Some Good News About The Tribulation

Image: international.uni-halle.de

Yeah, you read that right. I just finished an article for my blog and while searching the scriptures, I found a nugget… a big fat nugget. I thought you might want to know about it, so here we go!

I found this nugget while reading chapters 13 & 14 in the book of Revelation.  Here is the scripture for those of you who aren’t running to get your bible or clicking on your desktop icon to pull up your favorite bible software. I apologize in advance for copying chapter 13 in its entirety, but I wanted to put the underlined portion of scripture in context. You can just read the underlined portion if you prefer, because that’s the portion I’ll be referring to.

Chapter 13 (KJV)

¹And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. ²And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. ³And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. ⁴And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? ⁵And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. ⁶And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. ⁷And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. ⁸And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. ⁹If any man have an ear, let him hear. ¹⁰He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. ¹¹And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. ¹²And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. ¹³And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, ¹⁴And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. ¹⁵And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. ¹⁶And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: ¹⁷And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. ¹⁸Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

So we see here a picture of the Beast and the False Prophet in the last half of the Tribulation, which is known as the Great Tribulation. He orders an image of the Beast to be made. He then “gives life” to this image so that it speaks. This image demands to be worshiped, using death as a punishment for disobedience. Everyone is then commanded to receive the mark of the beast in their forehead or right hand. Anyone who refuses this mark will be prohibited from purchasing or selling anything.

You may be asking yourself where the good news is in all of this. Hold on, it’s coming. It’s found in Revelation 14.

Chapter 14 (KJV)

¹And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. ²And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: ³And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. ⁴These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. ⁵And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God. ⁶And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, ⁷Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. ⁸And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. ⁹And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, ¹⁰The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: ¹¹And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. ¹²Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. ¹³And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them…

Did you see it? The good news? For those of you who missed it, here it is:

Our loved ones and friends who remain after the Rapture will be given absolute 100% proof that God exists, thus giving them another chance to repent! 

Chapter 13 describes what’s going to happen, but chapter 14 lets us know that God is going to send angels to shout with a loud voice warning the inhabitants of the earth to fear God and give Him glory! Read the underlined portion of chapter 14 again. These are the words that will be heard by everyone on the earth at this point and time in the Tribulation. They’re encouraged to give their lives to God and to reject the mark of the Beast and to refrain from worshiping the Beast. 

How do I know that what is written about in Chapter 14 will take place before, or just as, the mark of the Beast and the worship of his image is made mandatory as described in chapter 13? If that wasn't the case, then the warning would be moot.

Chapter 13 reveals to us what Satan’s plan will be, but chapter 14 shows us that God has a plan to warn everyone on the planet before these new laws can be instituted by the Beast.

So there it is. Take comfort in knowing that even when we’re gone, the Lord has prepared so much for those who remain here on the earth during that time of Tribulation. He has prepared the two Witnesses, the 144,000 Messianic Jews, and he will send angels to audibly warn the entire population of the planet against worshiping the Beast and taking his mark.

Thank you, Lord God, for tempering Your anger during the Tribulation and allowing those who are lost opportunity upon opportunity to repent during this time of Tribulation. May all glory and honor be to You Lord God, forever and ever!  Amen!

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Comparing Men And Angels

Here are the sort of crazy questions that often run through my mind.  “God made the angels, so why did He decide to make us?” “What is the difference between angels and humans?” “What qualities are found in man that are not found in angels?”

I've decided that when such questions arise, I should immediately write it down and then try my best to satisfy my curiosity.  I have also made the decision to blog about such things so that anyone else with the same questions can benefit.  Here is the information that I've managed to scrape together concerning men and angels.

As we all know, angels do the work of the Lord.  They fight battles in the spiritual realm, they deliver messages from God, they minister to those in need, they praise and worship God and they carry out the judgments of God.  They have great strength and continually fight against the enemy and his minions at God’s command.  They are another class of created being.  They are temporarily a little higher than mankind because they mainly operate in the spiritual realm, but one day we will be higher than the angels.  I say, “mainly operate in the spiritual realm,” because there are instances of angels appearing as men on earth (one example: Genesis 19).

I believe that one third of the angels were convinced “intellectually” to side with the Devil in opposition to God.  They couldn’t have been tempted in the flesh, because they don’t possess a fleshly body.  This reveals another difference between angels and man... 

Man is tempted in the flesh.  This is why we are told to crucify our flesh and take up our cross daily.  We must make a conscious effort to rely on the Holy Spirit, striving to live a righteous life, one pleasing to God.  Angels don’t have this fleshly battle (they fight against the enemy in the spiritual realm, though).  Our spiritual battle is raged on in the flesh and in our mind.  That’s where the enemy attacks us.  The scripture doesn’t mention the enemy’s attempt at trying to make more angels rebel against God, but scripture does show that the enemy is bent on preventing as many people as possible from receiving the promise of salvation.

Creating Adam

God personally ‘breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.’ (Genesis 2:7 MKJV)  We are both spirit and flesh, heaven and earth, in one.  Angels can’t comprehend what we experience in this mortal body.  We exhibit the same emotions that God does, albeit in a lesser degree.  I know that angels experience joy, love and compassion, but I’m not sure they have many other emotions.  We, on the other hand, experience not only positive emotions, but negative ones as well; grief, anger, jealousy, envy, etc…  Of course, the enemy has a way of twisting those emotions by using them to lead us into sin, but as we see from scripture, God gets angry (Numbers 12:9) and He is also a jealous God (Exodus 20:5). When those emotions enter our heart, they aren’t necessarily evil in and of themselves; it’s the condition of the heart and the intent of expressing those emotions that causes them to be judged as good or evil.  God tells us to, “Be angry, and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down upon your wrath …” (Ephesians 4:26 MKJV)  I guess those emotions could be subjects of another blog…lol.

Adam and Eve walked and talked with God.  They had the perfect relationship with Him.  That’s the relationship we now have with Him if we’re born again believers in Christ.  We are considered His children and heirs to the Kingdom of God.  We have instant 24/7 access to God because of what Jesus did on the cross.    

Speaking of Adam and Eve, that brings me to the next point of discussion.  We were created male and female.  Due to our mortal nature, we are subject to physical death, so God gave us the ability to give birth and to multiply… to create new life so-to-speak.  The angels in heaven are of a finite number and do not reproduce.  “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in Heaven.” (Mat 22:30 MKJV)

Remaining in the Garden of Eden for one more moment, I’d like to also mention that mankind received a special honor from God.  Mankind was given dominion, power, and authority over the earth, an honor that the angels don’t have.  I believe we have been given dominion over a temporal world and all that is in it not just to be representatives of God here on earth, but also in preparation of ruling with Christ during His millennial reign; in preparation to become part of the royal family.  How can we effectively rule with Christ during His millennium reign unless we have experience in making decisions based on God’s word?  God gives us that basic training during our brief existence here on this planet.  That leads us to the next point of discussion…

God has graciously blessed us with the ability to reason… to learn and grow as individuals. We have the ability to create paintings and sculptures, to write music, to organize, to think abstractly and to grow in wisdom, knowledge and understanding.  We have a sense of humor.  We have a curiosity and a need to learn and experience new things.  I don’t remember reading anywhere in the bible that states that angels have any of these qualities.

Although we are able to receive salvation through the blood of the Lamb, fallen angels are not capable of being redeemed.  Why?  Picture this… the fallen angels had lived in the presence of their Creator, surrounded by His glory, His love and His righteousness and they still rebelled.  It reminds me of this scripture: “For it would have been better for them not to have fully known the way of righteousness, than fully knowing it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.” (2Peter 2:21 MKJV)  If we, being mortal, receive a worse judgment by accepting and then rejecting the truth, then what kind of judgment would be meted out on those angels who lived in God’s presence and still chose to sin?

So, here’s a bullet list of how I believe we are different from the angels:

• Angels are a different class of being created before mankind.
• Angels have specific roles in God’s kingdom.
• We are spirit and flesh in one; heaven and earth… just as Jesus became when He was born here on earth.
• We are tempted in the flesh and experience things in the flesh that angels can’t comprehend.
• Mankind has been given authority over all the earth and over all the creatures of the earth.
• For the past 6,000 years we have been able to create life after our own kind and to increase in number.
• We have an intellect and are able to reason; growing in wisdom, knowledge and understanding.
• We have the ability to be creative and to invent new and wonderful things.
• We experience all the emotions of God, to a certain degree.
• Angels have been given the responsibility of protecting us, ministering to us and speaking to us at God’s command.  In serving God, they are serving us as well.
• As heirs to the Kingdom of God, we have the authority by the blood of Jesus to approach the throne of God at any time.  We have continued and unrestricted access to our Father and to Jesus through the Holy Spirit.
• We have been called heirs to God’s kingdom.  Brothers and sisters sharing in the authority of heaven.  Sons and daughters of the Living God!
• We have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, something that fallen angels are not capable of receiving.

This is by no means a complete and comprehensive list of all the differences between man and angels, but it does give me a good grasp of the differences between two of God’s creations.

Acknowledgments

Artwork - Creating Adam: http://annelism.wordpress.com/2010/01/27/chapter-3-naked-without-shame/

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