Tuesday, February 17, 2009

One Day: Rapture/Escape and Tribulation

We must be close. At lunch today I asked the Lord to show me more about the escape and the tribulation. Within 20 minutes my mouth is hanging slackjawed...

26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. 30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. 31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. 32 Remember Lot's wife. 33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. 34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.

What does the Lord tell us here? Well, if you've been reading this blog for anytime, you know that the Lord has impressed upon me this mental picture of us having our faces pressed right up against a razor thin glass window that separates us from the tribulation period. Why? Why bring us all the way up to the very DAY that the tribulation begins? To test your faith. We have been tested and we will continue to be tested up to the very day of the start of the tribulation. Your faith will be checked, is it real or not? Do you have faith enough to get out of the boat and meet Jesus on the water? We're about to find out. We are told specifically:

the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone, and Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed

Could he say it any clearer? The day we leave this world..the same day, fire and brimstone..or its equivalent rains down...the same day. Then the Lord has me follow this word "revealed" as in : the day when the Son of man is revealed

and I come across what? Look at where we are......2 Thess...the home of "our gathering together unto him"

I want you to notice key words here, these words are keys that unlock meaning:

<< 2 Thessalonians 1 >>King James Bible

1 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2 Grace unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth; 4 So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: 5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: 6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; 7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; 10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day. 11 Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: 12 That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

First of all there it is twice, a la Luke 21:36 ..pray that you may be counted worthy of the escape from all that's coming. Next, remember..the tribulation has a purpose..its not some random event. What is the PURPOSE of the tribulation (there are many)..here's some of it:

recompense tribulation to them that trouble you
vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ

Now also notice the timing aspect of this. The Lord comes with his ANGELS (not saints) to take flaming vengeance on those who trouble you, and you REST. When the Lord comes back with his saints, its the second coming. This is something else, this is the escape and destruction in a single day on those who do not know God or follow his commandments. That certainly, absolutely is NOT the true church.

He shall come to be admired in all them that believe....hmmm, I would imagine that if the whole world saw him, he would be admired by everyone, believer or not, the glory of the eternal God is something to be marveled at no matter who you are, but only the BELIEVER admires him at this time, meaning? The rest don't see him. It's called coming like a thief, which is what? In secret.

We see above the patience and faith of believers of today and in history through all their persecutions and tribulations. We've had ours, now its the worlds turn. It will soon be time to: recompense tribulation to them that trouble you.

This coming day is going to be one heck of a day....In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. 32 Remember Lot's wife. 33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

On this day, the believer leaves, just like Noah and Lot and on the same day, destruction falls. The Lord clearly tells us this. Something else I find interesting is this verses 31-33 above. It appears that on this special, mind numbing day, there will be time for you to actually go get your stuff before leaving, the Lord clearly warns against doing that. If you are in the field, stay there, if you are on the rooftop stay there, wherever you are, that's where you leave from, KNOWING you are about to leave this place. Why would the Lord warn you not to do something you could'nt do in the first place? This warning goes much further than where your body is, remember lots wife is a warning pointing to your heart. Lot's wife's mind and heart turned her eyes back to the world, and that was her undoing. Once again, there's no faking it on this coming day. This means that TODAY you need to secure your heart, mind and spirit. Rip them free from this world. If the Lord comes back today, wakes you up and asks "ARE YOU READY?" will your heart try to slip out the back door to the world?

Here's what the Lord tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4 before the rapture verse at the end

Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. 2 For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.

In 2 Thessalonians he clearly talks about "worthiness" as we've already discussed

in the escape passage we read: Luke 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

When Jesus shows up with his angels, it will be to take vengeance on those who don't know God and who do not obey his commands. How could this day be at the end of the tribulation? Everythings already done at the end, all the seals, trumpets,vials etc have already run their course. Nope, there is a day coming, a day when the Son is revealed that will be JUST LIKE the days of Noah and Lot....the day they left the city and went into the ark, that same day VENGEANCE starts, performed in flaming fire. The proof that we are not here all day on that day is who the vengeance is for...the ungodly, those who don't obey. The true church is gone. It's a left hook and a knockout with the right, wham, bam.....one two, lights out.

The fact that this happens in one day tells you that there will be no time to prepare. That day could be tonight, tomorrow, who knows? This also lays to rest the conflicting arguments about what Jesus is referring to whenever he talks about "that day" since "that day" is both an escape and a vengeance unleashed day, just like Noah and Lot, just like Jesus said it would happen in Luke 17, and Matthew 24.

And finally, I'll leave you with a warning from the master:

Mark 13 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. 34 For 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. 35 Watch 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: 36 Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. 37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

Lest he come suddenly and find you sleeping? Yea, as in:

Matt 25 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: 4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. 7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. 11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Wait a min. here, a door was shut? What door? Oh, this one:


Revelation 4 >>King James Bible

1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

A trumpet talking? Come up hither? I wonder what that means? Oh, maybe this:

1 Thess 4:15 For 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. 16 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 shall rise first: 17 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. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Yea, its no ordinary trumpet, its a talking one...a trumpet talking with me...a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God

Ok, I'm done for now. The takeaway from all this is, the day is coming soon..one day, that everything turns upside down. This day sees both the escape and vengeance on earth. Jesus says its HIS vengeance (not "satan's wrath) which absolutely debunks the pre-wrath view, and it happens on the same day as the escape. Also, theres a worthiness factor. He tells us over and over again about worthiness, this is not some everyone get onboard event. Pray that you may be counted worthy, thats what we are told to do. People take way too much for granted and the result will be devastating for most. You however, have been warned, you know whats coming. You know how its coming. The Lord told you how. We who know must be watching and ready. Ok, I'm really done now :-)

grace and peace