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America’s Fate During the Tribulation Period
Part 5: The Gospel After the Rapture
After the Rapture of the Church, with the believers safely in Heaven, the tribulation
period begins. Immediately after the Rapture, who is left here on earth? Left behind
here on earth will be non-believers. All the apostate and lukewarm churches, their
pastors and congregations with them. All the backsliding Christians will still be here.
And of course the antichrist. [And as you have heard that antichrist shall come] [1
John 2:18] If you manage to survive Ezekiel’s Great War, there will be salvation
after the Rapture of the Church. Again, we are going to cite references to this period
from the King James Version of scripture. Many millions of people will turn to Christ
during the tribulation period. So many in fact, that no man would be able to count
them. [After this I looked and saw, a great multitude, which no man can number,
of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne,
and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands. And
one of the elders asked me, who are these which are arrayed in white robes? And
where did they come from? And I said to him, sir, you know. And he said to me,
these are they which came out of Great Tribulation.] [Revelation 7:9,13,14] If
anyone tells you that there will only be 144,00 people that will enter heaven…Run!
During the last three and one-half years of the tribulation period many people will
have to be martyred to be saved, because the antichrist will require all people to
worship him as god, and all that worship him will be required to have the mark of the
beast on their hand or forehead. Any person who refuses to take the mark of the beast
will be put to death by the antichrist.
[And I heard a voice from Heaven saying to me, write blessed are the dead which
die in the Lord from henceforth. And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded
for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and which had not
worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon
their foreheads, or in their hands, and they lived and reigned with Christ for
one-thousand years.] [Revelation 14:13 and 20:4]
But how could so many people be saved during this period with the Church already in
Heaven? The Rapture of the Church, before the tribulation period, marks the end of
the Church Age, or the fullness of the Gentiles. The seven year tribulation period is
when God begins to deal with Israel again. There will be 144,000 Jews whose mission
is to spread the Gospel throughout the world during the tribulation period.
[And I looked, and saw a Lamb stood on the mount Zion [the nation of Israel]
and with Him a 144,000, having His Fathers name written in their foreheads.
And they sung a new song before the throne; and no man could learn that song
but the 144,000, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were
not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the
Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being the
firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile; for
they are without fault before the throne of God. And I saw another angel fly in
the midst of Heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to them that dwell
on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.]
[Revelation 14:1,3-6]
But who are these 144,000 men, who have a special mission to spread the Gospel to
every nation on earth during the tribulation period?
[And I heard the number of them which were sealed; and there were sealed a
144,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel.] [Revelation 7:4] There will be
12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel; Juda, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Nephthalim,
Manasses, Simeon, Levi, Isachar, Zebulon, Joseph, and Benjamin. We know several
things about them; they are Jewish, they are virgins, they are firstfruits, they were
redeemed from the earth, and they were redeemed from men.
The firstfruits to God were Jews, who lived in the times of Moses, Abraham, Jacob,
and Joshua. Even though many of the Jews who lived back then rebelled against the
commandments given by God to Moses, there apparently were many who did follow
the commandments.
[Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the firstfruits of His increase: all that
devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord.] [Jeremiah
2:3]
[I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first ripe
in the fig tree.] [Hosea 9:10] The first ripe of any crop are firstfruits. Here, Hosea is
referring to the fathers of the Israelites as the first ripe , or firstfruits.
And they answered Joshua, saying, all that you have commanded to us we will
do, and wherever you send us we will go. According as we listened to Moses in all
things, so will we listen to you.]
[Joshua 1:16,17] About 3,500 years ago, Joshua had just spoken to the Israelites after
the Lord had commanded Joshua to prepare the people to go and take the land the
Lord had promised to Moses, the land of Canaan. You can find the number of those
men in the book of Numbers, a total of 603,500 men, ages 20 to 60 years old were
commissioned for war.
After Joshua and the Israelites accomplished their mission of conquering the cities of
Canaan and the people who lived there, Joshua addresses the Israelites:
[Then Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of
Manasseh, and said to them, you have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord
commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you: you
have not left your brethren these many days, but have have kept charge of the
commandment of your Lord your God.] [Joshua 22:1-3]
Then in Joshua Chapter 24, Joshua and the Israelites, renew their covenant with the
Lord:
[And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the
elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers;
and they presented themselves before God.] [Joshua 24:1]
[And the Lord drove out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which
dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the Lord; for He is our God.]
[Joshua 24:18] The ancient Israelites had committed themselves to serve the Lord.
[And the people said to Joshua, nay; but we will serve the Lord. And the people
said to Joshua, the Lord our God will we serve, and His voice will we obey. And
Israel (the people) served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the
elders that outlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord, that
He had done for Israel (the people).] [Joshua 24:21,24,31]
The first ripe, are the first fruit to be harvested. The firstfruits God harvested were the
early Israelites, Hebrews or Jews that followed the commandments given by the Lord
to Moses. We can see from scripture that there was a sufficient population of
Israelites, from which the Lord could gather 144,00 firstfruits.
We also know that they were redeemed from the earth. This strongly suggests that
they were included in the Rapture. The dead in Christ shall rise first, and that does
include all those that followed the commandments given to Moses nearly 4,000 years
ago. From scripture it is unclear how they will be put back on earth. But with God all
things are possible, and He has not given us every detail of His plan.
If you were left behind, and managed to survive Ezekiel’s Great War, you must seek
out one of those 144,000 Jews for guidance. They will be un-mistakeable. They will
have the seal of God in their foreheads. Be kind to them, give them shelter, give them
food, do whatever they ask. They will guide you to salvation through Christ. They
will be in all the countries of the world.
Over the centuries an anti-Jewish concept has developed within some Christian
denominations, it is called replacement theology. The idea is that God has given up on
the Jewish people, and that only Christians are important to God. This idea has zero
scriptural support. In fact, scripture overwhelmingly supports that God has not
forsaken the Jewish people. From the New Testament; [I say then, has God cast away
His people? God forbid… God has not cast away His people…] [Romans 11:1,2] This
Chapter goes on to explain how the Christian Gentiles were grafted in. And Ephesians
3:6 says that the Gentiles are fellow heirs. That is, fellow heirs along with Gods’
chosen people, the Jewish people.
The 12 Apostles were all Jewish, all the Prophets of the Old Testament were Jewish,
Jesus was Jewish. There will be 12 gates to new Jerusalem during the millennial reign
of Christ on earth. Each gate has written on it, one of the names of the 12 tribes of
Israel. The wall of new Jerusalem has 12 foundations. Each one of those 12
foundations has written on it the name of one of the 12 Apostles. [Revelation
21:10-15] Replacement theology is false doctrine. If your church accepts this
theology…Run! Remember the words of the Lord to Moses: [I will bless them that
bless you, and curse them that curse you.]
In later articles, I will go into detail about the tribulation period, but for now I would
like to mention a few relevant verses about those times; Jesus spoke these words
during the Sermon on the Mount of Olives;
[For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the
world to this time, nor ever shall be. And except those days be shortened, there
would no flesh be saved.] [Matthew 24:21,22]
And yes, that does include the United States of America. It includes every country in
the world.
Saint John tells us that there will be an antichrist; [..and as you have heard that
antichrist shall come, even now there are many antichrists.] [1 John 2:18]
[Who is a liar but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that
denies the Father and the Son.] [1 John 2:22]
[And every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not
of God; and this is the spirit of antichrist, you have heard that it should come;
and even now already is it in the world.] [1 John 4:3]
Saint John says that there will be a particular person known as the antichrist, during
the final three and one-half years, the antichrist will be satan himself. But also that
any person who does not believe in Jesus Christ is considered to be against God, or
antichrist. There will be no neutrality here, you can’t sit on the sidelines and watch.
You have to make a choice.
If you have decided to accept Jesus as your Savior, I might suggest to you to say this
prayer;
“I love you Jesus. I am ashamed of my sins, and I ask your forgiveness. I accept your
blood as payment for my sins. I want the Holy Spirit to live in my heart and mind as
long as I live.”
God searches your heart, if you have said this prayer sincerely, God has forgiven all
your sins.
Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem.
The Nazarene Watchman
www.thenazarenewatchman.com
Coming Soon
Part 6: The Importance of Charity