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Not Yet 2 Thes 2:1-3 “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and [by] our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;” There are a great many today that believe the Lord will return any day now. It is true that we are commanded to be ready at all times for the return of the Lord. But reality tells us the return of the Lord will not take place until certain events come to pass. The scripture tells us to be ready because none of us knows when our last day on earth will be. That does not mean that Jesus will return at any given moment – not until the fullness of time. What we do need to understand and get focused on is that from now on until Jesus does return we must prepare for the tasks that await the installation of the Kingdom of God on the earth. Scripture clearly indicates in Jesus’ own words of Matthew 24 many things must take place before the end, as we know it. (Mat. 24:34) “Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” What generation? The generation of the church. Unless we erroneously believe two comings of the Lord, we must discard the concept of a secret rapture to save us from great tribulation. There is not one single verse in context that presents an escape from Antichrist and the great tribulation. Not one single verse. [A true teacher of the Word will not make a conclusion without the context being emphasized.] Most of the teachers I am associated with today are in agreement. Plus there are multitudes of others that agree but are afraid to speak out. WHY? Because the church is not prepared. Tribulation is the means by which we enter the Kingdom of God. Acts 14:22 (KJV) “Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.” This generation has been swamped with the idea of escape from trouble instead of standing to see the salvation of the Lord. Here is what we must come to understand in order to know His coming – the difference between tribulation and wrath. If tribulation is the way in which we enter the Kingdom of God, then wrath is the destruction of the wicked. Tribulation is judgment! So what we are really speaking about is the difference between divine judgment and divine wrath. (can you see?) Wrath destroys but judgment brings us to repentance. 1Thes 4:15 tells us “Until the coming of the Lord.” This is not a secret rapture. It is the day of the Lord, the time of the resurrection of the dead and the day of Wrath. Our mentality should come to the place where we speak of “the day of the Lord” instead of a “rapture.” This is solid scriptural grounding. While a rapture speaks of taking us away, the day of Lord speaks of His return to set up His Kingdom on earth. One is man-centered, while the other is God-centered. (1 Thes 5:1-2) Paul has not changed ideas from chapter 4 to chapter 5. He is continuing with the same thought. (2 Thes 1:6-7) Paul is saying that the saints who will be persecuted will be delivered, not by being taken away by a rapture, but by the coming of the Lord when He destroys Antichrist. NOTICE, it says, “This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven.” What will happen? God will give relief to those who are troubled. (Many are troubled today.) BACK TO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GREAT TRIBULATION & WRATH OF GOD: The tribulation period is a chastisement of the earth. Much good will come from this time of suffering. The primary good is that the true Christians will be separated from the confusion that is represented in the churches. The true Saints will be perfected in the Spirit until they are totally relying on their Beloved. They will be changed from a carnal to a spiritual state that will be required of all believers who are caught up to meet the Lord in the air. This means that tribulation is redemptive. We enter the Kingdom of God through much tribulation. Divine wrath is not redemptive. God has not appointed us to wrath. The day of wrath is when God wipes away and destroys evil from the earth. The holy will remain holy and the filthy will remain filthy. Tribulation scourges us to make us holy. Wrath only destroys. NOW LISTEN VERY CAREFULLY. We see this great tribulation is unprecedented in scope. BUT the suffering from it won’t be greater than the past, because we have already seen every conceivable evil in our day. They will simply be more of it. Many are already suffering and being persecuted – but not as many as will be in this day. But God will cut this time short for the sake of His elect. Those who think they will be spared because they are Christian in nature are already deceived and not preparing their hearts or lives. (Matt 24:23-28) Deception will increase, many will say during the great tribulation that the Lord has already returned – it will put fear in the people of God who do not know better. There has not been a coming of the Lord in 2000 years. There isn’t coming a secret one – this is it “immediately after the tribulation of those days.” Jesus says when we see these things that are the events we just spoke about, we know His return is imminent. The putting forth leaves is speaking about the signs in the heavens. When we see these things occur in the heavenlies we know He is coming. Now know this. What I just described was great tribulation. The Lord’s return! What happens next is the outpouring of God’s wrath. Tribulation will perfect us. The Lord wants us to prepare now. We have seen this in the past few years – it does not happen overnight. It may still be several years away – His return is not yet! (As so many of us have preached.) These are the greatest days of all. We have hope of becoming like Christ Jesus. The wise believer will make himself ready today. The foolish believer will wait until the last minute. In that day the righteous won’t be able to share what is being shared today – there won’t be enough to sustain others. We must walk before God in holiness, godliness and obedience to the Father. God will help us through it all if we but call upon the name of Jesus in time of need. Luke 21:36 (KJV) “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” HOW DO YOU FEEL RIGHT NOW? DOES IT MAKE SENSE? It brings hope to those who are struggling so much right now. -Pr. Steve July Newsletter 2004 | Not Yet | The Passion Within part 1 of 2 Pastor's Journal July 2003 | Vision for Revival | Impartation and Increase part 1 of 2 |
Biblical Counseling for Leaders
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