Posted on 08/05/2012 7:13:35 AM PDT by GiovannaNicoletta
7) And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David[1], he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; 8) I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. 9) Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. 10) Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. 11) Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. (Revelation 3:7-11—KJV)
If this passage were the only thing in the entire Word of God referring to God’s will for His Church during the Great Tribulation period, that would be enough. But this passage tells us much more than we at first realize.
The motive for the anti-rapture attitude among the saints today comes about when we, the Church, do not take the Words of Jesus literally. Many obviously feel it’s simply not justifiable Jesus would leave everyone on the earth, except His bride, during the Great Tribulation. “It’s just not fair”, they proclaim—believing tolerance for all is the right way to go.
Well, the Lord’s ways are not our ways; yet He has urged His Church to “put on” His mind (Phil. 2:5).
Need more? Then Search out “key of David” in your computer’s search engine.
We, as the children of the Most High God, should give Him obeisance and honor in everything we do for—and through—Him. Then thoroughly study His Words, and seek His face concerning this promise from the mouth of Jesus Christ himself.
It is not the will of our Lord for His bride (church) to be on earth during the Great Tribulation—period!
The following is one of the more important passages in the book of Revelation we will cover in this study. In part Two, we covered verses nine through twelve which laid out a foundation for this present study. John saw this great multitude which no man can number from every nation, kindred, people, and tongues. They stood before the Lamb’s throne, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands. They cried with a loud voice, saying, SALVATION TO OUR GOD WHICH SITTETH UPON THE THRONE, AND UNTO THE LAMB.
John said all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts[2], and fell before the throne on their faces and worshiped God, saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God forever and ever. Amen. (7: 9-12).
John’s Conversation With One Of The Elders (Revelation 7:13-17)
Just as we are intensely interested, the elders are also interested in the welfare and progress of their brethren, the Tribulation Saints, i.e., "What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?" Again, the white robes are brought up. And, we know the Fifth Seal Judgment describes the Martyred Saints in white robes (6:11), which is the clothing of the Body of Christ.
"And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of Saints" (Revelation 19:8).
9) “After this, I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nation, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 10) And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. 11) And all the angels stood around about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, 12) Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God forever and ever. Amen. . .”
“And one of the elders asked me (John) this question, “Who are these which are arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”
“And I (John) said unto him, “Sir, thou knowest.” ("Sir, you already know, don’t you.").
“And he (the elder) said to me, “Yes, I do. These are they which came out of Great Tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."
“The elder continued, “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple: and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, not any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe all tears from their eyes.” (Revelation 7: 9-17)
These martyred, but now glorified Saints now stand before the "throne of God", serving the LORD "day and night in His Temple" (7:15).
"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever" (Psalm 23:6).
These saints—saved during the tribulation period—are those who are martyred because of their decision for Christ. The point is that Apostle John, who is also qualified as an elder, was having a conversation with one of the elders present before the throne. John and this elder were only two of a multitude of resurrected (raptured) saints just prior to the revealing of the antichrist—they were therefore not a part of this huge body of new believers. Their conversation concerned another, totally separate group of saints who failed to accept Christ in opportune times during the Church age; but they made a forced decision for Christ only after measuring Christ’s value in the face of terrible odds—the antichrist system—during the Great Tribulation period!
They are before God’s throne, serving Him day and night in His Temple; and He shall dwell among them. They shall never hunger or thirst anymore; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe all the tears from their eyes. In chapter 6:9-11, these same saints were under the altar of God; but now, we see them before the throne of God, having washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
The elders are the raptured church; and the uncountable multitude are saints saved, and martyred, during the tribulation—two separate groups.
The Seventh Seal (Revelation 8: 1-13)
1) “And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. 2) And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. 3) and another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4) And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand. 5) And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thundering, and lightnings, and an earthquake.” (8: 1-5)
The silence in Heaven—(verse 1) This silence indicates a solemn waiting period of thirty minutes which is to bring in a new, more terrible set of judgments—the seven trumpet judgments—an awesome time for men on earth to make a decision for—or against Christ.
The golden censer—(verses 3-5) Incense is often illustrative of prayer (cf. 5:8). The trumpet judgments are likely God’s response to the prayers of all the saints, ever. (cf. 6:10)—possibly a cry out for justice and revenge on the enemies of Christ (cf. 94:1; Romans 12:19). The casting of the fiery censer to earth shows the immediate (after 30 minutes of silence) judgment on earth. Christ will use angels to administer this set of Trumpet Judgments. The blast of each trumpet indicates the execution of God’s judgments on earth.
Pay attention here, church. Whenever we ever feel that our prayers are waved “goodby” in heaven, remember that these prayers—of all the saints all through this church age, and those of the tribulation saints also—are cherished by our Lord. In the altar before the throne of God, they enter His nostrils as a sweet savor unto Him. He remembers every single prayer you have made but thought were unanswered. Every prayer where injustice was done to you will be honored during this time of tribulation on earth. Always remember—do not forget that His favor is in His people. His judgment is not against us, but for us, His own bride; and we are not included among those who dwell on the earth during this seven years.
…think about that!
The ministry of One angel—verse 13) “And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabitants of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound.”
A strong warning to the dwellers on the earth, as many will die without Christ when they refuse to adhere to the advice of this angel; “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants on the earth…”
There is no indication by this warning that there are any Christians from the Church Age inhabiting this earth during this time. Understand, by His Spirit, the Words of this vision—the Revelation of Jesus Christ as given to John, the Apostle.
—End of Part Three—
Blessings from Tom and Linda Stephens
www.christbondservants.org
[1] Key of David—(Isaiah 22) Specifically, vss. 15-25, Shebna’s judgment. Shebna was the corrupt treasurer (pro-Egyptian leader in Jerusalem). Shebna’s judgment, with Eliakim replacing him during Hezekiah’s reign (2 Kings 18:18). The Key of David refers to eternal “Davidic line” and a contiuous open door for followers after righteousness (verse 22)—also refers to the Church today.
[2] The four beasts—see Ezekiel 1:1-28. Ezekiel’s Vision Of God’s Glory—A graphic description of the four beasts (creatures) depicting every one of God’s characteristics—His Glory. These were servants of the Lord. Read this awesome description in Ironside’s “Ezekiel”—Loizeaux Brothers, Inc., Neptune, N.J., © 1949, Loizeaux Bros., Inc.; USA (See insert two in this series)
Thank you.
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To: GiovannaNicoletta, Thanks for your faithful witness to the truth and for these wonderful materials. MARANATHA!
Thank you for your post- your words ALWAYS mean so much to me!
And yes, yes - Marantha!
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