True Eschatology, 12/29/14

God has a glorious plan for his children in the last days, one full of the glory of the greatest miracles in history of the earth and total victory over all sin, sickness, and death. It involves the greatest ever harvest of souls, Revelation of the Sons of God and a great war against evil where the fierce Warrior Bride of Christ crushes head of the enemy:

Daniel 11:32

Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.

So we know this will happen in the future but right now the enemy has attacked the church’s vision of the last days, resulting in various forms of Unbiblical Eschatology and many christians don’t even want to be here to take part in the most glorious time ever up to this time. We need to embrace the overcoming fearless and devil-stomping attitude of Surviving The Tribulation that will get us victoriously through the times of greatest trial in the history of the earth:

Mark 13:19

For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be.

Is there an area of such controversy in the body of Christ is the question eschatology? Some teachers have a very confused view of Eschatology. There is much debate on when in the prophetic timetable does the rapture occur. The word “rapture“ does not appear in the scripture specifically but it is applicable to true scriptural concepts so we will use it too. Scripture is clear on the point of the timing of the rapture we will simply look at what it clearly says but many try to twist the scripture to say something it clearly does not say if one looks at all of the scripture in context. The answer is Post-Tribulation. The simplest and most succinct statement that makes clear that the rapture happens at the end of the great tribulation is in Matthew 24. The earlier parts of the chapter prophesy the last days and into the tribulation and then the Lord very clearly says that it comes AFTER:

Matthew 24:29-31 New King James Version (NKJV)

The Coming of the Son Of Man

29 “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. 30 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. 31 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.

This is upheld by the order of things prophesied in Luke 21 although there the word "AFTER" does not appear as it so convienently is used here.

This is an obvious answer to the question but nevertheless many refuse to submit to the simple truth of it and they make arguments from other parts of scripture to argue mostly that the rapture happens before the tribulation. This is a popular view(a bad sign) and very tempting to the flesh as it tells one that one will never have to face the difficulties of the tribulation period because he will be whisked away to glory and protected from it all. This in fact a lie straight from the pit of hell and a very dangerous thing to believe. It is rife with a profound lack of understanding about the ways of God and his plan to raise up a spotless bride for the Lamb and sons who are brothers to Jesus:

Ephesians 5:27

that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

Romans 8:29 New King James Version (NKJV)

29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Let’s look at some reasons why we should not believe this escapist theology called Pre-Trib.

First, I respectfully challenge anyone who believes Pre-Trib to ask himself if God ever told them that directly or if they were taught it by men. I guarantee you all, if they are being honest and can accurately discern the voice of God, they will answer that they were taught it by men. That is because this teaching did not come from the Holy Spirit but it actually came from the enemy and is passed on through men and will never be spoken to us by the Spirit. The fact that no one can honestly testify that God told it to them is one of the evidences that it is false teaching. If it were true then many would hear it by the Spirit as well since no prophecy is subject to private interpretation:

2 Peter 1:20

knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,

The fact that this belief if only spread by teaching proves that the Spirit is not in it.

The Pre-Trib view is, basically, that at the beginning of the tribulation period, the rapture will occur and the Holy Spirit will be removed from earth and after that all the church will view the period from heaven. Most of the time the view includes the idea that some who missed it and are ‘left behind’ will turn to God during that time. But the fact is that one of God’s purposes for the tribulation period is to accomplish great refining in the church and raise up a spotless bride for Jesus. There are plenty of other scriptures that point to this:

How else do you explain passages like this?:

Revelation 7:14

And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

‘Pre-Tribbers' are choosing to believe a theology that takes them off the earth and they miss out of becoming more like Jesus and they wind up getting beat out for a position in heaven by someone who was 'left behind.' Is that really a bargain? Well, it is if you are faithless, lazy or cowardly. This passage of scripture also very clearly proves that the Holy Spirit will be here on earth throughout the great tribulation because we all know that saints cannot be perfected this way without the work of the Holy Spirit. But Pre-tribbers believe that the Holy Spirit will withdraw from earth and no longer be here when the pre-trib rapture they believe in occurs. The scripture generally used falsely to uphold this idea is:

2 Thessalonians 2:7 New King James Version (NKJV)

7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.

Pre-Tribbers claim that the "HE" refers to is the Holy Spirit and that he will be removed from earth. But this passage does not refer to the Holy Spirit at all but to the archangel Michael, a chief prince, the prince who watches over Israel:

Daniel 12:1

“At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people.

It is Michael and the warring host under his command that do the restraining against the forces that come against Israel, both natural and supernatural. If Pre-Tribbers were right that the Holy Spirit were removed then the Revelation 7:14 passage could never happen. The conclusion then is obvious, Pre-Trib is a deception.

Persecution and suffering for Christ has always been God's way of raising up mature sons of God, why would he stop doing that now when he is trying to build spotless bride? He wouldn't. To all who have believed Pre-Trib in the past I say, bless your heart, but you have been beguiled by teachers who are teaching a lie. Please put it before the Lord in prayer and ask him to clarify it for you. Pre-Trib will only keep you weak and unprepared by telling you that you are a part of that special first generation of christians in history who does not have to stand up for Jesus and face serious persecution. Why would anyone want a gospel that results in weenies who never endure anything of the cross? The REAL gospel teaches that Jesus returns for a fierce Warrior Bride that overcomes all the trials of the tribulation. The doctrine Pre-Tribbers believe makes him want to puke. He is only wants marry OVERCOMERS:

Revelation 2:7

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”’

Revelation 2:11

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”’

Revelation 2:17

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”’

Revelation 2:26

And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—

Revelation 3:5

He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

Jesus is not interested in marrying believers who are looking for a way to escape the most amazing times in the history of earth and the greatest outpouring of his glory ever. Pre-trib theology is faithless and totally lacking in the faith that he can carry us through the darkest of times. It is a belief that is disrespectful of his ability to do so. If we love him, we will offer ourselves to him to be one of his overcomers not one of the many escapists who are looking for a free ride and have no guts to suffer with him.

Challenge yourself with this question:

Most Pre-Tribbers believe that there will be some getting saved during the tribulation like the ‘Left Behind’ book series. But how can that possibly happen if the Holy Spirit has been removed from earth? It can't, no one ever has or ever will be saved, much less perfected, without the work of the Holy Spirit. Pre-trib just doesn't hold water, I hope anyone who has believed it will free yourself of this dangerous deception and choose to become an overcomer.

We know that there will be believers on earth during those years:

Revelation 13:7

It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome [some of] them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.

How can there believers here but no Holy Spirit with them because he is no longer on earth? Impossible. Pre-trib is totally unbiblical. If you have believed it then repent and be free!!

Pre -Trib is profoundly faithless in its escapist mindset. It is totally lacking in the faith that God is big enough to protect and prosper his children through the fearsome things that will come upon the earth in the period. But the scripture is abundantly clear that God is more than capable and eager to provide Supernatural Protection For The Obedient to him. Perhaps the most beautiful and dramatic account of this in scripture is that of the Israelite youths in Babylon:

Daniel 3:19-29New King James Version (NKJV)

19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 22 Therefore, because the king’s command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”

They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”

25 “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”[a]

Nebuchadnezzar Praises God

26 Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. 27 And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.

28 Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel[b] and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! 29 Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this.”

The idea that the church needs to be away from the earth to be safe in the tribulation is totally faithless and disrespectful of the truth about what God can do supernaturally. GOD IS GOD!!! He can preserve our lives(or anything else he wants to preserve) through being at ground zero of a nuclear explosion or being sent to the center of the sun or being caught in a supernova!! HE IS GOD!! He MADE the sun with the words of his mouth!! Supernova’s are NOTHING to him!!! These things are miniscule problems to him if we truly believe. But many do not truly believe, that is part of the problem with how deceptions like Pre-Trib get into the church.

Pre-Trib also totally lacks the understanding that God wants the church here on the earth so we can reclaim this planet for God and give it back to Jesus as he returns. It is the mandate of the church to take over the world. We see this as a type in the Old Testament:

Genesis 13:17

Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.”

And upheld and advanced by the Lord himself in the New Testament:

Acts 1:8

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Are we really so faithless that we don’t believe that God can use us to take over his own earth? Why would we believe such a thing when he said he will give it to us?:

Psalm 37:11

But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

Matthew 5:5

Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.

We are called to be the meek are we not? Yes of course!! So, obviously God wants to give the earth to US!!!! This so that we can give it back to Jesus!! God is looking for OVERCOMERS, friends to him who want to overcome all the trials of the tribulation and standing victorious at the end of it having reclaimed the earth for him and presenting it to Jesus for him to return and receive it!!

The scripture makes it clear that we can do this. But we need to receive the revelation of what God is doing to raise up many more sons of God who walk like Jesus did when he was here. Scripture tells us clearly of the sons of God:

Hebrews 2:10 New King James Version (NKJV)

10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings

The sons of God are the very brothers of Jesus:

Romans 8:29 New King James Version (NKJV)

29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

And they will do even greater things than he did while he was here:

John 14:12 New King James Version (NKJV)

12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.

This is such a big deal in the plan of God that the entire universe is aching for it to happen:

Romans 8:19 New King James Version (NKJV)

19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.

Now, not every believer will allow God to make him mature enough to be called a son and scripture is not specific on how many sons there will be, but Hebrews 2:10 say the will be “MANY!”

So, shouldn't we believe that we can take the earth back for God with thousands maybe even millions of little Jesuses running around doing the work of the Kingdom!!? YES!! It is a cinch, we will surely prevail!! This is the true plan of God, not for us to not even want to be here! We need to get rid of deceptions like Pre-Trib and embrace the true plan of God for us and the earth in the last days, one of tremendous triumph and victory over ALL the powers of darkness!

We need to embrace an attitude of being eager to be used of the Lord to take on the darkness and be used of him to defeat it, just like Jesus did:

1 John 3:8

..For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

He wants a bride who will do it WITH HIM not one that wants to be wisked away to heaven while he does all the work by himself. What kind of a marriage is that? He wants a bride who is a PARTNER in what he does not a weak helpless waif who needs him to do everything for her!! Honest to Pete, why anyone would want Pre-Trib escapism instead of the opportunity to be a part of the Glorious Overcoming Bride is totally beyond me!!!

So be encouraged to know that God has a great last days plan for those who will let him unfold it in our lives and please repent of Pre-Trib if you have believed within the past. Pre-Trib is a doctrine of demons that was designed by the enemy to lull christians into complacency and leave them vulnerable to falling way from the faith as will happen in these times:

2 Thessalonians 2:3

Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,

People who become invested in the Pre-Trib deception will abandon God when they learn that they don’t get to be wisked away to glory and miss out on all the difficulties of the tribulation that are intended to form Christ in us. But suffering for righteousness and enduring persecution is the only way to become like Jesus and become mature son:

Hebrews 2:10 New King James Version (NKJV)

10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings

If Jesus had to suffer to be perfected then so do we! Isn’t that what we want? YES!! The whole goal is to form Christ in us, the hope of Glory!?!:

Galatians 4:19

My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you,

Colossians 1:27

To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

YES!! Christ in you, the hope of glory!!!

And it will not come without suffering with him:

Romans 8:17 New King James Version (NKJV)

17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

So we need to adopt an eagerness to Suffer For Righteousness so we can be more like Jesus and stop trying to escape it all.

We need to have a biblical attitude toward persecution, that it is a BLESSING!!:

Matthew 5:10-12 New King James Version (NKJV)

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

This is an attitude that the early church understood and embraced:

Hebrews 11:35

Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.

This is the very opposite of the escapist attitude of the Pre-Trib lie that tempts the flesh which wants to avoid any suffering!!

No, the Bride will be here the whole of the Tribulation. It is only martyrs and those believers who refuse to let God form Christ in them through much persecutions who will not be here. The martyrs give their blood for Jesus in passing the ultimate test. But many do not this depth of character and they will die early and unnecessarily and they will go to live on the lowest level heaven(there are three) but they will forever have missed out on the opportunity to grow to be a fully-matured son of God. The sons of God however will serve in authority in the Kingdom and be close to throne of Jesus forever in eternity as he expands his government throughout the universe:

Isaiah 9:7

Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

The very best teaching and prophecy you will find on this is from a True Prophet Of God, from Australia named Neville Johnson and I freely admit to borrowing some from his material in parts of this message.

If you are not yet born again and in relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ then please pray this Prayer To Receive Eternal Salvation today and be saved. If you are already a believer but are not totally sold out to obedience to God where you are wiling to do anything for him, including suffer persecution for his name with rejoicing and gratitude according to Matthew 5:10-12 as we looked at earlier, then please pray this Prayer Of Consecration today and give him your everything. And if you are on fire for God and want to believe him with us for the taking of America for him and the destiny he has for our nation, please Cry Out to God For America with us.

God bless you.

-Steve Pursell, 12/29/14