redeemed them (Acts 20:28; Matt 25:1-13). The above people who are left behind people will not have real faith but will have been religious enough to have a form of godliness but denying the power of God to let it change them within their heart spiritually (2 Time 3:5). These left-behind name sake christians who had all the knowledge of God about the rapture as they were within the Church physically and not spiritually, will repent when the mass disappearing of people will be announced by the world media. Immediately they will submit their lives to God and become a saint by faith and patience to follow Jesus literally even if it costs them their very lives (1 Peter 2:21). They will not accept the 666 mark of the beast which is the number of his name (Rev 13:16-18), and therefore many millions of saints will be beheaded by the sword at that time for their faith (Rev 13:9-10).
We could ask, then why Jesus said the believers to watch and pray (Mark 13:32-37), the answer is because Jesus wanted all those inside the Church before the rapture to understand and check their heart by submitting themselves to God to know within them that they are truly born again, as the spirit of lawlessness within the Church of the end time will make it hard to understand one's spiritual status by one's action, and therefore believers and unbelievers will begin to sleep with religious act will hide themselves within it even until rapture happens (Matt 24:40-44, 45-51; 25:3-5; Rom 8:9; 2 Cor 13:5-6; Jude 1:3). The anointing—the oil of Scripture—is directly related to the Holy Spirit’s work in our life (2 Cor. 1:21-22). The Holy Spirit’s anointing makes us sensitive to God and his still small voice (1 John 2:20). We must understand that the anointing oil of the Holy Spirit will be present with the believer while unbelievers will not have it. So all the unbelievers and believers will start to sleep together spiritually at the time of arrival of Jesus. Jesus himself has revealed that He might delay to take the Church away from the bride's house which is the earth to the Father's house in New Jerusalem of heaven until the moment of Antichrist tyranny upon the Church believers will be about to come upon them (John 14:1-4; Matt 25:6-13). I believe though the authority over the earth will be handed over to Antichrist by the withdrawl of the Holy Spirit conviction at the middle of Daniel's 70th week (2 Thess 2:6-8; John 16:7-15), yet the power over the saints or in other words power over the Tribulation-saints will be "granted to him [a little later over a few months or within a month] to make war with the saints and to overcome them," and at that time he will also be given complete "authority ....over every tribe, tongue, and nation" as the Church will not be present under him (1 Thess 1:10; 2 Thess 1:6-10).
So even in the above Scripture you have shown, the Church will be raptured first before the Tribulation saints will go through the Great Tribulation and come out victorious by martyrdom (Rev 7:13-17; 14:9-13; 20:4-6). It is revealed again and again in the Scripture that the only perfect will of God is to rapture the Church before the Great Tribulation starts (Rev 3:10; Luke 21:34-36). This why I choose to call this concept of rapture that God reveals in the Scripture as the Real-Pre-Trib Rapture because it will start some time after the abomination of desolation, but just before the Great Tribulation which Antichrist will kick in!!!!
Much Blessings...
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment