During the coming Great Tribulation, judgments from Heaven more powerful than any nuclear attack will be released. But there is a refuge – God Himself. Those who belong to God through faith in Christ will be removed from earth before the Tribulation. How do you make God your refuge and hiding place? By trusting in His Son, Jesus Christ through faith.
We invest millions of dollars in warning systems for approaching storms, lightning, earthquakes but these often fail to protect. We do this to save human life, God’s most valuable part of creation. But there is one warning system that can only be used by those who know the Lord and His Word. The warning is this: “God intends to judge our world. His righteousness requires it. All who have not repented of their sins and received forgiveness through God’s Son Jesus Christ will find themselves caught up in God’s judgment and consigned to an eternity separated from Him.” Every Christian must warn those nearby of this coming judgment just as you would warn your neighbors of an approaching storm. We know there are gathering storm clouds that portend God’s judgment.
I was fortunate to have a friend who loved me enough to persevere until I finally embraced Christ. She had sent Bibles and other great books over many years. When she sent the book “Heaven Is So Real”, reading it shocked me at first, but then made me realize the value and wonder of being a child of Christ. What a great transformation - from one barely knowing who Jesus is, to one who wants to tell the world about Him. I pray that everyone reading this is already working to tell others about Christ.
When will Christ’s faithful be taken from the earth to Heaven in the Rapture? We are not told except that it is expected soon. The Rapture will occur before the start of the terrible Great Tribulation. How should we respond when people doubt the fact of the Rapture and later the Second Coming of Christ? The same prophets who predicted Jesus’ first coming on earth hundreds of years before, also told of His second coming. They were guided by God so we know there will be a second coming. “After that, we who are still alive and are left (on earth) will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord Forever.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 Jesus’ own further words give us certainty to quell skepticism. “Let not your heart be troubled …I will come again.” John 14:1-3.
But so many people who once believed in the imminent coming of Christ no longer believe. “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:12-14). How can we help them return to the faith needed for their salvation? Assure them of our faith and tell them on what it is based. I KNOW that Christ will come and take His faithful to Heaven. No, my testimony would not be admitted in a court of law, but I believe it with all my heart.
The Bible in Revelation 20:1-20 tells us that after the Tribulation Christ returns to earth to rule for a thousand years, the Millennium. Jesus compares His second coming to a Groom returning for His Bride. Matthew 25:1-13. During this thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth, the ruins of Jerusalem will be rebuilt and people will build earthly homes and dwell in them (Isaiah 61:4, Isaiah. 65:18-25, Amos 9:8-11, 14-15; Zechariah 6:12-13, 15). Jesus will once again live on this earth while Father God will remain in Heaven. Mortals will continue to be born and die but live much longer than now. Those who are righteous will go to the Father in Heaven but sinners will go on to hell as they do now. (Isaiah 65:20-30; Rev. 1).
During that time Satan will be bound and peace and prosperity as never before will be experienced. This fulfills the prayer that Jesus taught – “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as in Heaven”. It rewards those who believed this and fulfills the prophesies made to Israel in the Old Testament. “For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD”.(Isaiah 11-9).
The “New Jerusalem” already built in Heaven does not physically come down to this current earth but remains in Heaven until after the final judgment of all humanity (The Great White Throne Judgment). This final judgment happens after the 1000 year reign of Jesus on the earth and all the dead are brought back to life, those that were not brought back in the Rapture. (Daniel 12:1-3, Rev. 20:12-13). At this time, the heavens and earth as we know it will be destroyed. (Isaiah 65:17-20, 2 Peter 3:10-13, Rev. 20:6-10,11, Rev. 21:1). God will then make a new heaven and earth. It is on the NEW EARTH that the New Jerusalem comes down (Revelation 20:11-22:1:1-8. Only those whose names are written in the Book of Life will be able to dwell there. All others will be thrown into the lake of fire..(Rev. 20:12-15). Death & Hades are not destroyed until later.
Who will be there to enjoy this? Rev. 20:4-5 -- “And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark (666) on their foreheads or their hands [in the Tribulation]. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. This is the first resurrection.” The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. All those who have pledged their lives to Christ will be with Him forever.
But there is bad news for those who will die without accepting Jesus as their Savior. When we accept Christ, our name is entered into the Book of Life. At the end of the millennium, Revelation 20:13-15 describes the judgment of God. “each person was judged according to what he had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Instead of fearing this, it is time we lived as if we really believed God’s Truths. Romans 8:28 states that God works all things together for good. We should be optimistic about the future if we believe this. If we really believed that Christ is with us all the time, we would never be lonely, even though we may still miss a dear departed one. Also if we really believed in the power, grace and love of our Lord we would stop agonizing over sins long ago forgiven by Him. When we first truly recognize that our faith is genuine, it is more refreshing than a cool breeze on a hot day, and it lasts as long as we continue to believe.
As we age we might have regrets that we can no longer travel as we did years ago. Yes this was nice and many of us had interesting adventures. But our coming trip to be with Christ and the glories to follow will be wonderful and more than a thousand times greater than any earthly trip. The apostle Paul had been given detailed visions of Heaven. He had suffered mightily in serving Christ – he was shipwrecked, flogged, chained, stoned and treated like an animal. Yet he said his sufferings weren’t worth comparing with the coming glory of Heaven. Many Christians don’t really understand what the Lord has prepared for us in eternity. All our worldly treasures and pleasures are not worth worrying about. Only people are worth cherishing. We should consider what God has done for us and what our future with Him will be like. This will give us a proper perspective in our life.
Before the steamship “London” sank in the English Channel in January 1866, a Wesleyan Methodist minister went from person to person and led the whole ship to faith in Christ. He told them: “Those of you who are not converted, now is the time, not a moment to be lost, for in a few minutes we all will be in the presence of the Judge”. Only three persons survived. We are not on a sinking ship, but we should be aware that time is short. When Jesus comes for His faithful, it will be too late for the others. Those who do not already know the Lord must act! Revelation 20 vividly describes the coming judgment by God on His Great White Throne. He will refer to the Lambs Book of Life Rev 21:27. If your name is not in it, Jesus will say: “I never knew you; depart from Me”. Nothing sadder will ever be heard. We must tell anyone we know who could someday hear those words from Jesus, how to avoid that sad day. If I am given a chance to influence someone and don’t act, I will also feel sadness. I don’t want to hear what Jesus will say about this neglect. [Ideas were taken from writings of Dr. David Jeremiah, with help from my email friend Princess Lavear]