Q&A 18 - DEPARTURE OF THE SAINTS

Q - Do God's people live through the coming tribulation or are they raptured before the tribulation?

The experiences of ancient Israel were examples given by God for His people living at the close of time. Just as Israel was delivered from Egyptian bondage after the plagues, so God's church will be protected through the plagues and be delivered from the hand of the oppressor (I Corinthians 10:11; Psalm 91; 46).

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego entered the flames when they refused to yield to the universal death decree of Babylon's King. In those flames God miraculously delivered them. Their death-defying faith faced the flames (Daniel 3:16-28). He comes as a thief after the plagues (Revelation 16:15). What sense would it make to declare "Behold I come as a thief after six plagues are already poured out" if He had already come as a thief before they were poured out? Revelation 15:8 emphatically declares "No man can enter the (heavenly) Temple until the plagues are completed. II Thessalonians 2:1-3 makes it plain that the Anti Christ is revealed before Jesus comes and is destroyed by the brightness of His coming (II Thessalonians 2:8).

Does the Bible teach that the righteous receive their reward when they are raptured at the beginning of a seven-year tribulation but the unrighteous are destroyed at the end of the seven-year tribulation?

The parables of Jesus make it plain that the Second Coming of Jesus is a divine climatic event—men and women are either saved or lost. There is no seven-year period to reconsider our lives. Now is the day of salvation (II Corinthians 6:2). In Matthew 13:30. both wheat and tares (the righteous and wicked) grow together until the harvest. The righteous are saved and the unrighteous lost. In the parable of the unfaithful servant, there is no second chance. The unfaithful are lost when the Lord of the household comes unexpectedly (Matthew 24:44-51). In the parable of the sheep and goats, men and women are either saved or lost when Jesus comes (Matthew 25:31-46).

A - I heartily agree with most of what you just said except for the phrase "God's people" in the first premise. This lumps all Believers into one class, and I don't believe they are. Enoch walked with God, and Noah walked with God. They were BOTH God's people, yet he saved Enoch FROM the tribulation of the flood, but he brought Noah THROUGH the flood. Though they were both alive and were both God's people, God dealt with them separately and in different ways.

We are told in Luke 21:36 to pray always to be counted WORTHY to ESCAPE all the things which shall come upon the earth. This doesn't say to be brought through them (as with Noah), it says to ESCAPE them (as with Enoch).

evelation 3:10 says that some will be KEPT FROM (not BROUGHT THROUGH) the hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world. Luke indicates the necessity of worthiness in order to ESCAPE. Revelation 3:10 says being KEPT FROM the trials to come is a reward (crown) for those who have KEPT THE WORD OF HIS PATIENCE. Luke 8:15 indicates that some will hear the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. They will bear fruit 30, 60, and 100 fold. This would be the Philadelphian church of 3:10, and only those of this church are promised to be KEPT FROM the hour of temptation. They are found WORTHY (Luke 21:36).

The majority of the body of Christ today does not fall into that classification, and I'm afraid they will not be found worthy, because they have not kept the Word of His patience and born fruit. The Laodicean church of Revelation typifies a majority of our church today. Many Believers will still be left after the Enochs (First Fruits) "are not for God takes them". Some of those who are left will be Noahs and be brought through the tribulation and gathered into the garner after the tribulation is almost over. Many other Believers will not make it through this time of trouble, but will be martyred. God's people have always been grouped and dealt with in segments. He has two sticks, twelve tribes, seven churches, etc.

It is obvious that God doesn't have the same plans or reward system for the Laodicean church as he does for the Philadelphian church. Check out the number of times the word remnant occurs in Scripture, and you will find that he deals with remnants throughout the Old and New Testaments, treating them differently (for better OR for worse) than the majority of the people. Revelation 3:11 follows God's promise to His Revelation church, explaining that this escape is a reward (crown), and that man CAN TAKE IT FROM HIM. In other words, the thorns (concerns and materialism of man) of Luke 8:14 can choke out his fruitfullness, and strip him of his crown (reward), causing him to be left behind.

I believe He comes AS A THIEF twice around the time of Tribulation: once prior to the Tribulation to catch up His First Fruits remnant, and once toward the conclusion of the Tribulation to gather the balance of His body to stand before the Bema Judgment seat in the heavenlies. Then when He returns with his saints, it is NOT AS A THIEF, it is to hold the goats and sheep judgment here on earth for those who had not yet believed (the nations) per Matthew 25.

As for saved or "lost" or what time frame we have to achieve salvation, I believe many of the teachings of the church today are a bit contrived. That is a very lengthy subject which I have covered in our Nether Nuggets online book (http://nethernuggets.com/book/index.html) in the Going Home (http://nethernuggets.com/book/going_home.html) chapter, as well as others. Yes, today is the day of salvation. Currently, "today" is August 7, 2005, and many are being saved today. However, many were saved on August 6, 2005 as well, and I would venture to say that many will also be saved on August 8, 2005. Obviously, "today" is figurative here, and is not restrictive, or there would only have been one day in the entire scope of creation for salvation to have occurred and it would have occurred long before our time, excluding any potential for our salvation in this day and age. Just as there is flexibility within our day and dispensation, there may be more flexibility within God's plan for salvation than is seen by much of the church today. He is a merciful God, and very patient and long-suffering.