By David J. Stewart
Matthew 24:15, “When ye therefore shall see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)”
The Abomination of Desolation... Only 3 1/2 Years Until the Second Coming!
The Bible is very plain concerning the
Pretribulation Rapture if we consider the “ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION” spoken
by Daniel the prophet...
Matthew 24:15, “When ye therefore shall see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)”
Here is what Daniel the prophet said:
Daniel 9:27, “And he (the Antichrist) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week (the 7-year Tribulation period) he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease (this will happen in the future rebuilt temple in Jerusalem), and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
The woeful “abomination of desolation” will be, amongst other evils, when the peace agreement in the Middle East is broken, and the Antichrist from the temple in Jerusalem falsely declares himself to be God...
2nd Thessalonians 2:3, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”
The Antichrist will demand that the world worship “the IMAGE of the beast” or be killed. War will break out..
Revelation 13:15, “And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.”
From this event, the “ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION,” it will be exactly 3 1/2 years until the Lord comes back at the SECOND COMING. How then can the return of Christ be as a thief in the night (1st Thessalonians 5:2), or at a time that we know not (Mark 13:32) as the Bible teaches? The only way for the Lord to return unnoticed is a Pretribulation rapture! It will be clear from the time of the Rapture, to those saved during the Tribulation Period, that the Second Coming is only 7-years from that time. And from the time of the Antichrist declaring to be God and demanding worship from the world, it will be only 3 1/2 more years until the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
For these reasons and more, I don't see how anyone
can genuinely believe in a Postribulation Rapture except those who are
woefully ignorant of the Scriptures.
All Believers Will Be “CAUGHT UP” When the Lord Returns
1st Thessalonians 4:17 plainly teaches that all believers, the dead first and then the living, will be “CAUGHT UP” when the Lord returns. This is exactly what the word “Rapture” means, although the word itself is not found in the Bible. Likewise the word “Trinity” is not found in the Bible, but the all-important Word “Godhead” most certainly is if you use the faithful King James Bible (Acts 17:29; Romans 1:20; Colossians 2:9). All modern corrupted Bibles completely remove the word “Godhead,” and in so doing commit woeful injustice against the inspired Word of God.
After the 7-year Tribulation Period, the Lord is going to return to the earth, at the Second Coming. The Lord is going to remove the Church away from the earth at the Rapture; but the Lord will return WITH all the saints at the Second Coming.
An easy way to remember this truth is this:
The Lord...
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came TO HIS OWN 2,000 years ago.
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is coming FOR HIS OWN at the Rapture.
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is coming WITH HIS OWN at the Second Coming.
May I say friend, if you have never been
born-again by the Spirit of God, then you will not receive a glorified body
when the Lord returns. In fact, you will be left behind to suffer the wrath
of God poured out upon the earth in the Tribulation. Billions of people will
die in the last 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation, Biblical referred to a time
of “Great Tribulation” (Matthew 24:21).
Will You Be Left Behind?
Whether you die before, during, or at the end of the Tribulation, if you are not saved God will punish you in Hell for ever. You will also receive some form of body, but it won't be a body fashioned like unto the glorious body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said to “fear him which is able to destroy both soul AND BODY IN HELL.” The wicked will be given bodies that can withstand the extremely hot fires of molten sulfur in Hell, suffering in excruciating physical pain, yet your body will not be consumed in the flames. What a horrible place to spend eternity!
One of the worst things about Hell the Bible says, will be knowing all that you could have had in the glory of the Lord's presence in Heaven for all eternity; but you chose to spend eternity in the torments of the Lake of Fire. Luke 13:28, “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and YOU YOURSELVES THRUST OUT.” 2nd Thessalonians 1:8-9, “Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD, and FROM THE GLORY OF HIS POWER.” You'll endure an eternal nightmare in Hell, suffering in torments, having no rest day nor night, and you'll be completely forgotten about. Proverb 10:7, “...the name of the wicked shall rot.”
How will you feel knowing that you're burning in Hell, while others are enjoying themselves in the splendors of Heaven's riches, and you could have had it all for FREE? Is that what you want? Death is right around the corner for all of us my friend. This life is like a vapor that's here one second and gone the next. James 4:14, “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? IT IS EVEN A VAPOUR, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”
Mark 1:15, “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: REPENT YE, AND BELIEVE THE GOSPEL.”
1st Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”
Some Golden Daybreak (by Pastor Lee Roberson)
