Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
We continue our high-level investigation of the Tribulation, also known as Daniel’s Seventieth Week and the modern-day Church’s (collection of living Believers) involvement.
What is God’s purpose for the Tribulation? It is two-fold: first, it is when God will finish His discipline of the Nation of Israel and restore them to Him through The Messiah, and second, it is when God’s wrath begins to pour out against the unbelieving, godless in the earth, and God will judge them with increasing intensity. A common question asked by many is if there will be people that are saved during the Tribulation because they turn to Jesus Christ as their Lord and King. Yes, there will be many as described by John in Revelation 7:14. But they will suffer much in the earth to include many that will be martyred for their faith.
One thing we must understand correctly is there is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ that is composed of two events. The first is the Rapture and the second is the Millennial Reign. In the Rapture, Jesus will descend in the air to the clouds and call the church to join Him where He will take them to Heaven for the Marriage Supper of The Lamb. The second event is where Christ will come to the earth to conquer, judge, and set up His Kingdom, the Millennial Reign. We will ever be with Jesus Christ for all eternity beginning with the Rapture. We will never be separated from him, in His flesh, forever.
There are seven distinct dispensations in The Holy Scriptures. Currently, we are in the “Grace” dispensation. A dispensation is “a time period in which God relates to man in a certain way or manner.” The last is the “Kingdom” dispensation, or Christ’s Millennial (1,000 year) Reign on earth. Sandwiched between the Grace and the Kingdom dispensations is the seven-year Tribulation. You will hear many refer to the last three and one-half years of the Tribulation as “The Great Tribulation” based upon Matthew 24:21. This period of the latter half of the Tribulation will see the AntiChrist revealed as the AntiChrist when he breaks his covenant with mankind and Israel and he begins intense persecution against the Nation of Israel and anyone who tries to defy him. And God’s wrath will intensify on earth against satan and against the unsaved because of unbelief and rebellion. Some believe the Church will be in the earth for the first half, three-and-one-half years of the Tribulation, and then Raptured when the Great Tribulation begins, the last three-and-one-half years. There is one big fly in the ointment with this belief. God’s wrath exists throughout the Tribulation and intensifies as the years go by.
Let me give you God’s Word about His wrath and the Believers in the dispensation of Grace. We find it in I Thessalonians 5:9, Romans 5:9, and I Thessalonians 1:10.
I Thessalonians 5:9
For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
Romans 5:9
Much more then, being now justified by His [Jesus} blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
I Thessalonians 1:10
And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, Which delivered us from the wrath to come [speaking of the seven-year Tribulation].
The Holy Spirit, through Paul, is writing to the Believers about the dispensation of Grace [unmerited, unearned, undeserved, unlimited favor]. We are not to go through any of God’s wrath. Why? Because God placed all of His wrath and anger upon Jesus Christ on the cross, and we obtain salvation through Jesus Christ. Salvation means we are “wrath free.” Awesome!! When will God’s wrath appear in the earth? At the start of the seven years of Tribulation. It will intensify throughout the seven years against the ungodly, unsaved people. Unless God is a liar, and breaks His covenant, the Church will not be here to experience the wrath of God.
In I Thessalonians 4:13-18, Paul is comforting the Thessalonians about the Rapture. They believe their loved ones who are asleep, or in other words, have died, have missed the Rapture, that one must be alive to participate in it. Paul clears this up for them. He said Jesus will descend from Heaven with a shout from the voice of an archangel and with blasts from the trump of God. Those Believers who have passed on to Heaven will have their buried or lost bodies in the earth arise and their bodies will be changed in an instant into the eternal incorruptible body and rejoined with their soul and the Spirit of God in them. Those Believers who are alive when this event occurs will join those who have passed on in the clouds with Jesus. They, too, will put on incorruptible bodies and souls to be joined to The Spirit of God in them. We are then taken into Heaven for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. The Marriage Supper is likened by Jesus, earlier in Scripture to a Galilean wedding. Once the door shuts to the Marriage Supper, even though they may knock, no one else is allowed into the wedding.
Notice Paul provides insight to the Rapture earlier in The Scriptures in I Corinthians.
I Corinthians 15:51-53
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 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.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
Paul speaks to the very same thing in I Corinthians 15:51-53 that he speaks to in I Thessalonians 4:13-18. He is just explaining it to a different people and a different local church.
Notice in I Thessalonians 4:13-18 and I Corinthians 15:51-53 that Paul doesn’t provide any instructions or exhortation for an impending or upcoming Tribulation. This is rather suspect if the Church has to go through it. Also, rather than the Thessalonians grieving over their loved ones possibly having missed the Rapture, you would think they would be questioning Paul about how they, the living, endure the horrors of the Tribulation. But we see none of this. In fact, we see no fear and no questions concerning it from the Thessalonians. Interesting.
We will continue looking at the Tribulation in next week’s message. Remember I am providing this to you to study. Don’t rely on what I provide you alone. I John 4:1 commands us to confirm The Word we are given. Ask The Holy Spirit to lead and guide you in your study. He will come alongside and teach you.
In closing, I always like to be mindful of the fact our precious Heavenly Father God and His Son Jesus Christ, our King and Lord, always, every moment of every day, wants to bless us. We have studied previously that being blessed is being “empowered to prosper.” And in order to be a blessing to others, we must learn to believe beyond ourselves. God will not just meet your need; He will also meet your desires. Psalm 115 makes it clear God’s will and desire is to bless His Children. Desire to be a blessing to others in more than just words. God will watch over His Word and see it come to pass – if you can believe, decree, and stand for it.
Psalm 115:12-15
12 The LORD hath been mindful of us: He will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron.
13 He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great.
14 The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children.
15 Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth.
This is why Jesus, Who taught the Kingdom of God, stated in Matthew 6:33 that we are to seek The Kingdom of God and His righteousness first, and all the things of the earth shall be added unto us. We are to develop a mindset and heart belief in being blessed so we can be a blessing to others and manifest The Kingdom of God on earth as we are commanded (Genesis 12:2-3). We can’t bless others with needed cars, homes, food, financial support, time, teaching, etc. if we ourselves aren’t blessed and able to do it. The Blessing is not for you to earn, it’s for you to believe and receive and for God to supply.
Blessings in Jesus Christ,
Larry