BE PREPARED!
A motivational article in view of the pre-wrath rapture.
Jesus taught his disciples the things concerning the kingdom of God.
This of necessity included the subject of His return to the earth in fulfillment
of the OT Day of the LORD prophecies as well as the signs of the end of
the age.
1. He taught the FACT of His return.
2. He taught about events preceding His return.
3. He taught about the physical signs preceding His return.
4. And a little bit about what would happen after His return.
The disciples as the seed pod for the church of Christ, were taught information
pertinent to them; and through them, as representatives of the church,
information pertinent to the whole church.
The church therefore received as its heritage the teachings of Jesus to
the disciples. And as its heritage, those teachings are pertinent to the
church and applicable to the church just as if they had been directly taught
to each member.
The significance of this is seen when we discuss the Olivet Discourse.
What Jesus taught the disciples was pertinent to them and applicable to
them as representatives of the church, and through them, it was pertinent
to and applicable to the church as a whole.
So what we see in that passage is the history of the church, as taught
with the disciples in mind and through them, with the whole church in mind.
And that the history of the church is viewed without interruption until
the tribulation of those days is cut short by the Day of the LORD arrival
of Jesus and the angels of God are sent forth to gather His elect from
the four winds of heaven.
The eleven disciples and Paul, as the 12 apostles of the lamb, were then
used by God to pass on this heritage of doctrine to the church and to add
to it as the Holy Spirit provided amplification. And in the amplification
of that eschatological heritage we have only clear confirmation that the
history of the church will progress without interruption into and to the
end of that great oppression of the antichrist and be raptured out from
this world at the Day of the LORD, when God the Father will pour out His
wrath and the wrath of the Lamb upon the kingdom of the beast and upon
the unbelievers of the whole world. Luke 21.28
But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and
lift up your head, because your redemption is drawing near.
Some people say that an understanding of prophecy and the rapture is not
important. Let me adamantly disagree. If the Lord shall return for His
church before that 7 year period of time known in the bible as the 70th
week of Daniel or indeed prior to that oppressive reign of antichrist known
as the great tribulation, then the church can continue about its business
with little concern about the awesome suffering and oppression that will
occur on the earth when they are gone.
Christians can continue in their apathy and indifference to spiritual values
and continue to live in misery, frustration and stress during the time
of their stay here on the earth. For the sad reality of it all is, that
most Christians are indeed, living a life far removed from the quality
of life of peace and joy that Jesus promised us.
HOWEVER, if Christ shall return at the end of the great tribulation as
He said He would in Matthew 24, then it should be clear to most, that the
church is ill-prepared to face the nature of that persecution which will
come upon them from the oppressive reign of the antichrist.
It is one thing for Christians, here in America, to be living with an abundance
of material possessions and still be miserable and frustrated with life.
But it is quite another thing to face the economic controls of the beast
which will place all Christians in a category worse than the homeless,
being unable to conduct ANY financial transactions without the mark of
the beast.
It is then that the reality of their inner misery will be open and made
clear to them for they will no longer have the possessions of this life
to hide in as an escape from the emptiness in their soul. And they will
be unable to take the mark of the beast in an attempt to alleviate those
economic woes, for God will not allow any of His children to accept that
mark once they have trusted in Christ as savior.
Thus, their life will be one of wandering or martyrdom or death by divine
discipline. And if it is a life of wandering, the believer needs to be
prepared with bible truth in his soul. God's word in the soul is the only
thing that can provide true peace and joy now as well as during the time
of oppression.
But preparation must be accomplished NOW; before the time of oppression
arrives, for then it will be too late to stock pile the truth in your soul.
We are exhorted to redeem the time because the days are evil. This is a
plea to learn what the will of the Lord is and saturate our souls with
truth. God's system for doing this is through a pastor-teacher in a local
church. And it is within this context that the writer of Hebrews exhorts
us to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of
some us, but we are to be encouraging one another and to a much greater
degree as we see the DAY approaching. We should follow the example of Moses
that we find at Psalm 90:12, So teach us to assign our days so that we
might gain a heart of wisdom.
The urgency for spiritual growth - growth in grace and knowledge is pressed
upon us NOW. There will come a time when such growth will be difficult
to experience, "for a famine is coming upon the whole land - not a
famine for bread or thirst for water, but rather for hearing the words
of the LORD. And the people will stagger from sea to sea, and from the
north even to the east; they will go to and fro to seek the word of the
LORD, but they will not find it. In that day, the beautiful maidens and
the young men will faint from THIRST." (Amos 8.11-13) They will weaken
and faint from "spiritual" thirst, because of a hunger and need
for the word of God in the soul, but they will find no strength - either
within themselves to be at peace or to be a testimony for the truth of
the gospel to the many unbelievers who will be faced with the decision
to take the mark of the beast or not.
The issue then for a proper understanding of the prophetic program as God
has revealed it to us in His word is the issue of preparation. Christians
know so little about God and about His word, the bible. And their quality
of life is an inferior quality of life in comparison to the abundant life
of peace and joy that Jesus promised us. But what will happen when the
crisis is upon them and they are not prepared to deal with it? Then the
experience of Proverbs 1:24-29 will be a sad reality for the vast majority
of Christians even as it is in fact a very present reality for so many
today.
"Because I called, and you refused; I stretched out my hand,
and no one paid attention; And you neglected all my counsel,
and did not want my reproof; I will even laugh at your calamity; I will
mock when your dread comes; When your dread comes like a storm, and your
calamity comes on like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come on you.
Then they will call on me, but I will not answer (remember the famine);
they will seek me diligently, but they shall not find me, because they
hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD. They would not
accept my counsel, they spurned all my reproof. So they shall eat of the
fruit of their own way, and be filled up with their own solutions."
"You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard,
lest being carried away by the error of unprincipled men, you fall from
your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and the knowledge of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him - the glory both now and to the day
of eternity. Amen."
2 Peter 3.17-18
Only through proper spiritual preparation
will the Christian who chooses to stand up for Christ as a witness in the face
of persecution be able to endure the persecution and face death with peace and
joy.
1 Peter 4:12-14,19
"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon
you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;
13 but
to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so
that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.
14 If
you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of
glory and of God rests on you."
Verse 19
"Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust
their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right."
PHYSICAL PREPARATION
If
indeed the persecution of the beast reaches to us in the
USA,
for Christians, there will be ABSOLUTELY no participation in ANY economic
activity. Christians will become the true homeless and destitute. It will be
as Jesus indicated for those in
Judea
. . .
GET
OUT OF TOWN as fast as you can. Forget your homes and your cars. Actually,
silver and gold MIGHT be useful for acquiring necessity items – even from
those who have the mark.
PLAN
for living as scavengers in the cities or roughing it in the woods as
campers.
So for physical preparation, gain a “camping” mentality and gather tools and
equipment to sustain that life style.
But let me suggest that this is for those who have children to protect and
care for. For single people and childless couples, the mentality should be
for SERVICE. We are left here on earth to be ambassadors for Christ, and the
experience of the tribulation does not change that. Thus for those who
choose to proclaim the gospel in the midst of the persecution, “let those
who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful
Creator in doing what is right.” 1 Peter 4:19
