“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 we 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. We have witnessed in the past few months anger and rioting on a scale that surprised many but imagine if you will the violence that is going to erupt when there is nothing to hold it back.
The disappearance of millions of people in the blink of an eye will terrify and 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 tribulation. It is also called the seventieth week of Daniel, a result of the prophecy found above, and also as the time of Jacob’s trouble which personalizes this period as being directed specifically at the nation of Israel. At this point you might be wondering why I differentiate between the second and third deliveries. It is a result in my belief in what is called the “gap theory” which I have shared with you before.
Traditional belief was that the tribulation period immediately followed the rapture of the Church, but many have now agreed that there are events which the Bible tells us about that must occur first, preceding the tribulation. That requires a period of time, or gap, between the rapture and the beginning of the tribulation. A question that often arises when the subject of the tribulation comes up is why isn’t the United States mentioned in reference to this time period? I believe that it is a result of the judgment which falls upon this nation following the rapture. After the second delivery occurs, the US is unwilling and/or unable to involve itself in the affairs of the Middle East.
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. So just to make things even more interesting, I want to share something with you today which could possibly prove to be the sign we have been waiting for.
There are two eventful days in the story of Noah which are highlighted for us in Genesis chapter 7. The first is the day that Noah was told by God to enter the ark, and the second was seven days later when the flood arrived. Exactly one week apart, they occurred on the tenth and seventeenth days of the month of Heshvan. Many have wondered if, because of God’s propensity to arrange for events to happen on the same days of the year throughout history, the coming judgment of this world could possibly arrive once again on the anniversary of the first judgment.
I believe not only is that possible, but entirely likely, all things considered. Of course, as always, let me make things even more interesting by sharing something I realized a few weeks ago. If you recall, back in the beginning of July I wrote about the length of time for a normal pregnancy being forty weeks, according to what I found while researching on the internet. As a result, because I have daughters who have more experience than I at such things, it was determined I should do a little more research as forty weeks seemed a bit too long. After doing so, I found that either thirty-nine or forty weeks are typically used simply because there is no agreement as to when you should start counting.
So at the risk of sticking my neck out too far, because I strongly believe that life begins at conception, I vote to start counting from that point. As I thought of that, I was reminded of an expression I encountered often as a history major, which is the term “seminal event”. It is used basically to refer to a single event which produces consequences that go far beyond what was expected and in many ways affects the course of history. When I discussed this subject back in July, I used the beginning of this year as a reference point for the count to begin, but in truth there was no seminal event in mind. Then a few weeks ago a brother in Christ suggested that all the misery this year has produced began on Tuesday January 28, when the Mideast Plan for Peace was finally unveiled.
Most of you will recall that there were many delays in producing this plan with no firm date given to reveal it. Why was this particular day chosen? I have no idea, but a few weeks ago I did discover this. If you count thirty-nine weeks from Tuesday January 28 you come to Tuesday October 27 which is the tenth of Heshvan and the very day God told Noah and his family to get in the ark. If you count forty weeks from that date in January, you come to Tuesday November 3 which is the day the flood began. Did I forget to mention that it is also the day our nation goes to the polls to vote?
You are free to make what you will of this but for one, I am glad I chose to become a member of God’s family and my place on the “ark” is guaranteed. 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.
