David in NJ
Well-Known Member
They "came out" from the being in the very midst of the Great Tribulation.See this post.
And this one.
Then consider this:
The elect
Matthew 24:9-14 talks about the tribulation of the disciples of Jesus (the elect) and the fact that the gospel of the Kingdom must first be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations.
Matthew 24:15-22 tells the disciples that when they therefore see the abomination of desolation stand in the holy place, they should flee Judea, because this will be a time of great tribulation (Matthew 24:21), but the days will be shortened for the elect's sake.
Matthew 24:23-24 warns that false Christs and false prophets will appear showing great signs and wonders, so much so that if possible, they would deceive even the elect. This is the second time the appearance of false prophets is mentioned. The first time is in Matthew 24:11.
Matthew 24:29-31 tells us of Christ sending His angels to gather His elect immediately after the tribulation of those days.
The entire passage from Matthew 24:9 through verse 31 is joined together into one description of one period of tribulation (the great tribulation) by the words "and", "therefore", "for" etc:
9 Then [tote: at the time of (the end)] they will deliver you up to tribulation [thlipsis] and will kill you. And you will be hated of all nations for My name's sake.
10 And [kai] then [tote] many will be offended (skandalizo: stumble and fall away), and will betray one another, and will hate one another.
11 And [kai] many false prophets will rise and deceive many.
12 And [kai] because lawlessness shall abound, the love of many will become cold.
13 But [de] he who endures to the end, the same shall be kept safe.
14 And [kai] this gospel of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in all the world as a witness to all nations. And [kai] then [tote] the end shall come.
15 Therefore [oun] when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand).
16 Then [tote] let those in Judea flee into the mountains.
17 Let him on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house;
18 nor let him in the field turn back to take his clothes.
19 And [kai] woe to those who are with child, and to those who give suck in those days!
20 But [de] pray that your flight is not in the winter, nor on the sabbath day;
21 for [gar] then shall be great tribulation [megas thlipsis], such as has not been since the beginning of the world to this time; no, nor ever shall be.
22 And [kai] unless those days should be shortened, no flesh would be saved. But for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened.
.. it continues like this all the way through the passage. Only those who choose to be intellectually dishonest with themselves will slice this passage up into various parts, and only those who choose to be intellectually dishonest with themselves will call God's wrath which is going to come upon the world "the great tribulation".
The obvious, unambiguous implication by the grammar in Matthew 24:9-31 is that the elect are indeed present in the world from the beginning to the end of this period of (great) tribulation. Therefore it's no wonder that a multitude of all nations, tribes and tongues who came out from great tribulation are seen in Revelation 7:13-14 - the third and last time in the New Testament that the thlipsis (tribulation) is described as megas (great) tribulation.
The abomination of desolation in the holy place is not a second reference to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (which occurred in 70 A.D). The holy place is where the Spirit of God dwells.
I have seen people change the word from 'out' to 'up' in an attempt to claim a pre-trib rapture.