“These words are faithful and true; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to his bond servants the things which must shortly take place. ‘And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book’” (Revelation 22:6-7 NAS).
“Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction” (2 Thessalonians 2:3 NAS).
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF APOSTACY?
Scripture tells us there will be three signs before those last seven years begin. God said a great falling away or departure or apostacy from truths the Church has followed and believed since the resurrection of Jesus—truths handed down from the beginning according to the words of Christ Jesus.
Today we see a falling away of enormous magnitude; a twisting of words like Isaiah and Jeremiah spoke of—a time when people call good evil, and evil good. Jude warned about “those who’ve crept in unnoticed among us…” And factions within the leadership of our own Southern Baptist Convention have joined other denominations casting out and distorting the truth of scripture.
The evening news leaves us aghast at the march of evil stampeding across America, but according to The Word it is going to become much worse. Why? Lawlessness. When? When the restrainer is taken away.
WHO OR WHAT RESTRAINS EVIL?
In conjunction, the second thing to understand is whatever or whoever restrains this man of lawlessness will be removed in order for Satan to earn his full reward.
But is the restrainer still at work today? Yes, even now some of the churches in America, in China, and other parts of the world, are standing firm in the Word.
THINK WITH ME—WHAT HAPPENED AT PENTECOST?
“And gathering them together, He commanded them “not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, ‘Which,’ He said, ‘you heard from Me; for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now’” (Acts 1:4-6 NAS).
“And Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call to Himself’” (Acts 2:38-39 NAS).
We see when the Holy Spirit was given. To whom was He given? To those who believed in and trusted what Jesus did at Calvary to save them. The Holy Spirit was given to those believers…to the Church. Given to the heart and mind of each believer. He is God’s down payment or His promise of our future salvation. There is only One! The Holy Spirit of God has been and is the restrainer of the evil one!
Now, do you believe for one-second God would rip His promise, His Spirit, His down-payment out of the hearts of His children, leaving us to face Anti-Christ, the Beast, and the False Prophet alone? Absolutely not…when the Holy Spirit departs, He will take the true Church (all believers) with Him! Scripture has verified this fact.
Again, remember what Jesus said about adding to or taking away from His Word. There are consequences—like the inability to discern truth when you choose to reject His Truth.
As a brief side-note, is there historical biblical proof of people being caught up to be with God before they physically died? Absolutely…four of them mentioned in the Word. Can you name them?
“Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, 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 the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed (those who are still here on earth). For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:51-53 NAS).
As you look back through Old Testament history, when did the trumpet sound for God’s people?
1. Warning God’s people to break camp and move
2. Calling God’s people to the tent of meeting to worship
3. A call to battle
4. Warning them of coming danger
Scripture says this will be the last time this trumpet will sound. We will never have to break camp again. We will be in the presence of God the Father and His Son, our King, Jesus Christ. There is only one battle left. No fear. We will be with our Commander and Chief—”King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.”
THE BEST COMMENTARY OF SCRIPTURE IS SCRIPTURE:
“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him (Jesus) those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. 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 our Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NAS).
The Greek word “caught up” or “snatched up” means to seize, catch (away, up), pluck, pull, take (by force) that word is harpazo. This Greek word translates to the Latin Vulgate as “rapturo” from which we get the English word “rapture.”
At the sound of this last trumpet and the archangel shouts, Jesus comes for His bride and we will meet Him in the clouds. He doesn’t return to earth…YET!
THE MAN OF LAWLESSNESS REVEALED:
Then this man of lawlessness himself will be revealed, marking the beginning of Daniel’s 70th week. God’s escalating wrath will be poured out on a world gone rogue for the seven final years of this age. No doubt he will bring short-lived peace and a temporary brightness…you know why…what you want to believe, because the truth is too horrifying to deal with. But through escalating throngs of demonic evil—you can see—you can feel. But most of those left behind will be unable to see truth because of the deluding spirit God will send upon those who’ve rejected Him.
Can people accept Jesus and be saved during this terrifying period of Tribulation? Absolutely, but they must refuse to take the Mark of the Beast, which refusal will lead to their beheading.
But remember, if a person takes the Mark of the Beast in his forehead or on his hand, there will instantly be eternal separation from Christ—No do-overs!
As God pours out the fullness of His wrath on mankind, through Seals, Trumpet and Bowl judgments, men and women will curse Him. Is it any wonder God is angry? His Son went to the cross to pay for the sins of ALL mankind; but these men and women will thumb their noses at His Son and our Savior—they will reject God’s mercy and curse His name. It’s all written in the Book of Revelation.
THE HERE AND NOW:
For years we’ve watched men, women, and young people thumb their noses at law and order, commit heinous crimes, curse God, and the Lord Jesus Christ. And Satan has boldly upped the ante. This week Bible burning has been added by this enemy of God. We’ve watched members of Congress lie and pitch their support with the perpetrators of evil as they attempt to overthrow our Republic and shred our Constitution. Could it be Daniel’s 70th week is about to begin?
Are you listening for that last trumpet blast and the shout of God’s archangel? If it’s in accord with Jewish wedding customs, perhaps the angel will shout “BEHOLD THE BRIDEGROOM COMETH!”
Are you longing to be part of that great transformation in the skies? Are you living to be clothed in wedding garments furnished by your King according to your works; as we all gather for that long-awaited marriage supper of the Lamb of God to His bride?
“And the Lord utters His voice before His army; surely His camp is very great, for strong is he who carries out His word. The day of the Lord is indeed great and very awesome, and who can endure it? Yet even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘Return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping, and mourning; and rend your heart and not your garments. Now return to the Lord your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil’ ” (Joel 2:11-12 NAS).
Then and only then can the Church return with King Jesus when the skies split and roll back like a scroll—members of His royal Court—dressed in fine linen—following Him as the sword from His mouth renders appropriate judgment to all who’ve rejected His Word, His Name, and His great gift of love and salvation.
Or will you be among those who have chosen to remain for the worse-than-horrid seven years…alone…on your own? Now is the time to reconsider, before the trumpet and the angel break the silence of that night’s sleep—when dawn will reveal the tragic, warned-about-reality of God’s truth to those left behind.
“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end…I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star.
And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost” (Revelation 22:12-13, 16-17 NAS).
Next week in this series:
WHAT ABOUT ISRAEL? WHERE ARE THEY DURING THESE SEVEN YEARS?
AND WHAT DID GOD SHOW YOU IN REVELATION 5? ANSWER TO THE FOUR MEN CAUGHT UP: ENOCH, ELIJAH, JESUS, AND PAUL!
DiANE N. GATES
http://www.amazon.com/DiAne-Gates/e/B01MXYR4AS
Amen! Come quickly Lord Jesus!
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Amen! Wonderful series, DiAne. I agree, we are nearing meeting Jesus in the clouds. The call of salvation is going forth to the four corners of the earth. It’s time to repent, fast, and pray to ready ourselves to meet our Groom. The Tribulation is not for God’s children, but it’s to punish the wicked. It’s God’s war against Satan—the war of the ages that Christ will win at Armageddon at His second coming. This Age of Grace is the time to run to the cross and receive salvation. It’s the easy time to be saved. But during the Tribulation? It will cost you your head.
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I always believed (by reading scripture) that when the rapture occurs and all the saints are taken, the Holy Spirit goes with us. That means during the Tribulation there will be nothing to convict the hearts of the unbelievers. The Holy Spirit will not be here. The Holy Spirit is what convicts people that they need salvation and draws them toward Jesus. If the Holy Spirit is not here, there is no conviction or drawing to. This is why we are to be reaching people now, before the rapture.
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Ah, but God provided an answer to us about that after the seal judgments… in the 7th Chapter of Revelation where we see in the 3rd verse an angel ascending from the rising of the sun having the seal of the living God…he cried out to the 4 angels standing at the four corners of the earth holding back the winds…”Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.” One hundred forty-four thousand men from every tribe of Israel who will carry the message of the gospel during this time on the earth. We see them again in Chapter 14 where these witnesses are standing with the Lamb on Mount Zion. Then God has also sent the two witnesses to Jerusalem where they will prophesy 1260 days. This is found in the first part of Chapter 11. These two witnesses will prophesy and the whole world will watch. Just think, this is the first time in the history of the world where what’s going on in Jerusalem can be watched in real time by the whole earth. Satan will not be able to touch these witnesses as God has given them power to devour their enemies and if anyone tries to harm them, they will be killed in the same manner. These two witnesses have the power to shut up the sky to prevent rain and to turn the water to blood and to smite the earth with plagues. Then God allows the beast that comes up out of the abyss to overcome and kill them. And CNN is going to have a party with worldwide viewing as these witnesses lay dead in the streets of Jerusalem for 3 1/2 days…then God breaths life back into these two witnesses as a loud voice from heaven says…”COME UP HERE” Wouldn’t you just love to be a fly on the wall and watch the reporters try to explain this away as these witnesses came back to life and went up into heaven in the cloud as the whole world watches. Oh yes, God is not going to leave this world without a witness of our Lord Jesus Christ and His great sacrifice for all who will believe. God’s mercy and grace, even in this terrible time of tribulation is still available to all who will believe. But the saddest thing to me is the mention in Chapter 16, verse 11…”and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds.” But please understand the depth and width of God’s enormous grace…and remember the Holy Spirit wasn’t given to abide in believers until Pentecost. During Old Testament days the Spirit of the Lord came and went in the lives of those who believed.
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Amen, DiAne. Isn’t it interesting that after the Church is raptured away, the ball of evangelism is passed back to the Jews. All 144,000 of them. And the two witnesses in Jerusalem will be the only two men on earth who have never died but were taken to heaven, tapped for their end-time assignment of evangelism. Wow how exciting to imagine what those days will be like!
Immediately following the Rapture will be those who are left who assumed they were saved. I think they will be the first ones to repent after they come out of shock that they were left behind. Hence, the new Underground Church will be born. If they can’t hide or survive until the Second Coming, they will be beheaded for their Christian faith and testimony. So yes, the Holy Spirit will still live in those who accept Jesus as Savior during the tribulation.
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But Karen The two witnesses did die and laid in the streets of Jerusalem for three and one-half days, but were resurrected like Jesus was. I’m not sure the Holy Spirit will be in those who will reside under the altar ’til whenever they are resurrected, because they won’t have their new bodies yet. As Pastor Jeffress explained there will be differences in times different ones receive their new bodies. Those who are raptured, dead and alive, will all be changed in a moment as we are caught up together with Him. Those who refuse to take the MOB and are beheaded remain under the altar and cry “how long, O Lord…” and they are told to “rest awhile”. The Old Testament saints will be in a different group…and we aren’t told a whole lot about all these. But I think when the Holy Spirit departs (restrainer is taken away) There is nothing to reference that He returns for those who are saved during the tribulation.
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And we don’t know who the two witnesses are. There is much speculation…some think Moses…if so…he died. I personally think maybe Enoch and Elijah…but God doesn’t give us a clue of their identity.
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I think you’re right about Enoch and Elijah because every person must either die or be raptured before the millennium. See Hebrews 9:27. And these two have been preserved by God to come and then die after 1260 days of witnessing in Jerusalem. Yes.
I think you are interpreting about the souls beheaded for the gospel differently than I see it. Those souls are in heaven waiting in a holy place, under the altar. (Of course the Holy Spirit doesn’t live in them bc they’re in heaven.)This includes any martyr who has been killed through the ages. They get their resurrected bodies during the millennium and must patiently wait until all the future martyrs join them. The end of martyrdom is at the Second Coming. These ones have a very special assignment during the millennium—they will serve God as priests and will reign with Him for 1000 years. See Revelation 20:4-6.
Revelation can get very confusing in places, but I think we’re basically on the same page. No one has all the answers, and that’s how God planned it. We know in part—but enough to get saved and miss the Tribulation! And to witness to the lost to be saved now, while it’s still the Age of Grace. That’s our most important assignment.
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