Why Believers won’t go through the Tribulation
By Chuckt (C) 12-15-2007
My pastors always give the illustration that the Church is the bride of Christ and as the husband is told to love their wives and God is not going to beat up His wife before the marriage:
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
It seems inconsistent for Christ not to love the church, not to give Himself for it and not to love His bride by making the Church go through the Tribulation. That is not the example of Scripture.
Lot and Noah are types of the rapture because, “.. the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;” (Romans 1:18) which is not the Church and didn’t include Lot or Noah. “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” Gen 6:8 We found grace in the eyes of the Lord because “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:”-Ephesians 2:8-9. Therefore I have to conclude that we have the same grace as Noah received and we should escape the tribulation flood.
Revelation 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Revelation 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
I put myself in Revelation 5:9 and will sing “thou was slain, and has redeemed US” because the Church is in Heaven and the only one who can sing that song is “US”.
Luke 9:54 And when his disciples James and John saw [this], they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
Luke 9:55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
Luke 9:56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save [them]. And they went to another village.
I don’t know why people believe that Jesus is going to send down fire on believers in the Tribulation period but I have to say, ”Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.”
Then you have to explain why men will go through the Tribulation but why ordinary tragedies are not judgments of God:
Luke 13:1 ¶ There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
Luke 13:2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?
Luke 13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Luke 13:4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?
Luke 13:5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Isn't the first appearance of Jesus for saving men and the second appearance for judging?
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we are going to go through the tribulation then God would seem to be punishing us. I think that if you believe in the assurance of the believer then you can't believe in going through the tribulation because that means that God hasn't cleansed you from all unrighteousness and that it (the work of the cross) isn't finished (John 19:30) because you are still paying for sins during the tribulation and that would contradict Ephesians 2:8-9 to mean that it isn't by grace through faith but it is by works that give you assurance.
Ephesians 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
If you are going through the tribulation as a believer then Ephesians 2:3 can't say that you "were by nature the children of wrath" but should say that you "are the children of wrath" (not in the Bible) because you are the object of wrath during the tribulation.
I think that people suffering over the years for their faith is a result of man or Satan.
I believe that those who didn't believe us but may later see us leave in the rapture will believe because of that event. I think that those people and those of the false church will be persecuted. The tribulation is an event that God brings on to a Christ rejecting world and there is no reasons for God to punish Christians because (1) Christ paid for their sins and (2) the object is to bring wrath against those who don't want to believe or took the mark of the beast:
Revelation 6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Revelation 6:16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Revelation 14:9 And 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,
Revelation 14:10 The 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:
Revelation 16:1 ¶ And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
Revelation 16:2 ¶ And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and [upon] them which worshipped his image.
A reason is:
Revelation 16:6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
The objects of God’s wrath are unbelievers whom are probably very difficult for man to evangelize.
Revelation 16:9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
Revelation 16:11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
Revelation 16:21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, [every stone] about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
The above verses use examples of men who are clearly not believers. They are blasphemers and they are hard to deal with individuals.
Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
These are people who suppress the truth because they hold the truth in unrighteousness.
Romans 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent (admitting no change of mind / unrepentant) heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
Hardness and impenitent (unrepentant) are the reasons why they treasure up unto themselves for the day of wrath.
So you have to choose whether we will go through wrath because you can't believe that we will go through wrath and being saved from wrath (Romans 5:9). Either you are justified by His blood or you aren't.
Romans 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
1 Thessalonians 1:10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, [even] Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
1 Thessalonians 2:16 Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.
Who is the "them" in 1 Thessalonians 2:16?
1 Thessalonians 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
It isn't the "us" in 1 Thessalonians 5:9.