“For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)— then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,” 2 Peter 2:4-9 NKJV
Like many fathers to be, my first trip to the delivery room was an eye opener to say the least. While you can try to prepare yourself, experiencing it is really the only way to understand what really goes on in there. Fortunately for me, the gravity and apprehension I was feeling lightened considerably thanks to something that happened in the time leading up to our delivery. My wife and I were walking the halls trying to speed things up when we approached a room where a woman was quite obviously in labor. Truth be told, my impression from the volume was that it was a difficult and painful labor and my anxiety began to rise immediately. Imagine then my surprise and relief to hear the nurse shout loudly, “oh for crying out loud, it’s not that bad. Put a cork in it honey!”
Now as humorous as that incident might have been, I am certainly in no position to judge. While some might find delivery easy, it stands to reason others might find it hard. My thoughts this past week seemed to focus again on Jesus’ use of childbirth and labor to describe the end of this age. It occurred to me that there are three deliveries on our immediate horizon that we all should be concerned about as only one could be considered easy, while the other two will be as horrific as anything you could imagine. Fortunately, it’s completely up to us to choose which one to participate in.
“the Lord knows how to deliver the godly” The next delivery on God’s calendar is the taking of His Church to heaven in the event we call the rapture. It is God’s promise to all who have chosen to believe in the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, who died and rose again for our sins.
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:” John 1:12 NKJV
We are told by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians that there will come a time when Jesus will return and take all of those who have made this choice to be with Him forever.
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord”. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 NKJV
I believe it is fair to say that this delivery is going to be the easiest, if not the most joyful delivery anyone has ever experienced. In the blink of an eye those who believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God will all be changed and receive the body we will have for eternity as we enter into the presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is the delivery everyone should be watching for right now if you consider all the signs which point to it being about to happen.
“and to reserve the unjust under punishment “.
The second delivery takes place immediately after the first one as those who chose not to believe are left behind to experience God’s judgment. We are told that part of the first delivery is the removal of the “restrainer”, or the Holy Spirit and when that occurs the evil that He has been restraining for thousands of years will be released. While we have begun to witness increasing amounts of anger and demonstrations which have surprised many, imagine if you will the violence that is going to erupt when there is nothing to hold it back.
“Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.” 2 Thessalonians 2:5-8 NKJV
Do we live in a truly evil world? I am sure that most of us would like to look at the world we live in and describe it as inherently good, albeit with some evil in one form or another always present for the forces of good to do battle against. The hope is that those who would do evil are in the minority and for the most part severely outnumbered by a peace-loving majority. While not all would agree totally with that position, the Word of God tells us in no uncertain terms that a time is coming when evil will no longer be held in check, and this world will descend into chaos as everyone turns against each other and lawlessness is the order of the day. That day comes when the restrainer, the Holy Spirit, is removed from the earth along with the Church at the time of our deliverance at the rapture.
“Woe is me! For I am like those who gather summer fruits, Like those who glean vintage grapes; There is no cluster to eat Of the first-ripe fruit which my soul desires. The faithful man has perished from the earth, And there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; Every man hunts his brother with a net.” Micah 7:1-2 NKJV
I believe the Bible makes it clear that the rapture of the Church could happen at any time. Many believe that this passage from Micah describes what this world will look like when all of the faithful men and women of the earth have suddenly disappeared by virtue of the rapture of the Church. If we ask ourselves the question just what this world would look like when the restrainer, the Holy Spirit, is removed from the earth at the rapture, I believe this passage from Micah tells us exactly what will happen.
Most of us are familiar with the observation of the philosopher Edmund Burke when he said “all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing”. Well, what happens when, according to this passage, there are no faithful men? Every man is against his own brother, and evil is rampant on the earth. Talk about all that is necessary to create the “perfect storm” of evil, God simply removes His Church along with the Holy Spirit and there is nothing left to fight against Satan and his forces.
The disappearance of millions of people in the blink of an eye will terrify as well as enrage those who are left behind and it is easy to imagine how the world will react. The resulting breakdown of society and inability to enforce order will set in motion Satan’s plan for someone to step forward who will promise to restore peace and stability to a world gone mad. The Bible calls him the anti-christ, and his ascension to power will set the stage for the third delivery we are told will occur and that is the point in time where God will choose to judge His chosen people for their refusal to accept His Son as their Messiah.
“Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.” Daniel 9:27 NKJV
The third delivery is the nation of Israel entering the time of their judgment from God which is most commonly referred to as the Great Tribulation. It is the last three and one half years of the seven year tribulation, also called the seventieth week of Daniel. It is also known as the time of Jacob’s trouble which personalizes this period as being directed specifically at the nation of Israel.
Since history has shown that Satan’s priority is the destruction of Israel, what do you think he tries to do first? Is it possible this passage from Micah refers to the rapture of the Church? I think it certainly may well do that, considering the description it gives as to what the world looks like with the absence of the faithful. Without the Holy Spirit present on earth in the body of the true Church, the evil that is presently being “restrained” will manifest itself in a fury this world has never seen, most assuredly in the direction of the nation of Israel. This evil, however, will not appear out of nowhere and I believe what we are witnessing today is somewhat like the filling up of a lake behind a dam until the point is reached where the dam will fail and a flood consume all that is before it.
I believe a close study of the events that the Bible tells us lead up to the “peace” that the coming man of sin brokers between Israel and its enemies supports the idea that there are some very serious conflicts which take place first. The majority of scholars I have studied believe that the attempted invasion of Israel outlined in Ezekiel 38, 39 and the deliverance by the direct intervention of God is the event which allows this peace agreement, and the tribulation, to begin. Considering this, my question for years has been, “what is holding back Israel’s enemies right now”? If your answer is the restrainer, then it follows He has to be removed before this attack can go forward.
While we might look at the world right now and consider much to be truly evil, it holds no candle to what it will look like when the Church, along with the Holy Spirit is removed at the rapture. Currently, the restrainer is holding back Satan’s full fury and the evil that he has planned for this world, but according to the Word of God it won’t last forever. The Church will be taken and be spared from having to endure the evil which will come upon mankind, and the most important question which needs to be asked is are you part of the body of believers which make up the Church?
A question I almost invariably always get when I talk on our prophetic future is the same one the disciples asked Jesus in Matthew 24. When will these things take place? The simple answer is that we don’t know. Yet considering how much Jesus talked about them, especially His referencing the Days of Noah and the birth pangs of a woman in labor, and then throw in for good measure that we were told if we watch we will know the season, many believe we are already in the delivery room waiting for the delivery.
Although some might disagree, there is considerable support for the premise that the future tribulation period begins on the Jewish holiday of the Feast of Trumpets. This year it will occur around September 23-24, and the reason we do not know for certain exactly when is that it is based on the sighting of the new moon. This is why according to Jewish tradition it is also referred to as the feast which begins at a time where “no one knows the day or hour.” For numerous reasons, this coming Feast of Trumpets in September has caught the attention of a great many people and the possibility of the rapture happening next month is exploding across social media. While I believe that the rapture could happen at any time, I would have to agree that much of what I have read is based on excellent scholarship.
The most important question, however, is have you made the choice to accept the gift of salvation made possible by the sacrifice of God’s Son, Jesus Christ? If not, if you are reading this you still have time to do so before the delivery of the Church to its eternal home occurs. Becoming a believer is simply accomplished by asking Christ to come into your life and help you live life as He directs. If you want to do that today, just pray a prayer like this to Him;
"Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I believe You died for my sins. I want to turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life to you. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank You for saving me. Amen."
If you make that choice, we have God’s promise that we will be delivered from this world; spared just like Noah and his family were, from the judgment that is coming in the second and third deliveries.
Keep watching.
