A Poem for the Hurting

During this past week, I had been studying the Book of James which deals primarily with understanding and overcoming trials and temptations. Many scholars believe the author to be Jesus’ brother. The epistle is addressed to "the twelve tribes scattered abroad" (James 1:1), which is generally taken to mean a Jewish Christian audience but may have been broader in context to include believers in general.

I read several commentaries on this wonderful letter during my study and came across the following poem that really touched my heart as it delicately describes the despair one feels during a trial and then poignantly expresses the unmistakable hope that is found in the One that has overcome the world (John 16:33). I hope and pray it is a blessing to you as you stand firm in the fact that, “no temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” (I Corinthians 10:13)

"Faith"

I will not doubt, though all my ships at sea
Come drifting home with broken masts and sails;
I shall believe the Hand which never fails,
From seeming evil worketh good for me;
And though I weep because those sails are battered,
Still will I cry, while my best hopes lie shattered,
“I trust in Thee.”

I will not doubt, though all my prayers return
Unanswered from the still, white Realm above;
I shall believe it is an all-wise Love
Which has refused those things for which I yearn;
And though at times I cannot keep from grieving,
Yet the pure ardour of my fixed believing
Undimmed shall burn.

I will not doubt, though sorrows fall like rain,
And troubles swarm like bees about a hive;
I shall believe the heights for which I strive
Are only reached by anguish and by pain;
And though I groan and tremble with my crosses,
I yet shall see, through my severest losses,
The greater gain.

I will not doubt; well-anchored in the faith,
Like some staunch ship, my soul braves every gale;
So strong its courage that it will not fail
To breast the mighty unknown sea of Death.
Oh, may I cry when body parts with spirit,
“I do not doubt,” so listening worlds may hear it,
With my last breath.

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By: Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Tribulation is the Appointed Path to the Kingdom

First, I am hoping that the title of this blog does not scare anyone away from reading further. I debated much about changing it but decided to keep it as I think it most accurately reflects the context of this post. It may sound familiar to you as it is a quote from Sir Walter Scott as he was discussing the Christian life. He too, did not intend to scare anyone away, but his choice of words was also quite deliberate as he wanted to make sure no one believed that once they put their trust in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior that their life would be all sunshine and rainbows. It would seem that this type of prosperity gospel, where God is viewed as a sugar daddy just waiting to answer our every heart’s desire, was prevalent during Scott’s day, and also permeates our day too within the Pentecostal and faith movements.

But what does the Bible have to say? As you read through the Word of God, there is a theme of tribulation woven throughout the very lives of the writers of the Bible. Moses wrote the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible) when he was in the wilderness. David wrote the majority of his Psalms when he was running for his life from King Saul. Ezekiel wrote while he was in exile. Jeremiah, who is often called the weeping prophet, lived a life that was characterized by trial and persecution. Peter wrote his two letters just before he was martyred. Paul wrote many of his letters while in prison and John, the beloved apostle of Jesus, was isolated on the island of Patmos when he penned the Book of Revelation. Speaking of John, I heard a preacher once say that when John was cut off from civilization on that small, deserted island. Shut off from everyone. He was shut up to God and there received the most extensive revelation of future events ever shown to any writer in the New Testament.

It is amazing to ponder that thought, isn’t it? John, who was put on the island of Patmos (a small Greek island in the Aegean Sea) for preaching the gospel, saw Christ revealed in all his glory and was given the awesome task of not just witnessing the Second Coming of Christ, but writing down the event for every future generation.

While there are many purposes for suffering – to glorify God, to reveal our spiritual condition, to chastise us for disobedience, to refine us to make us more like Christ, to develop within us the fruits of the Spirit – I think many times trials and tribulations are there just to bring us into the quite place where we can hear from God and know Him in a new way.

So often in the Scriptures we are admonished to spend time alone with the Lord, “Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). “Therefore I was left alone when I saw this great vision…” (Daniel 10:8). Jesus, Himself, often rose early in the morning to spend time alone with the Father, “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He [Jesus] went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed” (Mark 1:35).

Sir Walter Scott said that tribulation is the appointed path to the kingdom because we only get to the kingdom in the patience of Christ. Herein lies a marvelous truth. So many people claim to want to really know the Lord but they do not want to have to go through anything or give anything to truly know Him. A relationship with anyone has a cost, and so too with Christ, “And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it” (Luke 14: 27-28).

If we truly want to know the Living God and all his glory than we have to be willing to be separated unto Him, each of us in our quiet place, stripped of self and the commotion of life, always remembering that “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).

"No soul can really be at rest until it has given up dependence on everything else and has been forced to depend on the Lord alone… If God is what He would seem to be from His revealings; if He is indeed the 'God of all comfort;' if He is our Shepherd; if He is really and truly our Father; if, in short, all the many aspects He has told us of His character and His ways are actually true, then we must come to the positive conviction that He is, in Himself alone, enough for all our needs and that we may rest in Him absolutely and forever.” - Hannah Whitall Smith

Making a Strong Case for a Pre-tribulation Rapture Position

As a follow up to my previous post on the return of Christ, I wanted to touch on the subject of the timing of the Rapture of the saints, which is a different event from the Second Coming of Christ. My church, as well myself, hold to a pre-tribulation Rapture position. There are other Christians that believe in a mid-tribulation Rapture and still others that believe in a post-tribulation Rapture.

I think it makes the most sense to define our terms up front in order to adequately differentiate the Rapture from the Second Coming of Christ. The Rapture is when Jesus Christ returns to remove the church (all believers in Christ) from the earth. The Rapture is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:50-54. Believers who have died will have their bodies resurrected and, along with believers who are still living, will meet the Lord in the air. This will all occur in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye. The Second Coming is when Jesus returns to defeat the Antichrist, destroy evil, and establish His millennial (1,000 year) kingdom. The Second Coming is described in detail in Revelation 19:11-16.

It is important to note that while both events involve Jesus returning, they are distinct in purpose. The Rapture, according to a pre-tribulation position, is the return of Christ in the clouds to remove all believers from the earth before the time of God’s wrath known as the Tribulation period or the Day of the Lord, which will last seven years according to Daniel 9:20-27. The Second Coming is the return of Christ to the earth to bring the Tribulation period to an end, and in the process, defeat the Antichrist and his evil world empire. At its conclusion, the Lord Himself and His saints will rule on the earth for a thousand years, which is known as the millennial kingdom period.

As I mentioned earlier, there is quite a lot of debate within the Christian community on the timing of the Rapture and if believers will be present on earth at the time of God’s wrath and judgment. The pastor of my church recently gave eight evidences for a pre-tribulation position. I have read many books and listened to many messages on this topic and these eight evidences are the best reasons I have ever heard that support a pre-tribulation position. My goal is not to persuade anyone’s position on this topic but to offer compelling information straight from the Word of God.

I also want to emphasize something that my pastor mentioned before he gave these evidences. The Scripture does not state in clear, unmistakable terms that the Rapture is pre-tribulational, mid-tribulational or post-tribulational. However, the evidences for a removal of God’s people, both dead and living, before the Great Tribulation is compelling to say the least. The Pre-Tribulation position also answers more problems than the other positions create or answer. So, without further delay, below are the eight strong evidences.

1. Revelation 3:10 teaches that Christ’s promise to the church at Philadelphia was “I will keep you from the hour of testing.” This is not saying that God would preserve them "within" the testing time, but that He would keep them from entering the time of testing altogether.

2. The Bible does not warn believers of the impending Tribulational judgments. It warns of present tribulation or trials, false prophets, and unholy living, but not the Tribulation period.

3. The church does not appear at all after chapter four, verse one in the Revelation (chapters 4:2-19 detail the Tribulation period). This silent witness speaks volumes regarding the absence of the church at this time of prophetical history.

4. The event of a Rapture at the end of the Tribulation offers no hope for the believer’s loved ones or themselves being spared the Tribulation. This was the major concern Paul was addressing in 1 Thessalonians in the first place as the people believed they were already experiencing the Tribulation period and were concerned for their loved ones who had already passed away.

5. If God raptured all believers just prior to establishing the Millennial kingdom, there would be no one left to enter the kingdom in their natural bodies to populate the earth.

6. Revelation 19 does not mention any Rapture, or where it would likely occur if post-tribulational.

7. If it is post-tribulational, then the Rapture accomplishes little at this time. It would make the separation of the sheep and the goats as detailed in Matthew 25:31-33 unnecessary because the post-tribulation Rapture of believers would have just accomplished that fact.

8. The sequence of events as detailed in Revelation chapters 4-19 requires a pre-tribulation Rapture for the following reasons:
a) The Rapture mentions a resurrection; the Second Coming does not.
b) At the Rapture the saints meet Chris in the air; at the Second Coming Christ comes with his saints to meet the saints on the earth.
c) At the Rapture the Mount of Olives is not involved; at the Second Coming it is divided.
d) At the Rapture saints are taken up; at the Second Coming there is no mention of the saints being taken up.
e) At the Rapture the saved are in view; at the Second Coming both the saved and unsaved are in view.
f) At the Rapture Satan is not mentioned; at the Second Coming he is bound during the 1,000 year reign of Jesus Christ on earth.