Tuesday, July 31, 2012

PRE-TRIBULATION, IT CAN ONLY BE

We are told in God’s word to keep our eyes on Jesus, not the anti-christ. With Pre-tribulation we are waiting for Jesus to appear in the clouds. Mid and Post-tribulation believers are waiting for the anti-christ to appear, that is not biblical. We are told about the anti-christ, but we will not see him or know who he is. God warns us and even those who refuse to believe in Him, what is to come. We are to be watchful and wait for Jesus to appear in the clouds to rapture His church. We do not know the hour or day, but we are to know the season. Pre-tribulation is the only time no one can predict when Jesus will return.

Titus 2:13
looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

Matthew 24:36
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.

Matthew 24:42
Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.

Matthew 25:13
“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

Mark 13:32-33
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.

We are told of two separate events, first, Jesus will come as a thief in the night, when we least expect it, to rapture His saints. Second, the entire world will see Him when He returns with His saints.

Matthew 24:44
Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Luke 12:40
Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

1 Thessalonians 5:2
For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.

We can also see in God’s word that when Jesus returns to the earth to rule, all tongues, all nations, every eye shall see Him. This is after the seven year tribulation, when Jesus returns with His saints (His bride, His church) to rule this earth.

Daniel 7:13-14
13 “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him.
14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away,
And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.

Matthew 24:30
Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Revelation 1:5-7
5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

God describes the bride of Christ in Revelation 19:8 and we see that she is returning with Jesus in Revelation 19:14. The saints must be pre-tribulation in order for the marriage of Christ and His church to take place and then return with Him.

Revelation 19:8
And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Revelation 19:14
And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.

After the rapture happens, and the seven year tribulation, there will be another gathering. The rapture was the harvest, but then comes the gleaning of the field, the earth. After a harvest, the farmers would leave the four corners for the less fortunate to glean from. As the harvest (the rapture) has already taken place, When Jesus returns, He will send out the angels to the four corners of the earth to gather the remaining believers.

Leviticus 19:9
‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.

Leviticus 23:22
‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the LORD your God.’”

Matthew 24:31
And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Mark 13:27
And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.

We tell others of God’s word so even if they don’t believe us now, they may when they see these things happening and remember we have told them that it was all in God’s word, so they may save themselves from spending an eternity in hell.

Acts 3:24
Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days.

1 Timothy 4:16
Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

Also those who stand on Mid or Post-tribulation will miss the coronation of Jesus Christ being crowned King of Kings and Lord of Lords. They will miss the marriage of the Lamb and His bride and the marriage supper. ( The greatest reception of all times.)

Revelation 19:9
Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”

Here we see the coronation of Jesus being crowned King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and receives the deed (the scroll) taking procession of earth from His Father..

Revelation 5:5-7
5 But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”
6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.

Revelation 1, 2 and 3 deals with the church, after that the church is no longer mentioned on earth in the book of Revelation, for we are not here for the seven year tribulation. In Revelation 12:7-12 we see that we are in heaven with Jesus, not dealing with Satan’s wrath or God’s wrath. There is a second rapture of the one hundred and forty-four thousand of the twelve tribes of Israel that God sealed, and those who believed their testimony. These come out of the great tribulation. God will not pour His wrath on His children. These are the ones who after the rapture realized that God’s word was true and Jesus is the Son of God and they are willing to die for Him and refuse to follow the anti-christ. They are martyred now for their faith in Christ and will be caught up in the second rapture with the one hundred and forty-four thousand, for these are the ones who received their witness. And their souls will cry out to God until the second rapture take place.

Revelation 6:9
Fifth Seal: The Cry of the Martyrs
When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.

Revelation 7:14
And I said to him, “Sir, you know.”
So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation,
and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Only through the righteousness of Jesus Christ can one be counted worthy to escape the tribulation. God’s word makes it quite clear we will not be here.

Luke 21:36
Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

(Only Jesus can make you counted worthy to escape what is to come,
the tribulation. It’s quite clear we will be standing before Jesus during the
tribulation in heaven, not here.)

Romans 5:9
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

(The blood of Jesus Christ saves us from the wrath to come)

1 Thessalonians 1:10
and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

(Jesus delivers us up, raptures us from the wrath to come)

1 Thessalonians 5:9
For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

1 Thessalonians 4:16,17
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

(Jesus Himself calls us, this is the rapture before the tribulation, Jesus does not touch the earth, for the coronation and marriage must take place before Jesus returns to rule. Unlike in Matthew 24:31 where Jesus sends His angels to collect the remnant at the end of the great tribulation. These are two separate events. First is the rapture of the church, then the rapture out of the tribulation, and third, where Jesus gathers all believers to Himself when He establishes His kingdom on earth.)

Revelation 3:10
Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

(God’s promise to keep us from the hour of trial to test those on earth. This test true believers have already passed by the blood of Jesus.. This will test those left behind, to chose to follow God, or will they follow after this world and Satan.)

( God’s word says He will keep us from it, Not through it.)

Those who refused Jesus as their Lord and Savior, for the love of this world and their sins will go into the tribulation.

Revelation 2:22
Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds.

(Those who choose to follow after this world and reject Jesus Christ
will be cast into the great tribulation and face God’s wrath.)

Satan Thrown Out of Heaven Revelation 12:7-12
7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

(Once Christians are in heaven, Satan is no longer allowed in heaven,
he can no longer accuse those who were saved by the blood of Christ.
Satan can only try to deceive those left on earth.)

10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.

(Satan is thrown out for good. He can no longer come before God and
accuse the saints of Jesus Christ of their past sins, for Jesus has raptured
His bride and Satan can no longer come into heaven once we are there.)

11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to death

(Those saved by the blood of Christ, dead and alive are in heaven
and cannot be touch or deceived by Satan)

12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”

(The rapture has taken place, we can see that the saints are in heaven at this point This is the beginning of the tribulation where Satan make his run for power. Satan knowing his time is shorts, will use all power, signs and lying wonders to deceive those left on earth that he is god.)

9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan,
with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous
deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the
love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2 Thessalonians 2:9-10

Revelation 19:6-7
6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”

There are many who use Matthew 24 to have people believe there is no pre-tribulation rapture, but they don’t take into account the time and people Jesus is speaking to. Jesus was speaking to the apostles (Jews) and He knew also what was ahead for them personally and for Israel. And at this point in time there was no Christian church form yet. The Bible was written for all people, not just believers, and in the last days, more and more people will want to know what God’s word says.

It seems that only pre-tribulation believers recognize that God always removes the righteous from not only His wrath, but also from the wicked. Know it is not our righteousness, but the righteousness of Jesus Christ in us through the Holy Spirit that saves us from the wrath to come.

Philippians 3:9
and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;

When God saw the corruption and violence on earth He removed Noah, righteous towards God, and all his family.

Genesis 6:11-12
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.

God took Noah and his family put them in a ark and lifted them high above the earth, and when all evil was gone, God returned them to the earth. God poured His wrath on the earth. Once God destroyed all evil, only then did He return them to the earth.

Genesis 7:17
Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.

Genesis 8:15-16
15 Then God spoke to Noah, saying, 16 “Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you.

This is a perfect picture of the rapture, where God lifted His people out of harms way, then returned them to the earth, as Jesus will lift His church up out of harms way. Only after the seven year tribulation, Jesus will return with His saints (the raptured believers) to rule on this earth.

We learn in God’s word it can not be post-tribulation, because God will not pour out His wrath until the righteous are taken out of harms way, and are in a safe place. We see this when God was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. He could not do it until Lot was safe. And if God is going to pour out His wrath on this world the only safe place is heaven.

Genesis 19:22-24
22 Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there.”
Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
23 The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar.
24 Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah,
from the LORD out of the heavens.


Information on generations from Jack Van Impe
Not picking a date, but interesting

We are the generation that will be raptured. Israel took the land in 1967

There are 42 generations from Abraham to Christ, 2160 years.
Matthew 1:1-17

Divide 42 into 2160 = 52

There are 77 generations from Adam to Christ. 6000 years. Luke 3:23-38

Divide 77 into 6000 = 52

1967 + 52 generations = 2019 – 7 year rapture = 2012

ARE YOU READY IT, COULD HAPPEN ANY TIME NOW