The Church was not around for the first 69 weeks.
Dan 9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
Fun Question number 1: If the Church was not here for the first 69 weeks why would it be here for the 70th week?
Fun fact number 2:
Not a single soul that has died in Christ from the beginning of the world up through this present moment EVER entered even one day of "the" tribulation.
Fun Question number 2: If not a single soul that is the Church, the Body of Christ ever entered into "the" tribulation, and that group will be the majority who are in Christ before the beginning of the tribulation why exactly is it that the last generation of Christian "needs" or has a Biblical mandate to enter the tribulation?
Fun fact 3: every Christian on earth from the beginning until now has experienced "tribulation in this world."
John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Fun question 3: All Christians experience "some" tribulation in this world, none will enter "the" tribulation
Fun fact 4: The tribulation has a purpose, a reason for ocurring. It is not some random or arbitrary event.
The purpose is stated clearly in Daniel 9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
Fun question number 4: What part of the tribulations purpose/reason for being requires the Church or even remotely hints at the Church's involvement? What part of "finish the transgression" or "make an end of sins" did Jesus not cover for the believer in Christ when He died on the cross? In fact, the Christian is not walking in transgression today, they walk in Christ. The Christian does not live in sin today, they live in Christ.
Bottom line, those who try to pevert the Word of the Lord try to put a square peg through a round hole. They also serve the enemy's mission to kill, steal and destroy as the Lord gave us the promise of escape to provide comfort for us who are alive before the tribulation.
1 Thess 4:13But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16For 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 shall rise first:
17Then 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.
18Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
How many people will be left behind because they willfully refused to obey the Lord's clear command to be watching and ready for His unexpected return (not the second coming) every hour of every day?
Mark 13:32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
33Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
34For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.
35Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
36Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
37And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
5 times in 6 verses the Master told us to watch. Think He was trying to emphasize something to us???? The enemy and those who serve him hate the idea of the escape. What he wants is to kill steal and destroy us and it will be rather difficult for him to do that when we are in heaven.
We do not have to convince anyone else about the reality of the escape, we just have to convince ourselves with the confirming witness of the Holy Spirit who testifies with our spirit to what the truth is:
1 Jn 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
If by chance we were wrong about escaping all of the tribulation, so what? We are watching today=faithful obedience to the Word, we would be watching at mid-tribulation=faithful obedience to the Word, we would be watching at "pre-wrath"=faithful obedience to the Word, we would be watching post-trib=faithful obedience to the Word. The problem those other groups have is their willfull disobedience, their refusal to watch today.
The evidence is overwhelming, the Jewish Wedding parallels, the heavy repetitive warnings to be watching and ready for the unexpected arrival of our Lord, the open door in heaven in Rev 4, the redeemed and rewarded men in heaven in Rev 5, wrath poured out in Rev 6, Jesus coming back for the "2nd coming" with His saints not for them, and the list goes on. The most important thing is not even any of these facts or questions but the witness of the Holy Spirit. What does the Spirit of the Living God tell your spirit. Are you being brutally honest with yourself? Are you deceiving yourself? What does the Word say?
John 8:32 You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
This writer could care less about "being right" per se and cares immensly about the truth. The truth is the only thing that will set us free and keep us free. If the Lord impressed upon this writer tomorrow that todays understanding of the Word was wrong, this writer would turn on a dime to align with the truth like a compass needle that always faces north regardless of what you tell it. Point to the truth like a compass needle is the mission, regardless of what is going on in the external environment.
Also, everything we read or hear (including from this writer) must be taken back to the Lord for quality control. The Spirit of the Lord will lead us into all truth. He cannot be deceived, we can if we do not look to Him.
While we wait for our Lord to arrive, continue to pray, fast, stay in the Word, walk with the Lord in grace, truth, peace and righteousness. Do what He tells you to do. We serve an amazing awesome God. He is very very great and He proves it every day (look around at what He is doing). Glory to God!
grace and peace
