Several things are bouncing around my head of late, one of them being the debate between pre-trib and pre-wrath. Now I understand some of you may not care nor believe in God and a future in heaven or hell. Much effort has been made to make us believe there is no hell. As Bishop Sheen wrote, God is I AM WHO I AM and satan has convinced a multitude he is who is not. So you think there is no hell? "Ay," says Mephistopheles, "think so still, till experience change thy mind."
Just had to work that into a blog so everyone thinks I'm deep and well read.
Below I post the Olivet Discourse for your reading pleasure. What I ask you pay close attention to is what Jesus says happens BEFORE Jesus says the angel will sound the trumpet and call up the living and the dead believers.
Matt. 24:4 (NKJV) ¶ And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you.
Matt. 24:5 (NKJV) For many will come in My name, saying, “I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
Matt. 24:6 (NKJV) And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Matt. 24:7 (NKJV) For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
Matt. 24:8 (NKJV) All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Matt. 24:9 (NKJV) ¶ “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.
Matt. 24:10 (NKJV) And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
Matt. 24:11 (NKJV) Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
Matt. 24:12 (NKJV) And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
Matt. 24:13 (NKJV) But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
Matt. 24:14 (NKJV) And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Matt. 24:15 (NKJV) ¶ “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand),
Matt. 24:16 (NKJV) “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
Matt. 24:17 (NKJV) Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.
Matt. 24:18 (NKJV) And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.
Matt. 24:19 (NKJV) But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!
Matt. 24:20 (NKJV) And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.
Matt. 24:21 (NKJV) 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.
Matt. 24:22 (NKJV) And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
Matt. 24:23 (NKJV) ¶ “Then if anyone says to you, “Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it.
Matt. 24:24 (NKJV) For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
Matt. 24:25 (NKJV) See, I have told you beforehand.
Matt. 24:26 (NKJV) ¶ “Therefore if they say to you, “Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it.
Matt. 24:27 (NKJV) For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Matt. 24:28 (NKJV) For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
Matt. 24:29 (NKJV) ¶ “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Matt. 24:30 (NKJV) 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.
Matt. 24:31 (NKJV) 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.
So why is this important? If you are pre trib and right, there is no problem. If you are pre wrath and wrong, no problem. But if you are pretrib and wrong, believers will be going thru everything they were told they would not have to go thru and millions will be lost. Prewrathers will be prepared to understand they will go thru these things.
Secondly, notice what Jesus is telling them. If Christians were to be zapped up beforehand, why would He be explaining pestilence, famine, and such as signs? If you won't be here, they won't be signs.
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake." Deliver who? Jesus is telling believers they will be executed for their belief in Him. That is not pre trib, ladies and gentlemen, that is going thru the tribulation. If you read what Jesus describes, then read the opening of the seals in Revelation, you will see the correlation; each seal represents something Jesus says in the Olivet Discourse.
Rev. 6:1 (NKJV) Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.”
Rev. 6:2 (NKJV) And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.
Rev. 6:3 (NKJV) ¶ When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.”
Rev. 6:4 (NKJV) Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.
Rev. 6:5 (NKJV) ¶ When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.
Rev. 6:6 (NKJV) And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”
Rev. 6:7 (NKJV) ¶ When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.”
Rev. 6:8 (NKJV) So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.
Rev. 6:9 (NKJV) ¶ 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.
Rev. 6:10 (NKJV) And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
Rev. 6:11 (NKJV) Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.
Rev. 6:12 (NKJV) ¶ I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.
Rev. 6:13 (NKJV) And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.
Rev. 6:14 (NKJV) Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.
So what I read is the Olivet Discourse describing the signs according to our Messiah and then our Messiah opening seals that produce what he described as the signs. I think the pre tribulation position is wishful thinking on the part of many. I don't think I'll be moving forward assuming pretrib, just as I don't assume anything on judgement day. That is another thing the bugs me, is the automatic assumption of Jesus stepping forward when there are numerous examples in the NT of him making reference to "I knew you not".
But, that is another conversation. Disagree with what I wrote? I'd like to hear from you. I'm pondering this in my head, which is a problem since I have about 40 days to finish my class on attributes and creation and this problem has nothing to do with that class, test, and paper. Bad timing on my part.
Someday I'll be a farmer, working the land
I wish I was a farmer, to work with my hands
'Cause it's been too long a ride, too high the fare
Well, I built and climbed a mountain
But it wasn't there
It isn't there, dum ta dum
It isn't here, it isn't there, nor anywhere
I'm gonna pick an apple right from the tree
I'm gonna eat the apple 'cause it grew there for me
And it's been to long a ride, too high the fare
Well, I built and climbed a mountain
But it wasn't there
And I been lookin' all around, looked everywhere
To build and climb a mountain if it isn't there
It isn't there, dum ta dum
It isn't here, it isn't there, nor anywhere
I wish I was a farmer, to work with my hands
'Cause it's been too long a ride, too high the fare
Well, I built and climbed a mountain
But it wasn't there
It isn't there, dum ta dum
It isn't here, it isn't there, nor anywhere
I'm gonna pick an apple right from the tree
I'm gonna eat the apple 'cause it grew there for me
And it's been to long a ride, too high the fare
Well, I built and climbed a mountain
But it wasn't there
And I been lookin' all around, looked everywhere
To build and climb a mountain if it isn't there
It isn't there, dum ta dum
It isn't here, it isn't there, nor anywhere
