Most people have an idea of the coming Biblical judgment on earth, although their skepticism may override their thinking on the matter. It is portrayed on the evening news and in the Hollywood movies. Armageddon, for example, is a term used often by the secular world, even though they have little to no knowledge of the subject matter. Rapture, Tribulation, Armageddon, these words are thrown around like rice at a wedding, usually in order to induce excitement or to make a point. I’m still speaking of the secular part of society of course. Unfortunately, many Christians are no more educated on these terms than they.

My only intent at this time is to clear up a misconception about the Rapture. Is there anything that must be fulfilled before the Rapture can take place? For those who may not know what I mean by “Rapture,” it is the event when Jesus Christ comes for His Church, His Bride, and removes all true Christians from the earth prior to the beginning of the seven years of Tribulation.

Jesus told us in His Word that there would be signs ushering in and included in the Tribulation that will be on earth (Matthew 24, et al). The Tribulation is a commonly recognized name for Daniel’s Seventieth Week, which is simply the remaining seven years God promised Israel. These remaining seven years will occur just prior to Christ’s second coming to the earth (Matthew 24:29-31). His first coming was to die on the cross and leave an empty grave to make provision for all who come to Him in belief to be spiritually born again (John 3). His second coming is to put an end to the seventieth week, the Tribulation, and rule the world for the next one thousand years. I understand that this is very simply stated and basic, but my intention again is the Rapture.

The seven years of Tribulation on this earth is going to take place soon. When? I don’t know. I do know that there are so many signs that are self-evident and exponentially increasing, it can’t be far off. This period will be the most horrific time mankind has every endured upon this earth. It cannot be hell, for hell is far worse, but it will seem like hell on earth.

Prior to this seven year period of judgment and reconciliation, judgment for the world and reconciliation for Israel, Jesus will remove all those who have put their trust in Him (Revelation 3:10, et al). They are called Christians, His Church and His Bride. These are true believers, not those who espouse Christianity for their convenience, but actually have put their trust in Jesus Christ through their belief in Him, and have been saved by His grace. By removing His Church He will end the dispensation of the Church Age and return to Israel to complete the promises He made her.

Is there any sign, any prophecy, anything that needs to happen before the Rapture occurs, now that we understand what the Rapture means? No. The Rapture has always been an imminent event, meaning that it is always looming and pending with sudden expectancy. It can occur at any time, and will be over within the “twinkling of an eye” after it starts. There will be no time to think, no time to call forth, “Take me too!” At the snap of a finger, God’s in this case, the world will be thrust into the last seven years it has to exist, prior to the thousand years where Christ will rule the earth as it should be, a time called the Millennium, meaning “thousand years.”

Two things will happen, in case you haven’t noticed it yet, that will be so instantaneous and unchanging when the Rapture occurs. In the “twinkling of an eye” those who know Jesus as their Savior will be transported to Heaven, and in that same “twinkling of an eye” those who have not trusted in Jesus will be left to endure all that the Tribulation has to offer.

I ask again. Is there anything that must happen that could forewarn the world that the Rapture is about to take place? Is there something that the world can grab hold of at the last minute, so they won’t miss it? No.

Here is where I find it unfortunate that some prophecy students and/or scholars make one statement that seems to nullify this thing about signs for the Rapture. I am dismayed that some will say that when the Gospel has been preached in all the world, then Christ will come for His Church. This is taken from Matthew 24:14.

“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”

They go on to state that in the electronic age we live in with television, internet, travel, etc. we have almost reached everyone and it won’t be long now.

My dear friends please pass the word along that Matthew 24:14 has nothing to do with the Church Age. The Church will be long gone at this point. This Scripture passage is for those in the Tribulation. Before the Tribulation ends, the world will hear the preaching of the “gospel of the kingdom.” Then the end will come.

Notice four truths of this verse:

1.     “gospel of the kingdom” – the Gospel that Jesus Christ is coming to reign (Millennium)

2.     “shall be preached in all the world” – by 144,000 Jews, by two prophets, and one angel

3.     “for a witness unto all nations” – all nations, and their peoples, that have been in rebellion against God during the Tribulation

4.     “then the end shall come” – the Second Coming, when Jesus Christ will return with His Church (Bride) to end the seven year Tribulation period and usher in His one thousand year reign, the Millennium.

Notice the verses preceding and following Matthew 24:14. Jesus is talking about the seven year period of Tribulation, not the time prior to the Rapture, the period we are now in, which is prior to the Tribulation.

However, notice this also, as I have previously said. Since we are seeing so many signs attributable to the Tribulation, which follows the Rapture, doesn’t that tell us that the Rapture could be close at hand? How close? I haven’t a clue. We’ll have to wait and see, but there are no signs for the Rapture, including Matthew 24:14. It can happen at any time, and it will happen without warning.

Grant Phillips

Most everyone wants to know what the future holds. What does the future hold for me and my family in particular? What will be the future breakthroughs in the fields of medicine, electronics, science, society, education, and finances for example? What waits out there for my country? What type of clothes will be popular ten or twenty years from now? What will the new cars look like thirty years from now?

On a personal level, we sometimes wonder; how will I die, what will my children be like when they are adults, will I have a job tomorrow, will I be blindsided by an unexpected divorce that I didn’t see coming, where will I be five or ten years from now, will I be able to retire, how will I be cared for when I am old, who will take care of my family when I’m gone, and the list goes on?

Christians may be asking, “How much worse will the world become before Jesus returns for me?” “Is He coming soon?”

Even those who do not claim Jesus as their Savior are wondering, “What does the future hold. Is there any hope for better things to come, or just a continued slide into chaos?”

I personally feel that God is very kind by withholding from our knowledge some of the answers we may seek. It’s called grace. For example, in most cases, not all, we do not know how we are going to die and that is a blessing. If I die before the Rapture, do I really want to know how I will leave this earth in physical death? I personally would rather not know until I’m actually faced with it. The Apostle Peter was not so fortunate, for Jesus told him exactly how he would die.

“18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. 19 This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.” (John 21:18-19)

I used to wonder how Peter dealt with that frightening knowledge. Crucifixion was an unimaginably horrible way to die. The answer is obvious. He dealt with it the same way any Christian of today would deal with dying. His strength did not come from himself, but from within himself. The Holy Spirit of God provided the strength.

“16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you comfortless: [emphasis mine] I will come to you.” (John 14:16-18)

On the other hand, Jesus, as God, knew exactly what He would be facing, not just the anguish of crucifixion, but the judgment for our sin. However, because of His great love for us, He drank of that cup. When He died for us, He was not comforted by God as Peter was, but instead condemned and alone because of our sins.

Jesus knew what was ahead of Him. Often, “thank you Lord,” we do not.

I want to make two very important points in this writing:

First, I would like for all of us who are Christians to realize that we too, regardless of the future, will not be left comfortless by our Lord. As rough as it may get, we are not alone. Any who are reading this and do not know Jesus as Savior, may have that same comfort by believing in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He died for you. Accept His gift of salvation.

I fear that we are in for some very rough times ahead, but those who rest on the Rock will not sink in the sand. In Jesus we find our strength.

Secondly, in less than a month we will face the most important Presidential election we have ever had. The very soul of our country is at stake.

Sadly, only about 25% of Christians in this country actually vote. People of the past were not allowed the privilege of choosing their own leader. Today, most citizens of the world do not have that choice. Even in many countries of today that hold “elections,” the “elections” are simply window dressing. They are a sham, and they are becoming so here, because “good people keep doing nothing.” [Taken from a quote by Edmund Burke]

I’ve often heard it said, “If you don’t vote, then don’t complain.” I think that is good advice.

Some Christians are saying they will not vote this November because, even though they would never vote for Obama, the incumbent, they will not vote for Romney because he is a Mormon. If you do not vote, you have cast your vote for the incumbent. But let me ask you, what does being a Mormon have to do with it?

The candidate running for Presidential office should be examined upon his/her qualifications to lead our country, not upon their qualifications to pastor a church, or lead a Bible study. In other words, “Mr. Candidate, how will you lead our country? Will you follow the Constitution of the United States? Will you obey the laws that are already in place? Will you support the murder of unborn babies, abortion? Will you endorse homosexuality and the marriage of same sex couples? Will you bow the knee to our enemies? Will you support the nation of Israel? Will you promote a satanic religion that is heaped in hate, violence and murder? Will you continue the financial ruin of our country? Will you protect the citizens of the United States of America and honor your oath of office?”

Obama supports abortion, homosexuality, same sex marriage, socialism and our sworn enemies, to name just a few items on the list. Also, the incumbent does not support our Constitution. Neither does he support the nation of Israel, which is insane! Obama and his socialistic followers have one agenda; the destruction of America as originally founded by our forefathers, which of course includes her Christian influence.

If Romney wins the Presidential election, will we see a positive change for our country? I don’t know, but what choice do we have? At least there would be the hope of a change for the better. If we stay the course with Obama, there is absolutely no hope whatsoever. You can’t get much worse than what we now have, and desperately need to remove from office.

If Obama wins his re-election for President, will we see a change? Oh yes. We will see a change alright, like we have never seen before. If anyone thinks this guy has turned this country upon its head these last four years, just hold on tight, because he will really let loose the next round. His one goal is to destroy everything this country was founded upon, and he is most of the way there. All he needs is just a little more time, and four more years is more than enough.

Every voting-age adult who claims the name of Jesus Christ needs to be registered to vote and then do so this November, while being completely aware that if “we” don’t make some changes in our leadership, this country is gone forever. Our freedoms are quickly diminishing. They could be totally vaporized with four more years of the incumbent as President. Obama speaks of “change.” I pray that the American people will wake up and make a change of their own.

What is our future if Obama gets a second term as President? The Presidential actions of the last four years will accelerate in a continued decline of our freedoms; continued support for our enemies; continued non-support of Israel; continued attacks against God, His Word and His people; continued support of immoral acts; continued support of murder in the womb, abortion; continued non-support of our sovereignty as a nation; continued suppression of our financial structure; continued support of Islam, etc., etc., etc.

What is our future if we vote for Romney and he wins the election? Prayerfully, the destructive, suicidal actions of Obama will be reversed and sanity restored to a country that is quickly turning its back against God Almighty and inviting His judgment. It is prayerfully yearned that the attacks against innocent babies, God, the Bible, Christians, and Israel will at the very least subside, and the support of immorality and corruption will cease.

What is our future if we vote for Paul? He cannot win, so we waste our vote, and provide extra leverage for the incumbent to remain in the White House. The decline of America will continue.

What is our future if we do not vote? We help the incumbent remain in the White House, and the decline of America will continue.

What is our future if we cast a write-in vote? We help the incumbent remain in the White House, and the decline of America will continue.

Some ask, “If God sets rulers in place, why should I bother to vote?” The answer is because God always works through His people. Maybe God would like to give us a “breather.” Maybe He will choose not to. That is up to Him, but I don’t think He wants us to sit on our “excuses” and do nothing.

Here is the “bottom line.” If the incumbent, Obama, continues a second term as our President, we have seen the end of our country and life as we know it. I hate to say this, but those we can thank will be those Christians who refused to take steps at the voting booth to remove this man from office.

Moses sent twelve leaders from each tribe to spy out the land of Canaan. Ten reported back that the harvest was great, but the enemies were greater. Only two, Joshua and Caleb, said this is so but we can take them by the Lord’s might. The people chose to listen to the ten instead of the two. God judged them by making them wander in the wilderness another forty years, and only their children were allowed to enter the Promised Land, plus Joshua and Caleb. (Numbers 13-14)

The point is, trusting God is not sitting on our posteriors and waiting for Him to change our circumstances while we do nothing. Trusting God is not saying the enemy is too strong. We can’t win. Trusting God is getting up off our behinds, dusting our britches off, and trusting His might to be with us and lead us in our problems.

What does our future hold as citizens of this country? That could depend on us. Will you be numbered with the ten or the two? For those who died in the desert, there was no future. Frankly, I’m tired of this desert. Let’s move on.

Grant Phillips