There will be a resurrection of the saints for the saints will go to heaven to have their works judged and then come back with Jesus when He fights the world at the battle of armageddon(Zechariah chapter 14).When they are caught up in the air to be with the Lord they will receive their glorified body.
The saints will not be gathered unto Jesus until the antichrist claims to be God to the world.Since the saints will resurrect to be with Jesus in heaven for they come back with Jesus so they have to go to heaven first to come back with Jesus,the saints will not be resurrected until the antichrist claims to be God to the world.
The Bible says the beast makes war against the saints so the saints have to be on earth when the antichrist claims to be God.
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(Revelation 13:7-10).
The Bible says that the beast makes war against the saints so the saints have to be on earth when the antichrist claims to be God to the world.
Jesus said to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.Jesus said if they verbally assault you do not verbally assault back,if they physically assault you do not physically assault back.The Bible says do not resist evil which means physical persecution,do not fight back.The saints are never to be like the world and fight like they do.
God gives the saints a warning not to fight back when the beast makes war against them,for whatever way they fight back it will be put on them,for they are acting like the world they are supposed to be separate from.
As for people who think that God would not allow His children to go through the tribulation,persecution is persecution,death is death.What can the world and the antichrist do to the saints that the saints in the past did not have to deal with.
Did Paul escape persecution,and God said Paul must suffer many things for the Gospel's sake.Did the apostles escape persecution.Did the saints of the past escape persecution,did they escape pain,did they escape death,many did not.
What can the world and the antichrist do to the saints that has not already been done to the saints in the past,and did they escape persecution,pain,and death,many did not but were persecuted with pain,and death.
God does not want His children to suffer and will deliver them out of persecution,but sometimes God allows them to be persecuted which is a testimony to the Gospel that they will not deny the name of Christ,and God said Paul will suffer many things for the Gospel's sake.
Jesus said do not worry what they can do to the body but can do no more,but follow God who has power to destroy the body and cast you in to hell.
Do you not know that the saints going through the tribulation might reap a great many people to Christ for the antichrist will not rule until the last half of the tribulation,so the saints can still reach people during the first half of the tribulation,God knows,and isn't the destruction of your body to win 10 people to Christ during the first half of the tribulation worth it,God knows,and God loves the world and still wants to reach out to people before the antichrist appears to deceive many.
Are you saying you want to pull the saints out of the world when they still have the first half of the tribulation to reach out to people and their testimony of Christ during a time where they are against fundamental Christianity would be a benefit.God wants to reach as many people as possible before the antichrist appears to deceive all them that love not the truth.
The truth is that God will not take His children home until the world gives up on Him.God will not give up on the world until the world gives up on Him.
As long as the world can repent of their sins God will not take His children home.When the world takes the mark of the beast and makes war against the saints they cannot repent of their sins for they have taken the mark and God will take His children home.
God loves people and will not take His people home as long as the world still has a chance to be right with Him.During the first half of the tribulation the world still has a chance to be right with God.God would want to save as many of them as He can.You say God is full of mercy do you not think He would still want to reach out to those people during the first half when they still have a chance to see God.God wants to save as many people as possible.It is only when they take the mark that they cannot have a chance to be saved,but anytime before that they can be saved.
God wants to reach out to as many people as possible and until they take the mark of the beast they can still be saved.They can still be saved during the first half of the tribulation,would not God want to try to save them,God would want to try to save them,and will not give up on them until they take the mark,saying it is all about man.
Do you think that God would not want to reach out to those people during the first half of the tribulation when they still have a chance to be right with God for they have not taken the mark yet.God would want to save them.
Do you think that God would not extend mercy to those during the first have of the tribulation,when He would of extended mercy to Sodom and Gomorrah if He found some righteous there,for they were blind.God would want to extend mercy to the people of the first half of the tribulation who are blind,and use the saints to reach them before the antichrist comes and deceives the world.
God is a loving God,and while people look at it that a loving God would not allow His children to go through the tribulation,would not a loving God allow His children to go through the tribulation to reach the lost before the antichrist comes to deceive the world,and God said Paul must suffer many things for the Gospel's sake.
A loving God would allow His children to go through the tribulation to reach the lost during the first half of the tribulation,and the suffering of the body is nothing compared to the glory of reaching out to people and having them turn to Christ before the antichrist comes to deceive the world.
Matt
