Hi there,
EDIT: SUMMARY, The three gifts of the Holy Spirit on Earth - hardiness, character, patience - come from trust, prayer, waiting. These three things deliver from tribulation on Earth.
So caveat: I am not sure this is in the right forum. What I want to discuss, is how we approach the tribulation. I have been searching the spirit, looking for a way to move consistently forward, but what I have found is that the world and its devil are only interested in pushing back. There is a consensus in the world, that the rapture is a test of faith, that at the same time, they don't believe in for themselves. It's like someone in a playground daring you to reach a high bar and when you do, they just say "now do chin-ups" - if God did not intervene we would grow tired and just fall off the high bar. What is disturbing is that this is a matter of life and death. We do not have the luxury of knowing how many will fall off the high bar while they are doing chin-ups and God alone knows the best time to intervene. All we can do is have faith.
There are things I know about the rapture and the tribulation, and I wish I could encourage you in all of them, but the fact that it boils down to faith, means we had better just be praying that as the two diverge (the rapture diverges from the tribulation) as many lives as possible are saved. We cannot trust anyone but God for this. True the Holy Spirit may intervene, but again God alone determines how much the Holy Spirit may intervene. We can only hope that God knows us well enough to step in when its needed, to make the most of the help of the Holy Spirit. This is a dicey thing - I say this contemplating praying to death (its not impossible that many will be praying at the time of the rapture). The Devil himself prays; you can appreciate how full of nerves I am that I myself might have to pray to death. I can just imagine God saying "fear not, at the worst it will help build character" - character! Like lives all over the world, just need a little more character (I am not insulting God, I am just wise enough to know that faith is as much knowing what to ask as it is how it asks it - God is still listening, even when our character grows).
The Bible talks about the rapture and the tribulation affecting numerous people and says explicitly that we should pray to escape all these things that come to pass (and to stand, before the Son of Man - from memory, the gospels). Lord help us. What is remarkable, is that these instructions don't tell us how to move in response to these things at all. We are to remain stationary and pray. If we can remain stationary to death, that is again something that we can trust will work out in God, for patience. Character and patience! Now we are building to something! What we must not do, is become gods of our own deliverance. This would be a bad example to the world. Solomon said "a three fold cord is not quickly broken" (from memory, Ecclesiastes), so it is worth probing a little deeper here - but I can't say for sure what it is, other than to say that there was something hidden in the Holy Spirit's intercession. If we trust the Holy Spirit to death, we will develop hardiness. Hardiness, character and patience, is strong enough to sustain the rapture and deliver from the tribulation. I guess I have answered my own question: trusting in the Holy Spirit and God with patience as we pray, is enough (because of the hardiness, character and patience, these things give us).
What I hope is that you will piece this together, bit by bit and come to the conclusion you are supposed to pray, trust God and remain stationary as much as possible (possibly to death). We can do this! I guess what I am saying in addition is "this is the time, in which to be doing this (getting ready for the end)" We live in the days that will see this fulfilled. Put off sleep, be diligent and feed off scripture, for in nothing will we lose our reward, if what we have done has been for God. Jesus wants us to succeed at this: have confidence, be quiet and wait for strength (Isaiah 30:15). What comes back to us of its own accord (spiritually), is ours for ever. You are right to be ready! You are right to trust!
God bless.
EDIT: SUMMARY, The three gifts of the Holy Spirit on Earth - hardiness, character, patience - come from trust, prayer, waiting. These three things deliver from tribulation on Earth.
So caveat: I am not sure this is in the right forum. What I want to discuss, is how we approach the tribulation. I have been searching the spirit, looking for a way to move consistently forward, but what I have found is that the world and its devil are only interested in pushing back. There is a consensus in the world, that the rapture is a test of faith, that at the same time, they don't believe in for themselves. It's like someone in a playground daring you to reach a high bar and when you do, they just say "now do chin-ups" - if God did not intervene we would grow tired and just fall off the high bar. What is disturbing is that this is a matter of life and death. We do not have the luxury of knowing how many will fall off the high bar while they are doing chin-ups and God alone knows the best time to intervene. All we can do is have faith.
There are things I know about the rapture and the tribulation, and I wish I could encourage you in all of them, but the fact that it boils down to faith, means we had better just be praying that as the two diverge (the rapture diverges from the tribulation) as many lives as possible are saved. We cannot trust anyone but God for this. True the Holy Spirit may intervene, but again God alone determines how much the Holy Spirit may intervene. We can only hope that God knows us well enough to step in when its needed, to make the most of the help of the Holy Spirit. This is a dicey thing - I say this contemplating praying to death (its not impossible that many will be praying at the time of the rapture). The Devil himself prays; you can appreciate how full of nerves I am that I myself might have to pray to death. I can just imagine God saying "fear not, at the worst it will help build character" - character! Like lives all over the world, just need a little more character (I am not insulting God, I am just wise enough to know that faith is as much knowing what to ask as it is how it asks it - God is still listening, even when our character grows).
The Bible talks about the rapture and the tribulation affecting numerous people and says explicitly that we should pray to escape all these things that come to pass (and to stand, before the Son of Man - from memory, the gospels). Lord help us. What is remarkable, is that these instructions don't tell us how to move in response to these things at all. We are to remain stationary and pray. If we can remain stationary to death, that is again something that we can trust will work out in God, for patience. Character and patience! Now we are building to something! What we must not do, is become gods of our own deliverance. This would be a bad example to the world. Solomon said "a three fold cord is not quickly broken" (from memory, Ecclesiastes), so it is worth probing a little deeper here - but I can't say for sure what it is, other than to say that there was something hidden in the Holy Spirit's intercession. If we trust the Holy Spirit to death, we will develop hardiness. Hardiness, character and patience, is strong enough to sustain the rapture and deliver from the tribulation. I guess I have answered my own question: trusting in the Holy Spirit and God with patience as we pray, is enough (because of the hardiness, character and patience, these things give us).
What I hope is that you will piece this together, bit by bit and come to the conclusion you are supposed to pray, trust God and remain stationary as much as possible (possibly to death). We can do this! I guess what I am saying in addition is "this is the time, in which to be doing this (getting ready for the end)" We live in the days that will see this fulfilled. Put off sleep, be diligent and feed off scripture, for in nothing will we lose our reward, if what we have done has been for God. Jesus wants us to succeed at this: have confidence, be quiet and wait for strength (Isaiah 30:15). What comes back to us of its own accord (spiritually), is ours for ever. You are right to be ready! You are right to trust!
God bless.
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