Is Belief in a Pre-Trib Rapture a Form of Escapism? :: By Susan Mouw

Published on: by RR7 Category:General Articles

 

I have to admit – I chuckled a bit when I read comments that those of us who believe in a pre-tribulation Rapture of the Church are suffering from a mental deficiency and a form of escapism.

By that measure, then Noah must have suffered from this mental deficiency as well when he started building the Ark. While there is much argument over how long it took Noah to build the Ark, we do know that he and his family entered the Ark when he was 600 years old, and we know that he was 500 years old when his first son, Japtheth, was born (Genesis 5:32).

We also know that Noah’s second son, Shem, had his first son when he was 100 years old, and that was 2 years after the flood (Genesis 11:10). If we look at the instructions God gave Noah, He told Noah that “he, his wife, and his three sons and their wives” were to be brought aboard the Ark (Genesis 6:14-18). So, it is safe to say that it took Noah less than 98 years, and some have estimated closer to 75 years, for Noah to build that Ark. That is a very long time to hear all your neighbors laughing about you, mocking you, and telling everyone how crazy you are!

Let’s not forget about Lot and his family when the two angels showed up and told him to get out of Sodom and Gomorrah! Lot’s neighbors saw the two angels enter Lot’s home and wanted Lot to send them out so they could “know them.” From the history we know about Sodom and Gomorrah, it’s safe to say those neighbors weren’t looking for a friendly chat over a cup of coffee at the local diner (Genesis 19:1). Was Lot also suffering from this “escapism,” or was he listening to the message sent from God?

I think back on my own life experience and remember those days in 2008, preceding the devastation caused by Hurricane Ike. We were living on our boat, moored in a marina in Seabrook, TX. Barry was still running his trucking company, BMS Transport, and was on the road. We kept in touch over multiple phone calls to see what I should do if this hurricane stayed on the projected path. I still remember the phone call when Barry told me to pack up and get outta Dodge!

So, I packed up what I could, loaded my black Lab, Eli, in the back seat of the pick-up, and we headed north. Good thing I did, too, because the scene, after Barry was able to get back into Seabrook, was not a pretty one. Our 1956 Chris Craft Constellation, Miss M Pulsive, was a total wreck and sitting on the bottom. Even our little 20″ VIP was crushed up against the roof of the marina. Was that escapism that caused me to pack up and head north, out of the path of the destruction? If it was, I hope I still have that sense of escapism because that is what kept Eli and me from ending up on the sandy bottom of that marina with our boat. Of course, that wasn’t God telling me to pack up and head out – it was my husband.

I haven’t asked Barry who told him…

Studying God’s Word and listening to that still small voice and then heeding what it says is not escapism – it’s wisdom. I pray that we all keep studying, and seeing, and understanding the signs that are all around us today. God gave us those signs for a reason.

Susan Mouw, Author

The Road to the Cross
Go Set A Watchman
As In the Days of Noah

Website: roadtothecross.org

The Big Picture :: By Nathele Graham

Published on: by RR7 Category:General Articles, Ron & Nathele Graham

My husband had a way of irritating me. He was a wonderful man, but every time I would get in a dither about something, fretting about details and how everything seemed to be falling apart, Ron would always say, “Look at the big picture.” Then he would chuckle. Sure enough, if I would focus on the big picture, I stopped fretting and saw how all things were falling together in spite of my worrying. As Christians, we need to focus on the big picture.

As we watch the horrors happening in Ukraine, we can easily be distracted by details rather than focusing on the big picture. God wasn’t taken by surprise, and He loves the people who are being hurt by this war. He also sees all things and knows that this is leading to a much bigger war. He sees the big picture and gives us prophecy so we can also see the bigger picture if we study.

“Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” (Isaiah 46:9-10).

It’s comforting to know that God knew all these scary things would happen, but He is God, and truly there is none like Him. If we allow ourselves to trust Him, we will have inner peace.

Scripture gives us the big picture. Unless you study Biblical prophecy, without interpreting it to suit your own agenda or understanding, but study it as God dictated it, you will miss what’s going on today. The Apostle Peter had a front-row seat to the miracles of Jesus, but he said that the miracles weren’t as sure as prophecy.

“We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in the old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:19-21).

Remember, the focus of prophecy and the end times is on Israel, not on any manmade nation, but on God’s chosen nation of Israel and turning their hearts back to Him. Christians are a special group of people from many nations, ethnic backgrounds, and family ties.

“For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:27-29).

We are united as brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ by our faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. We have admitted that we are sinners who do not have any hope of spending eternity with God, except through the blood of Jesus… our Kinsman Redeemer.

Israel has always been God’s chosen people. God called Abraham out of the pagan culture in which he lived and blessed him by giving him the land we now know as Israel. God’s promise included the fact that Abraham would have a son and would be the father of a great nation. Although Abraham and his wife Sarah were quite old, that son was born to them. His name was Isaac. Isaac’s son Jacob was the father of twelve sons, who each had many children. One of those sons, Judah, would be the one from which King David was born, and many generations in the future, the Messiah was born.

Many prophecies were fulfilled in the years between the call of Abraham and the birth of the Messiah, whom we know was Jesus the Christ. There are hundreds of Old Testament prophecies that specifically describe His birth, life, and death. But because the religious leaders who lived during the time Jesus walked in the Holy Land refused to study prophecy and understand the times in which they lived, they rejected their Messiah and crucified Him.

One of the prophecies regarding this is found in Daniel chapter 9. This prophecy is about the nation of Israel, which is interesting because Daniel received it while in captivity in Babylon. Israel had been taken captive and the Temple destroyed. Yet, Daniel was shown that they would be a nation again, and the Temple rebuilt. He spoke of the coming Messiah, but he also told of the rejection by Israel of their Messiah.

“And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined” (Daniel 9:26).

Indeed, the Messiah did come to the Jewish people, but they rejected Him and accused Him of blasphemy. Jesus was crucified, but He didn’t remain in the grave. His crucifixion and resurrection won victory over death. All people can live eternally with God by placing their faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. That’s the big picture regarding Christ’s birth, ministry on earth, and death.

Still, the leaders of Israel were blind. The Apostle Paul wrote about the blindness that has plagued the nation of Israel and tells us that it will last until all who will accept Christ have done so.

“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, unto the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Romans 11:25).

Look at the big picture, and see that the “fulness of the Gentiles” is just about filled. Prophecy is on fast forward. If you haven’t made a commitment to Christ, then time is running out. Just as in Noah’s time, the door of the Ark was shut, and all who refused the safety of the Ark faced God’s judgment. God’s wrath will be poured out soon, but Christians will be Raptured prior to His judgment. Be sure that you have repented and accepted His offer of grace through faith.

One big mistake made by those who haven’t a clue about prophecy is the belief that the ekklesia (the church) has replaced Israel. This false teaching has led to much misinterpretation of Scripture. All questions about the error of that thinking should have been wiped away when Israel became a nation again.

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” (Isaiah 11:11-12).

Also, “And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them saith the LORD thy God” (Amos 9:14-15).

In Ezekiel chapter 37, the Lord showed Ezekiel a valley of dry bones. Those bones join together and begin to come alive. The Lord explained the bones as being the whole house of Israel that shall be brought back into the land which He gave them. That prophecy was fulfilled in 1948 when Israel was reestablished. In Ezekiel’s end-time prophecy, found in chapters 38 and 39, after the dry bones come together and finally get life, there is a war. God will win.

I will say that much of the misunderstanding of prophecy comes from interpretations of future events based on knowledge of the time. For instance, a century ago it would have been impossible to understand how the whole world could watch God’s two witnesses, described in Revelation chapter 11, be killed, but those who missed the Rapture will see and rejoice over their death.

“And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them” (Revelation 11:9-11).

Today, we have satellite news broadcasts that people can watch on their telephones. When studying prophecy, remember that what God has foreseen will happen. The prophets may not have known how something would come about, but they knew that it would and faithfully described what they saw or heard. When Daniel was given the end-time prophecy, there were things he couldn’t understand but wrote anyway. He was told to shut and seal the book until the end.

“But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased” (Daniel 12:4).

Many prophecies should be coming clear because we are at a time when technology has caught up with Scripture. God saw the big picture, and we need to trust His knowledge.

If we pay attention to prophecy, we’ll understand that the Mark of the Beast can easily be implemented through computer technology and micro-chips. This “pandemic” wasn’t an “oops” but a planned scenario to see just how far people can be pushed and controlled. According to Scripture, when the mark of the beast is implemented, a person will choose to take it. Only those who bow to the beast and take his mark will be able to buy food, earn a living, and other necessities of life. By choosing to take the mark, a person will have “sold their soul to Satan.” You will be beyond salvation.

Altered DNA? I think so. Just like the Nephilim of Genesis chapter 6, which most Christians refuse to understand. That’s one of many reasons we know that the Rapture will happen prior to the beginning of the 7-year period of time known as Daniel’s 70th week, also called the Tribulation. Christians are assured of Salvation by faith. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit, and our salvation is secure.

“That we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:12-14).

The Rapture will happen before the mark is mandatory. Beware of mandates. There will be people who will come to faith after the Rapture, and they are known as Tribulation Saints. If their faith in Jesus is made known, they will be beheaded. Make sure of your faith. Search your heart and see if there’s anything you need to ask Jesus to forgive you for, then witness to friends and family.

When you look at the big picture disclosed by Scripture, you’ll understand the times in which we live, and hopefully, you’ll be prompted to share the Gospel with others before it’s too late. Pray for the people in Ukraine. Pray for Israel.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com
ron@straitandnarrowministry.com

Recommended prophecy sites:

www.raptureready.com
www.prophecyupdate.com
www.raptureforums.com

All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.

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