Post by Cindy on Jun 26, 2015 10:45:10 GMT -5
There are a number of reasons the Lord will remove us before the Tribulation starts. When you understand God's overall plan for everyone it makes plenty of sense. For one thing, up until Jesus rose again, everyone alive was living during the age of the law. The age of the law didn't "end", but it was interrupted at the point of when Jesus rose. From then through now has been the age of Grace or sometimes it's called the church age.
Jesus offered the Kingdom to the Jew's (what we call the Millennial Kingdom) but they refused it as the Lord knew they would. Hence He blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts toward the gospel so that the Gospel could be taken to the gentiles. (the other sheep in his fold) When the last person that is going to be saved is finally saved, and the number of the gentiles has been fulfilled, then the age of Grace will be over and the Lord will once again put His full focus on the Jews and the age of the law will take up from where it left off.
So one reason the Lord removes all of his Church, those who have truly been saved is because the church age is finished, done, over. Now it's time for Him to get back to dealing with Israel and fulfilling all the prophecies that are left. So the age of the law will once more be in affect from the time of the rapture until the end of the Tribulation.
The purpose of the Tribulation is to discipline Israel for their broken covenant with Him-for their sins, and to bring her to salvation just as He promised He would. (Ezekiel 11:19) These are the years spoken of in many of the Old testament books. The end result will be the salvation of the remnant of Israel and the punishment of all the nations that have ever sinned by hurting Israel (the Jew's) in any way. Remember, God said that He would bless those who blessed Israel and curse those that cursed her. He meant that both for individuals as well as nations. You can read about this in many of the OT books too but especially Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
So there would be no purpose for God's Church to be here and if the church was still here it would cause the prophecies to be unfulfilled and that's simply not going to happen. The church age must end and the age of the Law must once again be in place. For the church age to end, we can't be here because we are the church.
The Lord never ever promised His followers that He would keep them from trials, tribulation, sorrow or even from giving up their lives for Him. Never! In fact He said the opposite. He said we would experience these things more then others. So the Lord isn't removing us from this earth to save us from trials etc. The Tribulation period isn't about "trials and tribulation" as we know it. The Tribulation will be His judgment on the world. It won't be about "discipline" or about the normal things that can happen to a follower of Christ, including losing their lives. This is all about judgment and punishment.
Those who are truly saved have had their sins judged already, on the cross with Jesus, so there is no reason for us to be under God's judgment or to be punished for our sins. Part of the problem today is because so many who are supposedly Christians aren't really saved at all. A real Christian is someone who's life has been changed from the inside out - not someone who's changed themselves by changing their habits, but someone who's heart has been changed by God and because of that, they live differently then they did before. Those few who were saved as children often wonder about that because they can't point to any significant "change" in their life. But that's because they're not looking in the right place. They see themselves as they are now instead of what they would have been like if they hadn't been saved. To see what they would have been like, they need to only look around at the vast majority of people in this world, or think back to the majority of unsaved children that were around them. Then they will be able to see how different they are then they would have been without the Lord giving them a new nature. Many people wrongly think today that all you have to do is "believe" and you'll be saved, so they hold onto their free ticket to heaven thinking they'll cash it in when they die, and in the meantime they continue to live as they always did. Sadly, they're very mistaken. For even Satan and demons "believe", and yet they aren't saved by any means! Salvation goes hand in hand with obedience to God, with living for Him instead of yourself and we can all see that's simply not true of the vast majority of people who claim to be christians these days. And because of that, and the false teachings that have caused it, it brings more confusion to people who are trying to understand the end times, rapture, tribulation and millennium.
These are not "easy" things to study and understand because of that and mainly because you really have to know and understand the entire bible to see the full picture of God's plan for the ages and for the different groups of people. Once you do though, you'll never be the same because it gives you a glimpse of just how awesome our God is. Just as the Lord planned for our salvation before He ever even created the earth, so He also planned for all of this to take place. It's truly amazing when you begin to understand it.
Matthew 24:21–22, For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
Isaiah 66:15–16, See, the Lord is coming with fire, and his chariots are like a whirlwind; he will bring down his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For with fire and with his sword the Lord will execute judgment upon all men, and many will be those slain by the Lord.
Jeremiah 30:7, How awful that day will be! None will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it.
Here are some verses to show what I was saying about the fullness of the Gentiles etc:
Matthew 21:42–44, Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “ ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”
Romans 11:11–12, Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!
Romans 11:25–27, I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”
Acts 15:13–18, When they finished, James spoke up: “Brothers, listen to me. Simon has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: “ ‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’ that have been known for ages.
Ezekiel 20:33–44
Jesus offered the Kingdom to the Jew's (what we call the Millennial Kingdom) but they refused it as the Lord knew they would. Hence He blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts toward the gospel so that the Gospel could be taken to the gentiles. (the other sheep in his fold) When the last person that is going to be saved is finally saved, and the number of the gentiles has been fulfilled, then the age of Grace will be over and the Lord will once again put His full focus on the Jews and the age of the law will take up from where it left off.
So one reason the Lord removes all of his Church, those who have truly been saved is because the church age is finished, done, over. Now it's time for Him to get back to dealing with Israel and fulfilling all the prophecies that are left. So the age of the law will once more be in affect from the time of the rapture until the end of the Tribulation.
The purpose of the Tribulation is to discipline Israel for their broken covenant with Him-for their sins, and to bring her to salvation just as He promised He would. (Ezekiel 11:19) These are the years spoken of in many of the Old testament books. The end result will be the salvation of the remnant of Israel and the punishment of all the nations that have ever sinned by hurting Israel (the Jew's) in any way. Remember, God said that He would bless those who blessed Israel and curse those that cursed her. He meant that both for individuals as well as nations. You can read about this in many of the OT books too but especially Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
So there would be no purpose for God's Church to be here and if the church was still here it would cause the prophecies to be unfulfilled and that's simply not going to happen. The church age must end and the age of the Law must once again be in place. For the church age to end, we can't be here because we are the church.
The Lord never ever promised His followers that He would keep them from trials, tribulation, sorrow or even from giving up their lives for Him. Never! In fact He said the opposite. He said we would experience these things more then others. So the Lord isn't removing us from this earth to save us from trials etc. The Tribulation period isn't about "trials and tribulation" as we know it. The Tribulation will be His judgment on the world. It won't be about "discipline" or about the normal things that can happen to a follower of Christ, including losing their lives. This is all about judgment and punishment.
Those who are truly saved have had their sins judged already, on the cross with Jesus, so there is no reason for us to be under God's judgment or to be punished for our sins. Part of the problem today is because so many who are supposedly Christians aren't really saved at all. A real Christian is someone who's life has been changed from the inside out - not someone who's changed themselves by changing their habits, but someone who's heart has been changed by God and because of that, they live differently then they did before. Those few who were saved as children often wonder about that because they can't point to any significant "change" in their life. But that's because they're not looking in the right place. They see themselves as they are now instead of what they would have been like if they hadn't been saved. To see what they would have been like, they need to only look around at the vast majority of people in this world, or think back to the majority of unsaved children that were around them. Then they will be able to see how different they are then they would have been without the Lord giving them a new nature. Many people wrongly think today that all you have to do is "believe" and you'll be saved, so they hold onto their free ticket to heaven thinking they'll cash it in when they die, and in the meantime they continue to live as they always did. Sadly, they're very mistaken. For even Satan and demons "believe", and yet they aren't saved by any means! Salvation goes hand in hand with obedience to God, with living for Him instead of yourself and we can all see that's simply not true of the vast majority of people who claim to be christians these days. And because of that, and the false teachings that have caused it, it brings more confusion to people who are trying to understand the end times, rapture, tribulation and millennium.
These are not "easy" things to study and understand because of that and mainly because you really have to know and understand the entire bible to see the full picture of God's plan for the ages and for the different groups of people. Once you do though, you'll never be the same because it gives you a glimpse of just how awesome our God is. Just as the Lord planned for our salvation before He ever even created the earth, so He also planned for all of this to take place. It's truly amazing when you begin to understand it.
Matthew 24:21–22, For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
Isaiah 66:15–16, See, the Lord is coming with fire, and his chariots are like a whirlwind; he will bring down his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For with fire and with his sword the Lord will execute judgment upon all men, and many will be those slain by the Lord.
Jeremiah 30:7, How awful that day will be! None will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it.
Here are some verses to show what I was saying about the fullness of the Gentiles etc:
Matthew 21:42–44, Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “ ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”
Romans 11:11–12, Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!
Romans 11:25–27, I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”
Acts 15:13–18, When they finished, James spoke up: “Brothers, listen to me. Simon has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: “ ‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’ that have been known for ages.
Ezekiel 20:33–44