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THE TIME OF TROUBLE

There is a time of trouble that is soon to break upon this world, and the main force of it will be directed at God's true commandment keeping people. This time of trouble was prophesied to happen by Daniel:

Daniel 12:1 ...'And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.'

The "Great Prince" spoken here is none other than Jesus Christ Himself. He is the one who "standeth" (intercedes) for the children of God. And while Christ is interceding on our behalf in the Heavenly courts, the "winds of strife" are being held in check (Revelation 7:1) until judgment comes to an end and Jesus has sealed His servants with the seal of God.

The scene of Christ Jesus "standing up" is a scene of hope, because the reason He is standing up is to return to this world to deliver His people, as the above Bible verse in Daniel confirms. But before Christ returns there will be a time of trouble that this world has never seen before.

When judgment comes to an end and the cases for all have been decided for saved or lost, the four angels who are holding the four winds will be told to loose them and then this world will be plunged into great unparalleled ruin, such as we've never seen before. Today, God's Spirit is still striving with mankind, to save as many people as the Lord can, and the full power of Satan is being kept in check. But once God's Spirit is removed from the earth, the powers of darkness will unleash it's complete fury upon mankind.

There are examples in the Old Testament of single angels causing untold destruction. One example being when King David numbered the people against God's will, and a single angle brought terrible destruction to the people (2 Samuel 24:15-16). Now just imagine what is going to happen when Satan and his MILLIONS of powerful angels have full control of the earth! You can begin to understand why this time of trouble is going to be so much worse than anything this world has seen.

But who is Satan going to point his fury at?

Now this is the important point to consider. Where, and more specifically who exactly is this "fury" going to be pointed at? Take a look at the following Bible verse, and you will see the answer:

Revelation 12:17 ...'And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.'

So who is Satan "angry" with? God's people! The woman here is a symbol of the true church, and the "remnant" are the true people of God during the end times who keep His commandments and have the testimony (spirit of prophecy - Rev. 19:10) and keep the faith of Jesus Christ (Rev. 14:12). And it is these people who Satan will give special attention to during this time of trouble. Satan will convince the world that it is God's commandment keeping people who have brought destruction upon the world and we will become targets for great persecution (Rev. 13:15).

Daniel 10:14 ...'Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days.'

In light of this, we need to be preparing NOW. We need to have a daily experience with Christ Jesus like we've never had before. Because if we do not cling to Christ Jesus now in this relative time of "calm" and seek to walk side by side with our Lord and Saviour, then when the time of trouble hits and we find ourselves under great persecution, we will find it difficult to stay true to our faith.

And now I hear many about to say ..."Oh but we need not worry about this because the church will be "raptured" away before the tribulation begins."

Well, if you believe this false teaching like so many other professing Christians do, then let me direct you to the clearest Bible verse which proves the rapture theory to be false.

Matthew 13:24-30 ...'Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.'

Matthew 13:38-40 ...'The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.'

Now those who hold to this "rapture" theory believe that the church will be taken away to heaven and then the rest of the inhabitants of the world will CONTINUE TO LIVE ON EARTH through the great tribulation. So according to the "rapture" supporters, there will be a separation BEFORE the end of the world. And yet the Bible verses above clearly state that there will be no separation, and that the separation will take place ONLY at the END OF THE WORLD, which is when Jesus returns at the ONE AND ONLY physical, literal, loud, fiery second coming (Matt. 24:27; 1 Thess. 4:16-17; Rev. 1:7; 2 Peter 3:10).

And did you notice another truth? It is the wicked who are "gathered" first, NOT the church.

This secret rapture teaching is nothing more than one of Satan's invented teachings to make people think they need not be prepared for any tribulation. And what will happen to all those poor souls who thought they would be raptured away when they find themselves in the thick of great persecution? They will find it is too late to prepare and will end up falling away and be forever lost!

Friends, it's time to get ready now. There is not a moment to lose. We must pray like we've never prayed before. We must study God's Word like never before. We must repent and turn away from our sins. We must seek Christ daily and walk with Him daily. We need to have an experience like Jacob, when he wrestled with the Angel of the Lord, not willing to let Him go until he received the blessing and assurance from the Lord. Jacob overcame his sin, which is why his name was changed to Israel. We need to do the same. THEN the following promise of Christ will apply to us during the great time of trouble ...

"and at that time thy people shall be delivered." (Daniel 12:1)

"These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Revelation 7:14)

The time of trouble is soon to break upon this world. Please heed the warning and get ready now, before it is too late. And when I say "get ready". I don't mean for you to stock pile food and build yourself a hideaway bunker. I mean to get ready spiritually. Preparing your heart and mind by submitting fully to Christ Jesus and His Word. Then you will have the great resource of Christ's power and protection, which is all we need in the last days. May God be with you and protect you in the final hours!