The Tribulation Church

God took Lot out of Sodom before He incinerated that wicked place. God put Noah in the ark before He sent the flood. God took Rahab out of Jericho before that city was destroyed. There is a principle that God takes His own out before He pours out His wrath and judgment because He has not appointed us to wrath. I believe the Lord is going to take His people out.

Moreover, beginning in Revelation chapter 4, the Church—the Body of Christ on earth—is not mentioned! If I believe Christians are going through the Tribulation, then I cannot be expecting Jesus Christ to come at any moment. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming…. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is…. And what I say to you, I say to all: Jesus may come at any moment; but those who believe that the Church is going through the Tribulation tell us that the coming of our Lord is not imminent and we are not to be looking for our Lord.

If I'm not looking for my Lord, if I'm not waiting for the Son from heaven, if I'm not looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ, then right now it ceases to be a blessed hope to me.

7 reasons the church will not go through the tribulation

I would start looking around,. I must live today as though I would give an account to my dear Lord tonight. I may meet him tonight. And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. These are times to be living in the urgency and the emergency of the days.

There are several other complex Scriptures which Dr. Rogers dealt with in this message, but which space prevents us from discussing, especially verses in First Thessalonians that many have questions about. For the entire message, in which Dr. Love Worth Finding Adrian Rogers.

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About Adrian Rogers Dr. His legacy continues to reach around this world, sharing the good news that Jesus Christ is the greatest Love worth finding. Adrian Rogers passed away on November 15, , tributes continue to pour in testifying of his worldwide impact. From his mouth issues a sharp sword with which to smite the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in midheaven, "Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.

And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had worked the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.

Rapture - Wikipedia

And the rest were slain by the sword of him who sits upon the horse, the sword that issues from his mouth; and all the birds were gorged with their flesh. When Jesus returns to the Mt. He will bring with him the remnant of believing Jews who fled earlier to Jordan at the midpoint of the tribulation period. And with him also, will be his Bride, the church. This topic will be discussed in detail below.

The coming of Jesus for his church, the rapture "like a thief in the night" will be silent and unseen, not accompanied by any visible signs, earthquakes, or a literal tearing open of graveyards. In sharp contrast, the open public unveiling of Jesus and his church seven years later at the close of the tribulation periodwill be accompanied by great disturbances on earth, in the heavens and by awesome, unmistakable signs.

During the Olivet Discourse, Jesus described his open, public return in these words,. Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken; then will appear the sign of the Son of man 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; and he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

A great war in the Middle East will be in progress at the time of the Second coming. The very existence of the entire human race will be threatened by the intensity of this conflagration. In fact Jesus said that were it not for his intervention, "no human being would be left: And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And then they will see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. This paper speculates on what we know from the Bible about events taking place on earth during the tribulation period that seem to be related to the "secret presence" of the Lord Jesus as He and His church work from behind the scenes to orchestrate and to direct the final events leading up to His glorious appearing, his epiphaneia.

I have consulted leading Bible commentaries for example, References on many of the more enigmatic and difficult passages of Bible prophecy and inserted a few notes of suggestions to aid the reader in further study. It is not my intention to be dogmatic but provocative. In matters of Bible prophecy many details often remain obscure until they are on the verge of fulfillment or already past. However we are "nearer now than when we first believed" so we, more than previous generations, can hope by God's grace to see more clearly what is coming just ahead in history for us as the end of this age unfolds.

The coming desecration which is to take place in the future Third Temple by a final Jewish false Messiah is described in the Olivet discourse of Jesus and also by the Apostle Paul in his second letter to the Thessalonians. In 2 Thessalonians 2 the parousia, epiphaneia and the judgment of the Great White throne are all seen as one event from the vantage point of eternity.

Also described is the appearing of the man of sin in the Third Temple in Jerusalem which from the vantage point of earth-time occurs at the mid-point of the seven-year period.

We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, as is fitting, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast of you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which you are enduring.

This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be made worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are sufferingsince indeed God deems it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant rest with us to you who are afflicted, when the Lord Jesus is revealed [unveiled, that is apokalupsisa reference to the second coming in glory, the epiphaneia] from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance upon those who do not know God and upon those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

They shall suffer the punishment of eternal destruction and exclusion from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at in all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his call, and may fulfill every good resolve and work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now concerning the coming [parousia] of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling to meet him i. Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come, unless the rebellion [apostasia] comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the Third temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you this? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed [apokalupsis]in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one [the antichrist, Paul's "man of sin"] will be revealed [at the mid-trib point in our time frame], and the Lord Jesus will slay him [at the end of the tribulation from our point of view] with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by his appearing and his coming [literally, "by the epiphaneia of his parousia.

The church will be with Jesus for the full seven years of the tribulation periodall Christians in resurrection bodies like that of their Lord, in bodies capable of time and space travel. At the end of the seven year tribulation both Jesus and his church will make an open public appearance. The scriptures of First Thessalonians 4 and 5 are familiar to most Christians as a description of the so-called "rapture of the church. However, as we have seen, God has not given us the date and He has forbidden us to attempt to set or predict this date "which the Father has fixed by his own authority.

But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. Three specific events take place at the time Jesus calls his church out of the world: For the Lord himself will descend from heaven a with a cry of command, b with the archangel's call, c and with the sound of the trumpet of God.

In John Chapter 5, Jesus spoke of the coming day when the dead would rise in two separate resurrections, at his command:. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself, and has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment.

He is Michael whose specific jurisdiction is over the people of Israel. At the time of the rapture the archangel will signal to Israel that God has returned the focus of his attention at last to the final redemption of his chosen nation. This event was spoken of by Daniel:. At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time; but at that time your people shall be delivered, every one whose name shall be found written in the book.

And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. This is described also in 1 Corinthians 15,.

I tell you this, brethren: I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep die , but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and first the dead will be raised imperishable, and then we living saints on earth at the time shall be changed. For this perishable nature must put on the imperishable 2 Cor.

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: O death, where is thy sting? But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. When an individual dies he or she leaves time and enters eternity, immediately time-traveling "in a moment in the twinkling of an eye" to arrive at the rapture the next instant in his or her personal experience.

Therefore, all believers arrive in heaven at the same "time. Prayer to Mary or St. Jude is therefore pointlessfor more than one reason. The Bible does not teach an intermediate state such as Limbo or Purgatory or temporary holding cells under the earth. Paul continues his description of the coming of the Lord for his saints, that is the parousia:.

And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up Greek: Therefore comfort one another with these words. But as to the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When people say, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as travail comes upon a woman with child, and there will be no escape.

But you are not in darkness, brethren, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all sons of light and sons of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness.

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So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But, since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we wake or sleep we might live with him.

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. When Jesus sent out his disciples to visit all the cities, towns and villages of Israel as recorded in Matthew 10 he added a strange comment, " But he who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel, before the Son of man comes. Since we know from history that the original twelve did not complete their task, and the Lord Jesus has not yet returned, evidently the work of evangelizing Israel is not finished even now.

Leaping over two thousand years of intervening time, Jesus seems to be telling us that the work of the disciples will be taken up again at the end of the age. This time he will select not 12, but 12 times 12 times faithful witnesses. Once again Jesus will be with these disciples, training them and leading them. In His resurrection body he will appear among them, spend time with them and then disappear again for a season. The selection of , Jews from the tribes of Israel to take up the cause of world evangelism during the tribulation period is described in Revelation 7: They are very successful in their efforts as a great multitude of their converts these so-called "tribulation saints" are described for us in Revelation 7: Then I saw another angel ascend from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!

Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God for ever and ever! Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night within his temple; and he who sits upon the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. The , are young, unmarried Jews who must come to know their Messiah, equip themselves and accomplish their vigorous and dangerous would wide evangelism program all in the space of 3.

In Christian experience, spiritually growing and equipping a competent evangelist is ordinarily the work of many years of training and schooling and mentoring and working. The case of the apostle Paul is the one notable exception to the selection and training of a disciple by Jesus. Ray Stedman commenting on Revelation Chapter 7 Ref.

It is strongly suggested here that Michael, the great archangel, is responsible for opening the eyes of certain Jews living in Judea at the time of the departure of the church, and that they will then recognize the Lord Jesus as their true Messiah and become believers in him. We may link this passage with one in Revelation chapter 7: There the apostle John says:.

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Then I saw another angel[Here is a great angel who undertakes a specific task connected with Israel He is not called an archangel, though he well might be Michael]ascend from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, 'Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads.

These , will clearly be Jews, for the passage goes on to list the twelve tribes of Israel and to declare that 12, are chosen from each of the tribes. Further information is given us concerning this special group in Revelation Then I looked, and lo, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, Jesus and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. And they sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders No one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from the earth.

It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are chaste; It Is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes; these have been redeemed from mankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are spotless. The same chapter goes on to describe the Great Tribulation as "the hour of his [God's] judgment.

This is a specific location within the city limits of Jerusalem. This account confirms the fact that Jesus Christ will be on earth during this time, and will reveal himself from time to time these Jewish disciples, just as he appeared from time to time to his followers during those remarkable forty days following his resurrection.

Evidently these , Jews are to be turned from unbelief to belief much in the same dramatic way as was the apostle Paul. He was converted on the road to Damascus by the sudden appearance of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. Paul speaks of himself, in 1 Corinthians 15, as "one untimely born," very likely thinking of himself as properly belonging to this special band of Jewish believers, but who, by the grace of God, was born ahead of time and given the privilege of belonging to the church.

Since these , Jews are in frequent touch with the risen Lord they will be like so many Pauls, proclaiming the eternal gospel in mighty Spirit-given power throughout the whole earth during this time the Lawless One will be moving to consolidate his power and to present himself to the world as God. This appearance of Christ to the , is the beginning of the fulfillment of God's renewed activity with the Jews, long predicted by the Old Testament prophets. Paul also specifically says that despite the centuries of wandering following the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, God will not cast off his people.

He will call them back again and renew a relationship with them. In Romans 11 Paul warns that we Gentiles must never assume that God has totally and irrevocably set aside the nation of Israel, for all the promises which has made to them in the past will be fulfilled. Because of unbelief, Paul says, God scattered them around the earth and opened the door of blessing to all the nations of earth, without distinction. But the Gentiles, too, will fail God as did the Jews, and then they will be set aside and God will call Israel back into national blessing.

That is the work he will begin with the calling of the , Will anyone believe the message these , proclaim? If they do, of course, it will probably be at the risk of their lives, since the Lawless One will soon be in full control. The answer to that question is given by the apostle John in Revelation 7: After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches In their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, '"Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon toe throne, and to the Lamb!

This great multitude of Gentiles will be converted at the eleventh hour of history, evidently by believing the gospel preached by the , of Israel sent by the Son of God. Probably the greater part of this multitude will be martyred for their faith. In other parts of Revelation we are told that many will be put to death because they will not worship the Beast the Antichrist or his image. Though they will indeed be 'a great multitude' as John said, yet it is immediately evident that they will be different in one most remarkable way from the present day church.

Apparently they will not exercise the ministry of salt. They will have no softening or restraining effect upon the people around them nor on the society in which they will live. They will be the light of the world, of that day, exposing and thus condemning what goes on, but they will not be as salt as Christians are today, preventing corruption, restraining evil, resisting the work of injustice in society. They will live as individuals, facing, at the risk of their lives, a society dedicated completely to powerful delusion. As a consequence of the fact that there will be no salt at work in society, the dark menace of human arrogance and pride grows darker still.

Doubtless a mad science, like the Sorcerer's Apprentice, will go blithely on, mixing evil potions and conjuring up still more fearful forces of uncontrollable, murderous power The apostle Peter tells us that once before in the history of the world this has happened. There was a time when man, in arrogance and price, boasting of the civilization which he had built, quite unwittingly tripped the lever which held the world of his day in delicate balance. Before he knew what had happened, the clouds began to gather, the sky to darken, the heavens poured down floods of water, the earth heaved, the seas raised and swept across the mountain tops in monstrous waves, and all the world of man perished, except for eight souls who were safely preserved in an ark.

Once again, Jesus suggests, man in his clever insanity will go too far. The sign of it will be a world gone mad with self conceit, permitting and even encouraging its leaders to state publicly what almost everyone secretly believes: Then the deadly lever will be tripped by man's own hand, the dark forces of nature will be released, the seals of nuclear power will be removed, the trumpets of human cruelty will sound out, and the vials of a demented biology will be poured out upon the earth.

It is all described in detail in the book of Revelation. In the Olivet Discourse Jesus warned his disciples about the perils and dangers to faith that would characterize the entire age until his triumphant return in glory. Especially referring to the seven year tribulation period when he would be back on earth but invisible he said:.

Then if any one says to you, "Lo, here is the Christ" or "There he is," do not believe It. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, it possible, even the elect. Lo, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, 'Lo, he is in the wilderness,' do not go out; it they say, 'Lo, he is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of man.

10 Reasons the Church will not be in the Great Tribulation

Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together. Do not miss the time word with which Jesus opens this section, "Then if any one says to you," etc. During this terrible time of persecution and judgment the Lord Jesus will support and sustain his own by appearing to them frequently in a variety of places.

These appearances will certainly be made to the , in their world-wide ministry, and perhaps also to that "great multitude" of Gentile believers who will come out of the Great Tribulation. As a result of this rather unusual state of affairs rumors will apparently spread like wildfire that Jesus Christ is somewhere around. The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, "Where is he?

A little further on John says: Jesus then said, "I shall be with you a little longer, and then I go to him who sent me; you will seek me and you will not find me; where I am you cannot come. Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What does he mean by saying, 'You will seek me and you will not find me,' and, 'where I am you cannot come'"?

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To these Jews Jesus was nothing but a tub-thumping, rabble-rousing, troublemaker from Nazareth and they intended to put him to death as quickly as possible. Jesus knew this and knew that they would succeed in their plans. But now he puzzled them completely by telling them that after they had done their worst, they would look for him but would not be able to find him. That could have only been true during his forty-day post-resurrection ministry.

After he ascended into the heavens they did not look for him, for the disciples were then declaring throughout Jerusalem that he had gone to the Father.