Why I Believe In A Pre-Tribulation Rapture Pt. 3 - The Slow Motion Replay

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VIDEO: WHY I BELIEVE IN A PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE - PART 3: THE SLOW MOTION REPLAY

First, scripture:
“And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. 4These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. 6These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire. 7When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. 8And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. 10And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. 11But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. 12And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, ‘Come up here.’ Then they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them. 13And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven."  Revelation 11:3-13

Some see this an an example of a mid-trib Rapture, using the two witnesses as examples of what will be happening in the rest of the world at this moment in time, but if that is the case, then where are the references to every other believer being raptured at that time?  There aren't any.  

Here we have a major event. These two witnesses cause a worldwide drought, turn fresh water in to blood, and cause all kinds of plagues to inflict those who have not accepted Yeshua (Jesus) as their Messiah. The Antichrist, now possessed by the Devil himself, is allowed by God to kill these two men and the Antichrist now becomes a 'god' to those who have been deceived and who will look to anyone else but Yeshua as their 'savior.' The world rejoices to the point of giving gifts to one another in celebration of the deaths of these two men who they blame for causing such suffering in the world. The world is so depraved at this point, that the corpses of these two men are left on the ground to rot.

Something happens three and a half days later that causes the unbelieving world to acknowledge God for who He is. The two witnesses return to life and God audibly calls them back to heaven, rising up to heaven just like Jesus did... on a cloud. If this truly is the rapture, why is there no mention of any other believer being raptured at this time? The reason there is no mention of the billions of Christians being raptured is because the two witnesses are the only ones who will be rising up to heaven during this mid-trib event. God wants the focus to be on the two witnesses at this moment in time. Why?

When the Rapture takes place, most people will refuse to believe that it has anything to do with God. Unbelievers will use their human intellect to devise a whole host of theories to explain away the disappearances. Some may blame aliens, some may say that our universe may have momentarily made contact with a parallel universe, some may say that the earth purged itself of excess humans to protect itself, some may say that those individuals who disappeared evolved to a higher form of consciousness... the list goes on and on. Most will do anything to reject the fact that Jesus came to retrieve His "bride" and whisk her to safety before the horror of what was about to happen on earth.

The Slow Motion Replay

So here we have a population that has devised theories about the disappearances and have rejected the notion of a "rapture." As the two witnesses do their thing, more and more people will begin to focus on them. It will take three and a half years before every individual in the world finally focuses their full attention on these two witnesses and call for their deaths. So what happens next? Well, if they don't want to believe that Yeshua raptured true born-again believers in the blink of an eye, then perhaps they'll believe what is about to happen in full view of the entire population of the planet.

The two men are raised back to life... right before their eyes! No quick disappearance for these two.  God is going to show the world that it was He that caused the disappearances 3.5 years beforehand and He's going to give the world a slow motion replay using these two men now standing before them. God then audibly... AUDIBLY... calls them back to heaven!  Everyone hears Him speak the words! Then these men don't just disappear like the millions that were raptured... no. They rise up to heaven in a cloud, just like Jesus did. Then, to put an exclamation point on the end of this event, God causes an earthquake that topples one tenth of Jerusalem and kills exactly 7,000 people. Do the people react as they did before, when the rapture happened? No. The scripture shared at the beginning of this article says that "the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven." Some will truly repent and believe, but most will go back to life as usual once the experience has worn off.

God, throughout the entire Tribulation period, continues to give unbelievers the opportunity to repent and be forgiven, believe and be saved. It's kicked off by the Rapture and is followed by the seven seal judgments and trumpet judgments. After that, the two witnesses are raised back to life, are called by God Himself, and rise to heaven in view of the entire population of the planet (via media of course). Then the seventh trumpet sounds, there is silence in heaven for about half an hour, and the Great Tribulation begins, with the release of the seven bowl judgments over the next 3.5 years. After all this, most will continue to reject God and even look up and shake their fist at Him in defiance, blaspheming the God of heaven.

This, in addition to the other reasons I've given in my two previous articles, is why I believe in a pre-trib Rapture.

If you would like to read the other three articles in this series, please click on the links below:

Why I Believe In A Pre-Tribulation Rapture - Part 1: The 24 Elders

Why I Believe In A Pre-Tribulation Rapture - Part 2: Noah, Lot And Rabbit Holes

Why I Believe In A Pre-Tribulation Rapture - Part 4: The Apostasy, Or Falling Away

Why I Believe In A Pre-Tribulation Rapture - Part 5: The First Resurrection

Why I Believe In A Pre-Tribulation Rapture - Part 6: The Bridegroom

Why I Believe In A Pre-Tribulation Rapture - Part 7: Timing Is Everything

If you would like to read a more detailed article written about the two witnesses, please click here.

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REPENT, AND BE FORGIVEN!

BELIEVE, AND BE SAVED!

TRIBULATIONHARVEST.NET

Left Behind: I'm In The Minority Report

!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!  I have briefly described scenes in the movie in order to offer up my opinion.

As many of you may have already noticed, the film, "Left Behind: The End Begins," stirred up a lot of controversy among Christians. First there was the controversy between those who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, those who believe in a mid-tribulation rapture and those who believe in a post-tribulation rapture.  Then there was the controversy between those Christians who liked the film and those who expected more. I will not attempt to address the former controversy in this post (I'm saving that for another time), but will instead attempt to address the latter.

As we all know, opinions are mainly subjective. In this case, either you liked the film, "Left Behind: The End Begins," or you did not.  I've read film-goers' positive and negative responses as well as online reviews from established Christian web sites and I can't seem to agree with the negativity that has been circulating throughout parts of the Christian community regarding this film.

Let's address some of the negative comments you may have heard about this film.

#1 This new film is not like the books or the original movie.

Since this is a "reboot" of the Left Behind series, complaints about straying from the original storyline found in the books and the original movie just don't seem to make sense to me. It's a reboot, not a remake. If anyone is going to see this film expecting to see an updated version of the original movie from opening title to closing credits or that it tells the story of the first book from cover to cover, then let me tell you that you will be disappointed.  

Star Trek had a "reboot." Among the changes made was the addition of Spock's romantic relationship with Uhura, Capt. Pike's altered future (he's alive and well), and the destruction of Spock's home world of Vulcan. This wasn't part of the original series or the original theatrical releases that resulted from the popularity of the series, but it didn't deter many people from going to see this film. The same should be true about the new Left Behind film. The changes in the storyline should not deter people from seeing this film. Here are a few of the changes that have been made:

• Hattie isn't the ditsy blond from the books
• Rayford's indiscretions are noticed by his daughter earlier on in the time line. 
• Raymie is raptured in Chloe's presence.
• Buck has use of his personal satellite phone on the plane.
• Characters on the plane actually have a story line and aren't just there to take up space.
• The film focuses only on the day of the rapture, beginning with Chloe's arrival at the airport as she returns home for her dad's birthday, and concluding with the dramatic landing of Rayford's aircraft.

I could go on, but I believe the point has been made. This is a REBOOT, not a remake of the original story line.  There is no mention of a Tribulation Force at the end of the movie, only the ominous statement by Chloe that this was just the beginning of what is to come.

#2 Christians are portrayed as lunatics.

A woman in the movie approaches Buck in the airport terminal and immediately begins to bible bash him. We all know the type. These people lack wisdom and humility and tend to be very judgmental. What I'm trying to say is that these people are real and their behavior, although well meaning I'm sure, is overbearing and just pushes people further away from Jesus. It may be difficult to watch a Christian movie that has a character that makes us cringe, but it's a part of our Christian culture and we can't run away from it. We can't shove it in a closet and pretend it doesn't exist. We have to own it. It's real. The film makers understand this and put it right out there for everyone to see right from the start. This scene not only instructs Christians how NOT to witness to unbelievers, but also helps us to understand how many non-believers view Christians. The film makers show empathy toward unbelievers who have had to deal with people like this in the past (which may have helped push them further from making a decision for Christ). This is a teaching moment, people!  

In another scene, as Chloe describes this incident at the airport to her mother, she lets slip that she believes the woman at the airport is just as crazy as her mother. Her mother is wounded, which makes Chloe regret her choice of words. Her mother tries to share God's word with her, to prepare her for what's coming, but before she can, Chloe makes an abrupt departure. Another missed opportunity to share God's word on wide screen? Some may see it that way. I just don't happen to agree with them. I'll explain why in the next section.

#3 The name of Jesus is never spoken and scripture is sorely lacking. It's a watered down version of the book meant to appeal to the widest Christian audience possible.

How many people know what Christians are going to say before they say it? How many unsaved know that we're going to tell them that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life and that no one goes to the Father except through Him... or that Jesus shed His blood for them to cover a multitude of sins... or that they need to be born again to enter the kingdom of God? How many of them have heard those words from church, on television, in secular movies, in soup kitchens, and yes, even at church? Yes, the words are out there, but the unsaved aren't falling to their knees in droves. They remain on the broad and easy path that leads to their destruction. The film makers decided to take a different direction. Gone is the in-your-face preaching that would drive many of the unsaved away from this movie, and in it's place is a real life example of what life is for many people.  

What do I mean by that? Here is Irene. She's the mother of Chloe and Raymie and is wife to her pilot husband Rayford. A year prior to the events of the movie, she became a born again believer in Christ. During the past year she's quoted all the scripture and shared her faith with her reluctant family, yet they still do not believe. Her daughter even goes so far as to say that her mother "drank the Kool-Aid." So what does Irene do? She doesn't press. She lives her life as a faithful Christian woman and surrounds herself and her family with symbols of her faith. She tries not to push them away from the truth, but attempts to gently draw them to Jesus by setting an example for them. Yes, she still tries to share her faith with them because she loves them and longs for their salvation as well, but she also knows that she can't go too far because that will just drive them further away from the truth. You can see that when Chloe comes home and Irene places her gardening gloves on top of her bible. She doesn't want to push.

We see Irene's faith by the jewelry she wears, the bible on the table (mentioned above), mention of her church attendance, the little reading nook she has set up with a pillow that says Pray and subtle artwork of Jesus on the cross.  Many people would look at this as a way to plug Christianity into a movie that has no Christian underpinning, but I disagree. I see the little nook she has set up, the one Chloe glimpses at as she searches the house for her raptured mother, as a subtle message. What is that message? Get alone with God, no matter where it is. Get to some small, quiet, private place where you can be alone with Him. Pray and confess your sins. Repent and give your life to Jesus. That's what I took away from that ever-so-short glimpse of Irene's little nook.

So, scripture doesn't play a major role in the movie, but Irene's faith does. That reflects real life. I don't beat my friends and family over the head with scripture. They know what I'm about and they've heard me say it all. How I live my life is my testimony to those who refuse to repent and believe. That's what this movie is to me... real life. It doesn't beat you over the head with something you already know. As a side note, scripture is presented on screen at the end of the movie before the credits roll. The closing credits roll with the beautiful voice of Jordan Sparks as she gives us her rendition of the song, "I Wish We'd All Been Ready."  

Some people want to draw a line in the sand with a detailed list of examples of what a Christian movie should contain. If it doesn't meet their demands, it's deemed a poor example of Christian film making and they automatically give it a thumbs down. I have to honestly disagree with that. There are Christian films that are made solely for Christian audiences and then there are those rare Christian films whose main purpose is to reach out to the unsaved. I believe that "Left Behind: The End Begins" is an example of the latter.  

The conversation, the questions and the scripture all come after watching this film, when you and those who have seen the film begin to share your thoughts. This film is a door that starts the conversation moving in God's direction. It's like handing a tract to someone. First they look at the cover and then they read what's inside. Look at the film as the tract cover that invites the one receiving it to want to read more. What's inside that tract is what we share when the movie's over. It's not the film's responsibility to witness to the lost, it's ours.  

Invite someone to watch the movie with you. They won't feel as if they're being force fed scripture, which may allow them to open up and begin asking those questions that they've been dwelling on for awhile.

If you like this article, or any of the other information on this web site, please consider following me. You'll be one of the first to be notified when I create new content! You'll find the section at the top of the right hand column on this page. It says, "Follow Tribulation Harvest by Email." After entering your email address, you may be prompted to sign in to your Google account. Thank you!!!

Repent and be forgiven! Believe and be saved!

TribulationHarvest.net

The Demise of Damascus

The demise of Damascus is prophesied in Isaiah 17:1 "The burden against Damascus. 'Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.'" (KJV)

This prophecy has not yet been fulfilled (as of the date and time), and it makes one wonder how the Lord will bring about the destruction of Damascus. 

Damascus, the center of terrorist activity in the region; the nation that has provided terrorist organizations protection, financing and weapons. The blast of a nuclear weapon would destroy Damascus, the capital of Syria, and make it a "ruinous heap" as the prophecy has foretold.

The question I would then ask is this: Would the use of a nuclear weapon, and the destruction of Damascus, bring about a quick response from Arab countries and Russia, resulting in the war of Gog and Magog? This is also part of biblical prophecy and can be found in Ezekiel 38 and 39. Although the attacking forces will come against Israel from all sides, God intervenes and brings about the end of the war supernaturally. This attack will devastate the military forces of Israel's enemies.

Once this happens, the surrounding Arab countries will have no defense against Israel's military might, which could usher in the Tribulation through brokering a 7-year peace treaty. Yes, this could be the incident that finally brings some peace to the region. Could this be what prophecy states as a time of "peace and safety" for Israel? Will this allow Israel to finally feel it can rest and not have to be on constant guard against the enemies that surrounded her in the past?

One thing is certain. Syria would need to commit a crime against Israel that is far worse than the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023 in order for Israel to even consider the nuclear option. The attack form Syria on Israel would have to be so heinous (biological weapons?) that she would feel that her future existence was in jeopardy, and therefore would feel compelled to choose the nuclear option. Israel will not go down without a full-on fight to the death. 

Whether or not this biblical prophecy is fulfilled during the church age (before the Rapture), I still eagerly await the Lord's return for His bride... us. What a glorious day that will be. Praise God, who was, and is, and is to come!

REPENT, AND BE FORGIVEN!

BELIEVE, AND BE SAVED!

TRIBULATIONHARVEST.NET

Fascinating Information About Preparations For The Third Temple

I just read the book, "The New Temple and the Second Coming" by Grant R Jeffrey. There were a few intesing bits of information that I found fascenating. Some of you who have kept up with recent events surrounding the plans for the Third Temple will undoubtedly find this information redundant, but I know that there are some readers who will find this article informative. Most of what I will write below will be quoted from the book.

The Discovery of the Oil of Anointing

An archaeological team discovered a clay vessel that contained oil that had solidified to the consistancy of molasses. When the oil was analized, it was shown to be composed of five ingredients, exactly as God commanded Moses (Exodus 30:23-26, 30-31). Intensive testing by the Dept. of Hebrew Univ. established that the oil inside the clay vessel was the ancient oil of anointing. It was given to two chief rabbis of Israel for safe keeping.

One of the five ingredients in this oil is the rare persimmon or balsam (afarsimon) oil. There were only two groves in the whole Middle East where the precious balsom trees grew. When it became apparent that the Romans were going to destroy Jerusalem and the Temple, priests burned the two groves to keep them out of the hands of the Romans. With their destruction, it became impossible to reconstitute the ancient oil of anointing. Without the oil of anointing, it would seem to be impossible to anoint the sacred objects and the priests. However, the discovery of this ancient sample of the oil of anointing makes it possible to anoint the Temple, the sacred vessels and the priests.

Special Blue Dye
The Bible records that many of the special garments, including the avnet-belt of the high priest, must be dyed with a special blue dye known as tchelet. This dye was produced from a rare mollusk found only in the Mediterranean Sea, a marine creature long thought to be extinct. However, in the late 1990's, Israeli divers discovered the mollusk, the hillazon snail, in the Red Sea. A thick liquid is extracted from a gland in the mollusk to produce the rich blue dye. The Temple Institute in Jerusalem has created a supply of the blue dye, which will be used to create the garments required in Temple worship... and used to produce the tsitsit fringes worn by observant Jewish males in the temple. The unspun wool for the priestly robes is dipped in this liquid, turning the wool a bright green. When the new green wool is exposed to the light, it takes on a rich blue color. Once it dries, the wool is spun into a blue thread.

Ashes of the Red Heifer

The Third Temple cannot be built and used for worship until the appropriate area on the Temple Mount is ritually purified using waters of purification from the ashes of an unblemished red heifer. The ashes from the burned sacrifice will be mixed with water, scarlet thread, cedar, and hyssop, producing the waters of purification. Then the priest will sprinkle the water on the stones of the Temple Mount, the priests and the Temple vessels according to the Bible's commands as recorded in Num. 19.

A pure red heifer is very rare... Jewish authorities are raising a number of red heifers in Israel so they will have a qualified candidate when they receive a divine sign that the time has come to rebuild the Temple.

But do we need a red heifer? Could ashes from the last red heifer be found just as the oil of anointing was found?

During the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, priests took the ashes from the Temple in a vessel called the Kalal, a container made with clay and dung from a previous red heifer. The Essene priests buried the container holding the ashes near Qumran, along with a great number of the sacred objects (including the oil of anointing, which has already been discovered). The chief rabbis believe the recovery of the ashes of the red heifer... is key to rebuilding the Temple.

HEADLINE UPDATE 09/05/2018: Temple Institute Announces Birth Of Red Heifer

We are witnesses to the fulfilling of numerous prophecies as we live and breathe in this era of biblical history. We are filled with hope as we anticipate the return of our Messiah. We are encouraged by the progress of the Temple Institute and other organizations in retrieving Temple artifacts and discovering clues to the exact location of the First and Second Temples.

I pray for the peace of Israel and the return of Yeshua HaMashiach!

If you like this article, or any of the other information on this web site, please consider following me. You'll be one of the first to be notified when I create new content! You'll find the section at the top of the right hand column on this page. It says, "Follow Tribulation Harvest by Email." After entering your email address, you may be prompted to sign in to your Google account. Thank you!!!

Repent and be forgiven! Believe and be saved!

TribulationHarvest.net

Eschatology And Misinterpreting Current Events - Enough Already!

As we get closer and closer to the Rapture, I find that many of my brothers and sisters in the Lord seem to be allowing current events to send them off on wild goose chases. There are many brothers and sisters who are so caught up in eschatology that they are looking for any bit of information, no matter how small, that they can use to confirm their own personal theories of where we are in end time events.

Here are the things I'm hearing online:

• "Obama is the Antichrist"
• "Obama is the clone of pharaoh Akhenaten"
• "We are currently in the middle of the Tribulation"
• "The 7-year peace treaty was signed a couple of years ago in secret"
• "North Korea is going to trigger the events that will bring on the Rapture"
• "The Abomination of Desolation has already happened with Obama's recent visit to Israel"
• "The man who showed up in St. Peter's Square in sackcloth may be one of the two witnesses"

Are you serious, people? Have you thrown wisdom out of the window? Are you now ready to misquote and misinterpret scripture? You look left and you look right as you take in world events, but are you filtering all of this information through the Holy Spirit? Some of you think you are, but you are just deceiving yourself.

There have been other generation who thought that they were going to experience the Rapture, but they were misinterpreting the signs of the time. They weren't filtering that information through the Holy Spirit and they were leaning unto their own understanding of the situations around them. The same can be said for Christians today. Yes, the Rapture and Tribulation is closer than ever. Yes, I believe that the Rapture will happen soon. What I don't believe is that every news item out there is linked to biblical prophecy.

There is a brother online that I follow on YouTube. He's a great brother in the Lord and he has been used by God in healing the sick at church and encouraging his brothers and sisters through his YouTube videos. He happens to be 100% positive, by his own admission, that President Obama is the Antichrist. I don't believe this to be true, as you can see HERE in a separate article I wrote on the subject.

Since this brother believes that President Obama is the Antichrist, he now believes that we are already in the Tribulation. This is only one example how misinterpreting the signs of the time can alter your perception of scripture. Scripture says that the Antichrist will be revealed when he brokers a peace agreement between Israel and her enemies. To believe that Obama is the Antichrist would thus lead you to believe that some secret peace treaty was signed a few years ago and that we're about to reach the midway point of the 7-year Tribulation. Of course, scripture refutes that idea, but wisdom seems to be tossed out the window when worldly understanding takes over our mind.

Why is this happening? It's the work of the Enemy, of course. He is the creator of confusion and will use anything to send the elect spinning in different directions, using their valuable time on this earth to chase after false ideas, which result in conclusions that can in no way be supported by scripture. These brothers and sisters are falling down rabbit hole after rabbit hole, always looking for those precious pieces of information that will support their theory, but which, in the end, lead only to altering the word of God to fit their own desires for confirmation.

I'm writing this article out of love for you, my brothers and sisters. Please... PLEASE... think about what you're doing! You're being used by the Enemy to bring confusion to your own lives and to the rest of the body of Christ and you don't even realize it. Many of you have predicted that certain events would happen and they haven't come to pass. You admit you were wrong, but then go right on predicting what you believe will occur in the near future. Can't you see that the information you're using to predict future events is itself corrupt?  

• Obama is not the Antichrist!  The Antichrist will come as a man of peace, not a man who uses armed drones to kill innocent men, women and children overseas. He is a type of anti-Christ but isn't the true Antichrist.  Nor is he a clone of the pharaoh Akhenaten.
• We can't be almost at the midpoint of the Tribulation for many reasons, one of which is that the Jews haven't even begun construction of the Third Temple on the Temple Mount.
• If Israel is not currently at peace with her neighbors, then how could the 7-year peace treaty have already been signed?
• The man who showed up at St. Peter's Square can't possibly be one of the two witnesses because he recognizes the Pope's authority over him and he is a believer in Catholicism.

I could go on and on. Please, brothers and sisters, think about what you're putting out there, in real life and online. You're passing off lies as truths, you're using scripture improperly to substantiate your claims and you're allowing yourselves to be deceived by the Enemy who only wants to cause confusion among the brethren and keep you off balance. Even common sense is being ignored.

When an event happens, take a step back and compare it to scripture. Don't make scripture fit the event, check to see if the event fits scripture. The Enemy will continue to put information out there that he wants us to chase after in our vain attempt to somehow figure everything out. Don't be deceived! If you continue on, you'll be leading others astray just as Harold Camping did, who by-the-way was thoroughly convinced that he was correct in what he was teaching as well.

One final note.  In the past, I was guilty of this very thing that I'm writing about today, but the Lord corrected me. Will you give Him the opportunity to speak to you as well?

May the Lord guide your thoughts through His Holy Spirit. God bless!!!

If you like this article, or any of the other information on this web site, please consider following me. You'll be one of the first to be notified when I create new content! You'll find the section at the top of the right hand column on this page. It says, "Follow Tribulation Harvest by Email." After entering your email address, you may be prompted to sign in to your Google account. Thank you!!!

Repent and be forgiven! Believe and be saved!

TribulationHarvest.net