Satan Hates The Truth.

[blessedhope]

Is it any wonder that Satan hates the truth of the Lord’s return and that he does all within his power to discredit, discourage and destroy those who hold and preach this blessed hope? He has no place for the second coming of the Lord in his “gospel” and his “ministers” either rail at or ridicule those who have it in theirs.

One reason why we may well believe that we are in the last days is the fact of the violent and venomous attacks of Satan’s instruments upon this glorious truth on the one hand and the growing preciousness and deepening influence of this hope upon those who love His appearing on the other.

With such a glorious prospect before the believer, one would expect him to have just one possible attitude toward our Lord’s return ~that of eager expectancy and ardent desire. Yet strange to say there are four very evident attitudes manifested in the professing church toward this blessed hope; aggressive hostility, listless apathy, fearful apprehension and loving expectancy. Some hate it; some are totally ignorant of it; some are afraid of it and some love it. In which group you find yourself?

God shows very clearly in Scripture what is the attitude of the spiritual man toward our Lord’s return. May He now speak to the heart of every reader through His own Word.

2 Peter 1:19,“We have also a more sure word of prophecy: where unto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.” (KJV)

Take heed. Think of how much both of the Old and New Testament is devoted to prophecy ~the foretelling of things to come. God tells us here that these prophetic words are reliable, they will most assuredly come to pass. Should we not then give heed to that which God thinks to be of such tremendous importance?

Surely to be apathetic to that to which God commands us “to give attention with heart intentness” would be sin. In these dark days what can so truly keep us from depression over conditions in the world and in the church and from discouragement over ourselves and our work as to concentrate our attention upon and become absorbed with the sure word of prophecy that shines like a light in the darkness?

 

[blessedhope]

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." (Romans 8:18-23).

The devil will never concede one battle. Every victory we win will be by the triumph of our King of Kings. As this battles reaches its zenith and the devil stands posed to devour, the Holy Ghost reaches into the very jaws of the evil one and the "overcoming saints" are "caught up" to the throne. The victorious ones will have won their greatest victory. Satan is left to blaspheme and rage, but we are forever out of his reach. He can never accuse us again.

 

[blessedhope]

The Pre-Tribulational view of the Rapture is and always will be the only legitimate and valid Eschatological view. I'm going to forego all the major differences between the Rapture and 2nd Coming that normally get ignored by those who willingly reject the obvious. But, if you're curious, here is an excellent chart showing what they are. But here is why the Rapture and the Second Coming are NOT the same event.
1. Mystery: The Apostle Paul referred to the rapture 'catching up' as a mystery (1 Cor. 15:51). A mystery in the biblical sense of the word, is a truth that had not yet been previously revealed to mankind. So if the Rapture and the Second Coming were the same event, and Jesus had already discussed His Second Coming at length in His Olivet Discourse some twenty years prior to Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians (AD48-51), then Paul would not be revealing a mystery, but simply expounding on something that Christ had already explained, and thus, he would have been incorrect in calling it a mystery. But he wasn't, because this was new revelation that had been given to Him, by Christ, years after Christ had ascended. (Gal. 1:11-12)
2. Wrath: Throughout the New Testament, a reoccurring theme is that although the church experiences trials and tribulation in this life, we will not experience God's wrath, but rather be delivered from it. (1 Thess. 1:10, 5:1-4, 9; Col. 3:5-7; Romans 5:9; Rev. 3:10) Even more so, is the picture that is repeatedly painted throughout the Bible, that the God delivers His own, before He pours out His wrath upon the earth. Remember Enoch? Remember Noah? Remember Lot? What He is delivering us from, is the wrath to come, that HE is pouring out on the Christ-rejecting earth. (Isaiah 26:19-21; Jer. 30:7-11) So if we are delivered from God's wrath, when does the wrath begin? Rev. 5:1-4 explains when and how...
And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?" And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals."
3. Grace, not works: Inarguably, the major theme for the believer in the Church Age, is that our Gospel is that of Christ Crucified (1 Cor. 1:23, 15:1-5) and our salvation is by grace through faith, and NOT of works. (John 3:18, 36; Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5) Believers in this age, are sealed by the Holy Spirit UNTIL our redemption. (2 Cor. 1:21-22; Eph. 1:11-14)
Daniel's 70th week (all seven years), will be a period of intense testing for all the inhabitants of the earth. (Matt. 25:1-13; Rev. 3:10) Believers at large will no longer be afforded the sealing by the Holy Spirit, but will have to maintain their salvation at the cost to their own lives. (Rev. 14:12-13; 16:15) The only ones who are sealed, are the 144,000 Jewish male virgins from the 12 Tribes of Israel. (Rev. 7:1-8; 14:1-5) Along with that, the world will no longer have the restraint provided by Him to hold evil at bay. (John 16:7-10; 2 Thess. 2:7)
Since the Holy Spirit is God and is omnipresent, it's not that He ceases to exist on the earth, it's that His role during this short period of time, reverts back to the way it was prior to that first Pentecost when He descended down as 'cloven tongues of fire' in Acts 2. No one will argue that the Holy Spirit existed prior to Pentecost, and yet, there was a distinct change in His interaction upon the earth from then until now.
Just as believers in the Old Testament were not guaranteed their salvation, (Psalm 51:11) so too will those who miss the Rapture and enter into the Tribulation. The mark of the beast system that the Antichrist imposes upon the entire earth, will absolutely force you to either suffer under extreme duress (can't buy or sell anything), or suffering martyrdom. And since you cannot both take the mark of the beast, and be sealed by the Holy Spirit, there was to be a period of separation between the two eternal sealing's. (Rev. 13; 14:9-10)
Jesus also spoke of 'enduring to the end in order to be saved'. This salvation is not in the spiritual, eternal sense, but in the physical sense (as deliverance) into the Messianic Kingdom which is initiated at the end of the Tribulation, if they make it through the Sheep and Goat judgment, which precedes the Millennial Kingdom. (Matt. 24:13, 22; 25:31-46)