Rapture Chronicles Part I: The Holy Ones :: By Wilfred Hahn

Published on: by RR7 Category:General Articles, Wilfred Hahn

Many people, Christians and non-believers alike, often pooh-pooh the notion of a Rapture. Apparently, they reason that an “up-up-and-away” is the easy way out … leaving a messed-up world in abandonment behind them. But that is a gross mischaracterization of the environment of the earth at that time. The Bible says that faith will run cold in the last days (Matthew 24:12). This implies that there will be relatively few saved souls on earth at that time. (Disclosure: We do not subscribe to the Partial Rapture Theory.)

The last-day world is taken up with merriment, hedonism, humanism, wickedness, and self-determination. Believers will be persecuted. It will be a very difficult time for born-again Christians. Christ even asked rhetorically: “[…] when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). Thus, right up until the time of the Rapture (shortly or immediately followed by the Tribulation Period), these souls will be prepared and ready. They will not have succumbed to the lures of the world.

Of course, no one knows when the Tribulation will start. Without a doubt, it would indeed be all so much easier if the Rapture were predictable. Waiting for the Rapture, therefore, requires much faith, separateness from the world, and perseverance. Later—once the Tribulation starts, of course—future events will no longer be secret … readily observable by all earth-dwellers at that time, according to Scripture. Many people will realize that God’s wrath and the end is near.

Those that come to Christ during the Tribulation period will be called to stand and overcome the pressures to worship the image of the first Beast. Those that accept Christ as their Savior will pay with their blood to stand firm to the end. Before the Tribulation begins, all Spirit-filled souls will be raptured … all of them undeserving of both salvation and a Pre-Tribulational Rapture.

In the next several issues, we will examine a number of unusual controversial issues that involve the Rapture and the saints of the last days. To be sure, this raises conundrums, debated chronicles and, hopefully, some insights. We begin with the following conundrum: Why does God seemingly allow the “wicked” to triumph over His people?

Rapture Conundrum

Should we not expect to be delivered by our Lord, who says that our smallest care is His concern? Isn’t He the one upon whom we are to “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7)?

Yes. Yet, we also read about a situation in the Bible where the “holy ones” are given over to be defeated by the Antichrist, also known as the “little horn.” This statement is found in the 7th chapter of Daniel. He tells us: “As I watched, this horn [the ‘little horn’] was waging war against the ‘holy ones’ and defeating them […]” (verse 21). Again, not to miss this … it says, “defeating them.” We may wonder why this is allowed to happen to the “holy ones,” as it seems unjust.

Any doubt on this topic is quickly expelled, as this defeat of the “holy ones” is described at least five more times.

A few verses later (Daniel 7:25), it states that the Antichrist “will speak against the Most High and oppress his ‘holy ones’ […] They will be delivered into his [Antichrist’s] hands for “a time, times and half a time.” Here we learn that this ordeal will last three and a half years in the Tribulation Period.

But that’s not all. There are yet additional and similar prophecies in the book of Daniel, which state that the “holy ones” would be overcome. A later vision, interpreted by an angel, informs us that: “He [the Antichrist] will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy those who are mighty, the ‘holy ones'” (Daniel 8:24).

Lastly, in Daniel 12:7, it says: “It will be for a time, times and half a time. When the power of the ‘holy ones’ has been finally broken, all these things will be completed.” Even though the “holy ones” are said to be “mighty,” they will be destroyed. These above-mentioned statements all align with prophecies written in the Book of Revelation. However, “[The Beast] was given power to wage war against God’s ‘holy ones’ and to conquer them” (Revelation 13:7).

And again: “The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. It was given power to wage war against God’s ‘holy ones’ and to conquer them” (Revelation 13:5-7).

Daniel and John the Revelator are in perfect alignment. The time period over which the defeat will take place is 42 months, and the Beast mentioned is the same … the one that blasphemes and speaks against the Most High.

Given these confirming references from both Testaments, there can be no doubt. For a period of 3 1/2 years (in our interpretation, this being the first half of the Tribulation period), “holy ones” are going to fall prey to the Antichrist.

They will not only be defeated; the Bible also says that they will be destroyed (Daniel 8:24). A plain interpretation would, therefore, suggest that ALL are destroyed.

We still grapple with this question: Why should the “holy ones” all become martyrs … all be destroyed? We again come back to our earlier question at the outset: Why does God seemingly allow the “wicked” to triumph over His people?

We must first confirm the answer to this question: Just who are these “holy ones” that are being overcome in the previously quoted texts? The answer provides an important key.

We must note that the concept of the church was yet hidden at the time of Daniel and other OT prophets. The Messiah had not yet appeared nor had been rejected by the Jews.

However, the identity of the “holy ones” seems fairly clear, as it is referring to a future time when the “holy ones” would exist. We identify them as the Tribulational Christians. There is an ironclad case supporting this conclusion, which we will show.

To re-phrase, all of the “holy ones” that are being shown as vanquished and destroyed in Scripture are Tribulation Saints. This means those that have come to recognize Jesus as the Messiah and Savior once the seven-year Tribulation began … in other words, after the Rapture has taken place.

None of the six aforementioned prophecies apply to the saints of the Church Age. Post-Rapture saints have a much different timeline than the saints that are taken up in the Rapture.

Many misinterpret these accounts of saints being destroyed as evidence that the Church-age Christians will not be raptured and, therefore, be required to go through the Tribulation. We believe this to be an incorrect conclusion on several accounts.

First, the proofs of the Rapture occurring stand on their own. Several New Testament texts confirm it. As well, the Rapture is an event that is entirely consistent with the character of God.

The fact that there are people who will repent during the Tribulation has no direct connection to the Rapture. These references to “holy ones” found in Daniel and Revelation refer to those (earth-dwellers) who become believers in Christ during the first half of the Tribulation.

Gloriously, there will be many … a veritable multitude. The accounts of Daniel and Apostle John (the Revelator) are in alignment on this point.

Apostle John says that “[…] a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, [was] standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9). These were Tribulational Christians. How do we know this?

First, of course, this scene takes place in heaven before the throne at the time of the sixth seal. This event, therefore, occurs in the Tribulation Period. “They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands” (verse 9). The white robe signified that they had received salvation, and the palm branches represented victory. This could only apply to a Christian. Therefore, to again conclude: These “holy ones” are all Christians that come out of the Tribulation.

Second, this “multitude” that is identified at the time of the sixth seal is, in fact, the fulfillment of the prophecy given at the time when the fifth seal was opened (found in Revelation chapter 6). The slain saints at that time (shown under the altar in front of the great throne) are told to wait until the remainder of brethren on earth are killed and emerge “out of the Tribulation.” They are shown as the souls who had been slain, waiting under the altar in heaven. They had been killed in the Tribulation because of the Word of God and the testimony that they had maintained.

“They called out in a loud voice, ‘How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?'” (Revelation 6:10). They were told to wait a while longer, “[…] until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been” (verse 11). Those that had been killed already upon earth were given a white robe.

Then later, after the sixth seal had been removed, the “multitude beyond count” is seen in heaven (Revelation 7:9), as already mentioned. “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev 7:14).

We can deduce here that many, many Christians were martyred from before the time of the fifth seal until after the sixth seal. Just as Daniel prophesies, they will all have been “destroyed” (martyred). This writer concludes that there will be no “fellow servants” remaining (these being the “holy ones”… Tribulational saints) upon the earth once the seventh seal is about to be removed. In the following sequel, we will review the evidence for this view, as well as its decisive implications for various Rapture theories.

In the next issues, we delve into yet more conundrums and chronicles. Why can the Rapture happen at no other time than Pre-Tribulation? Who passes through the Tribulation into the Millennium? Will all Christians die at the hands of the Antichrist? What are the most glorious promises to the Church?

—————

Wilfred J. Hahn is a global economist/strategist. Formerly a top-ranked global analyst, research director for a major Wall Street investment bank, and head of Canada’s largest global investment operation, his writings focus on the endtime roles of money, economics and globalization. He has been quoted around the world and his writings reproduced in numerous other publications and languages. His 2002 book The Endtime Money Snare: How to live free accurately anticipated and prepared its readers for the Global Financial Crisis. A following book, Global Financial Apocalypse Prophesied: Preserving true riches in an age of deception and trouble, looks further into the prophetic future.

Contact Wilfred at: staff@eternalvalue.com

Eternal Life Is Not Given by Measure :: By Gene Lawley

Published on: by RR7 Category:Gene Lawley, General Articles

The parable Jesus told of a vineyard owner hiring workers throughout the day but paying each of them the same wage for the day’s work seems to illustrate the principle, as in the title above. The parable is recorded in Matthew 20:1-16:

“…For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.  And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.’

“So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ 

“But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’ So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.”

It is a rather long narrative, but there are three points to be considered as insight into the “likeness of the kingdom of heaven” so revealed in this parable—the same wage being paid to each of the workers; the first is last and the last first; and many are called, but few are chosen. The challenge is to learn how those three points are illustrated by this parable. It brings me to that proverb that says, “And knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10b).

But wait! The first part of that verse also has an important input to this as well: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10a).

The first item is the way the workers were paid—each one received the same amount, although their hours of work differed. As the article title indicates, it compares to the gift of eternal life and how it comes to those who believe and receive it. No one gets more eternal life than anyone else. That seems to be a simple answer, but does anyone have difficulty with the realization that someone who receives the gift of eternal life through Christ at an early age and spends his life in service to the Lord, while someone on his deathbed accepts Christ and has no life left to live for the Lord, yet he also has eternal life? Perhaps not so much, but that is a reasonable comparison with the details of the parable.

That old Adam nature each believer spars with all day long, every day and night, has a way of crying out, “That’s not fair!” Remember how the disciples, James and John, wanted to sit on each side of Jesus when He was seated on His throne in heaven? Who doesn’t want special privileges to satisfy his self-centered soul?

The passage that sheds light on this is found in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15:

“For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”

There is only one foundation for eternal life, and that is Jesus Christ. Likewise, there is only one full and complete eternal life. It is not handed out in pieces, depending on how well we have served. Notice in that passage how well one has served results in rewards that are not burned up by the test of fire. Yet, the foundation remains firm and sure. That is the assurance of salvation, as so stated in 1 John 5:11-12:

“And this is the testimony that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son; he who has the Son has life, and he who does not have the Son does not have life.”

That thief on the cross who believed did not have time for any good works; his only one was his recognition of Jesus as the Savior. Yet, his salvation was as assured as anyone else’s.

As an example, a man who accepts Christ on his deathbed might say, as his wife, perhaps, tells him of the Jesus he has avoided all his life, “I love you more now than I ever did before you helped me find Jesus to save me.” That comment of love may be the only “good work” he would be able to do, but it would be in the gold, silver or precious stones category and not burned up.

As Jesus said to Peter when he asked about the purpose Jesus had for that other disciple, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me” (John 21:22). Believers are saved one by one and not in groups as a whole. Believers are individually responsible to God for their own service. It is spelled out in 2 Corinthians 5:10, the reference that speaks of the judgment seat of Christ:

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

Now, what does the phrase, “the last shall be first and the first shall be last” mean in respect to this parable? It is possible that it is an idiom, a saying, that means all entrants will be equally together at the end of the day. That seems to be the picture painted by the parable, at least. But here is another way to look at it: In short, “the first shall be last and the last first” means that being first has no meaning in the kingdom of heaven, for everyone arriving there is totally on the same level. The difference comes in what a person’s calling for service is, as Romans 12:3-4 tells us that God does measure out our gift of faith to perform that calling:

“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function….”

Then, the phrase, “many are called, but few are chosen” — how does it fit into this parable? It is a phrase repeated in another parable, the one of a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son; invitations were sent out but none came who were expected. Instead, his servants were sent out to invite anyone to come, and many did. That parable is found at Matthew 22:1-14. In that parable, it is clear how the statement fits the passage.

But in this one, when the owner of the vineyard came each time during the day, he found men standing around, waiting—as they said—for someone to hire them. Those who responded to his invitation to go to work ended up being his chosen, while it was an open invitation for anyone to go to work. That is comparable to our sharing the gospel—the Great Commission. Some respond favorably, but many do not, then or even later.

The Scriptures are clear, in spite of beliefs to the contrary, that God does not charge into a person’s life uninvited. He honors a person’s freedom of choice, just as He did with Adam and Eve in the Garden so long ago. It can be no better explained than is done in Revelation 3:20, as Jesus pictures His approach to a person: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and live with him, and he with Me.” It is also evident in the constantly repeated challenge in the Scriptures and by evangelists that “you must believe in Christ to be saved.” It is an act of the will.

Contact email:  andwegetmercy@gmail.com