How Can We Convince People That Post-Mid Imminent Tribulation Is The Real One?
Question: I have come to understand from all your end times previous posts that you are espousing post-mid imminent Tribulation, can you give a outline of how we could convince people that this is the real doctrine to be believed in our times, and not the other man made doctrines which confuses and makes us shaky and contentious among ourselves. Thanks in advance!
Answer: Greetings in Jesus wonderful name!
Yes you are right, I am espousing post-mid imminent Tribulation. Because I believe that this is the only one that fits a literal interpretation of all of what Jesus, Paul, Peter, James and John talked about in the Scripture as the end time eschatology which means, 'a branch of theology concerned with the final events in the history of the world or of humankind, and also the part of theology concerned with death, judgement, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind.' This is the only presentation that you can literally interpret without reading in to the Scripture the idea of many different people from many different times in which they understood it culturally rather than literally.
Generally Jesus told that for every Christian that they will face tribulation in all generation living in this world which hates them for no reason except for following Jesus in their lives (Mark 13:13; Matt 10:22; Luke 21:17; John 15:18; 16:33). Paul the apostle also told that, "through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22) and "all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution" (2 Tim 3:12). But the one specific Tribulation that is going to happen at the time of the end is separated and highlighted by all writers from all other generation general kind of tribulation that all spoke about. First of all when we speak about Tribulation in the New Testament context, the only specific Tribulation which the Bible speaks about in a variety of words used by different writers which all pinpoint to the same unprecedented cataclysmic end time hardship that is going to come in all the earth which Jesus spoke as the "Great Tribulation.., Tribulation.., that Day come of you unexpectedly....it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the earth, if someone else comes in his own name, you will receive him...[to start the Tribulation of God.] " (Matt 24:21; Mark 13:19; Luke 21:34-35; John 5:43). Paul spoke of this Tribulation as, "saved from wrath (Rom 5:9), "Jesus...delivers us from the wrath to come" (1 Thess 1:10), "as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they [i.e. left behind unbelievers] shall not escape" (1 Thess 5:3), "this Day should not overtake you as thief because you are not in darkness" (1 Thess 5:4), God will repay with "tribulation for those who" trouble the believers not knowing the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to obey it, "when He comes, in that Day" (2 Thess 1:6, 8, 10). John the apostle also spoke about this end time Tribulation saying, "the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole earth" (Rev 3:10). Peter the apostle also spoke about this day of Tribulation saying, "Where is the promise of His coming?...the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water...the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night" (2 Peter 3:4, 6, 10). The apostle James said that "the coming of the Lord is at hand" (James 5:8). In other words, all the writers in the New Testament concentrated on the coming of the Lord, because Jesus has promised to Rapture His people away from the world, before the Tribulation on the earth will be kick started with the Antichrist and the wrath of God which will follow it will continue and end suddenly, because if the Tribulation will continue until the Second Coming of Jesus to the earth, no flesh would be left alive (Matt 24:22).
For example, what did Jesus tell about Tribulation:
"15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened. 23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together." (Matt 24:15-28).
Note the context in which Jesus speaks about the whole end time message in the above Scriptures clearly, in fact He is speaking chronologically in which it will all unfold:
(i) Matt 24:15 - Jesus tells all the believers to look for the mid-point of the Daniel's 70th week spoken by Daniel the prophet standing in the Holy Place (Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:9, 11-12), apostle Paul agreed with this message of Jesus and told the believers to look for these following important signs before which "the day of Christ" to rapture the Church will not come. First he pointed out that unless the falling away comes first when they say "peace and saftey" (1 Thess 5:3) in the first part of the Daniel's Seventieth week, and then "the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition" (2 Thess 2:3) exactly in the mid-point called by Jesus as "the abomination of desolation" (Matt 24:15), the rapture will not take place before these events take place.
(ii) Matt 24:16 - Jesus tells all believers from Judea to flee away to the mountains because the persecution of Antichrist will start from Jerusalem. As Paul points out that at mid-point, "[Antichrist] who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." (2 Thess 2:4). Once Antichrist will boast himself as the messiah and the savior of the world, the first thing he will do under the guidance of the False Prophet will be to implement the idea to seal all the human beings who will worship him and give their allegiance to him as god through worshiping the image of the beast which will speak with the very voice of Satan (Rev 13:11-18), all others will be pursued in haste and will be put to death by the sword of the guillotine (Rev 13:10). We know that Muslims will be one among the Antichrist, so they will not have to be killed as they will accept this mahdi as their redeemer. But true Christians and those born again Messianic Jews are those whom Jesus tells to flee to the mountains at that time, because even though they will be hungry or without food for sometime, eventually they will all be raptured before the Tribulation will start.
(iii) Matt 24:17 to 19 - Jesus further tells all the believers, "17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!" (Matt 24:17-19). When Jesus says "let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house" and " let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes", it does mean that the earthly concern has no time for priority, because the Judgment of God through Tribulation is ready to break out as the Antichrist will start to seal up people with his mark which will bear the name of the beast or the number of his name on all humans, which will be implemented by force on all people as they will proclaim to all the world that this one mandatory religious dogma is for the prosperity and safety of all humans under Satan, which will be placed right on the spot of the foreheads of people or on their right hand as a mark that all should follow and worship Antichrist or else cease to exist on earth to die by sword (Rev 13:16). Even Jesus referred this same imagery in the writing of Luke to Lot's wife who had earthly concern and turned back to see when God already told them who are escaping out of Lord's judgment not to look back upon the burning Sodom (Luke 17:29-33). In others words, earthly minded people who have no faith will be left behind, but those heavenly minded people of faith will be rescued by the Lord Jesus Christ before the Tribulation could start to fall on the earth (2 Peter 2:6-7, 8-9; Ezek 16:49-50). Jesus further said, "woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days" because the babies need constant milk from their mother to survive if they go in to hiding, and also we know that they might raise their voice and start crying to thus reveal themselves out of their hiding place. Also we know that only if the mother eats enough nutritious food, she will be able to provide the baby with the sustenance through her milk. How terrible will be the time when the secret intelligence officers try to pursue those who are in need to put their seal upon them or else kill them? But thank God, the Lord has instructed us all believers to watch and pray, so that we may be counted worthy to escape all the Day of Tribulation that will come as a snare upon the whole wide earth (Luke 21:34-36).
(iv) Matt 24:20 to 21 - Jesus further says in context to Tribulation and the escape of it by the believers, "20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be." (Matt 24:20-21). So the question may arise, what winter or Sabbath Jesus is speaking about? Why should not the flight of rapture not take place during the winter or Sabbath? Later we will see what it is, but the answer to "Why should the flight of rapture not take place during the winter or Sabbath?", Jesus himself gives the answer to it in the next verse by saying, "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be." So we as believers know that our flight of rapture should be before the winter or Sabbath of Tribulation, because if we are earthly minded at this time, we will be caught up with the world and will enter in to Tribulation like 'Lot's wife' who had a divided heart and turned back to be caught in the Lord's judgment (Col 3:1-4). The Sabbath day of Millennium starts with the rapture of the Church and the Tribulation on earth (2 Peter 3:10, 8, 9). The summer is the great harvest of souls in which the gospel will be preached in all the world with signs, wonders and miracles, and then the end will come to start with Tribulation in all the earth, this is the winter season which our Lord Jesus is referring to (Matt 24:14; Rev 14:6-7; Jer 8:20). Divided heart was the reason Lot's wife looked back, as her heart was set on earthly things and it made her to disobey the word of the Lord which was given as a warning to them and to all of us. A person can be saved religiously, yet their heart can be far away from the Lord. So we should heed the warning of the Lord Jesus to "Watch and Pray" so that we might be saved not only in our spirit (1 Cor 5:1-5), but also truly saved from the world and the judgment of the Lord that is coming upon the whole world (1 Samuel 7:3; 1 Kings 18:21; Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 6:24; James 1:8; James 4:4; 4:8; 1 John 2:15; Revelation 3:15-18).
(v) Matt 24: 22 - Jesus further said, "And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened." (Matt 24:22). One thing that we should never forget to remember is the goodness of God, while the Church saints who have received the gospel and obeyed the word of Jesus to "Watch and Pray" will be raptured, those fleshly believers who will live like the world will be left behind during the Rapture. God's concern for his children is so great, that when they the children of God come to realize that they were left behind on earth because of their earthly minded life, they will come to realize their mistake and then they will have only one choice, to go further in their earthly life of survival by faith so that they will go hungry and thirsty in to hiding or else show themselves openly to ask for food and sustenance, and risk being caught up by the Antichrist vigilance and secret intelligence team, who will take them to authorities who will tell them to receive the seal or die for their faith. These Tribulation saints will choose to die by the sword when they are caught (Rev 13:7-8, 9-10; 14:9-13; 7:13-17; 12:17), or else survive in the midst of hunger and thirst and nakedness during the Tribulation in hiding (Matt 25:31-46). But God's love for His children on earth will make Him reduce the time of the Tribulation for the sake of the Tribulation saints left behind, so that some of them with faith may be left when Jesus comes to the earth to rule on earth for a thousand years (Luke 18:1-8). Thank God in the midst of God's greatest judgment, He shows mercy to those who fear Him and trust in His mercies like Samson (Jud 16:28-30), that is our God (Hab 3:2; Psa 103:13, 17).
(vi) Matt 24:23 to 28 - Jesus continues saying, "23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together."" (Matt 24:23-28). These are a clear description of the Tribulation times, so we know that "false christ and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect", which are chilling words from Jesus that should make the children of God on earth who are the Tribulation saints to be very careful during the time of Tribulation, if their names has not been written on the Book of Life, they will be deceived by the deception as the very deception will be sent by God to separate the wheat from the chaff (Rev 13:8; 2 Thess 2:9-12; Matt 3:12; Luke 3:17; 13:24-30). But as we know when Jesus says, the deception of Antichrists and false prophets will be at loose to deceive during the Great Tribulation that, "if possible, even the elect" they will try to deceive, which means to us we know, things not possible with man which is to get saved from sin is only possible with God (Matt 19:26; Luke 18:27), which does mean that those who were and are saved by God before or even during the Tribulation of those days cannot be deceived by the deception of the world, and they will even die during the Tribulation receiving the grace of God than to accept the mark of Antichrist for the Glory of God (Rev 13:10).
Islam will search for its mahdi and will finally find its False Prophet in the desert without fail as their anti-climax hero of the end time, Roman Catholicism will find the last pope as the mystery man who will seem to make them secure and prosperous for a certain time in the inner room inside Vatican, to very soon get judged by God even during the time of Tribulation (Matt 24:26-27; Rev 17:11-18; 18:1-24; 19:1-6).
When Jesus said, "For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together." (Matt 24:28), it means that Jesus is speaking about the resurrection of the righteous saints will at the end of the Tribulation will become nothing but the carcasses on this earth, but just when all the evil oppression over the people of God by the Antichrist, Satan and the False Prophet will be over, they will want to fight against the very Lamb of God Jesus Christ Himself, and thus will come to destroy Jerusalem the city of the King Jesus (Matt 5:34-35, 37), that is when Jesus Himself along with all the saints of heaven will descend to fight them to make them a carcass for the eagles and all the birds of heaven as a feast of the supper provided by the Great God (Rev 17:14; 16:12-16; 19:11-21; 13:10).
So the imagery "For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together," is not just limited to Second Coming of Jesus in which the resurrection of Tribulation saints will happen (Rev 20:4-6), but also the same has been used to describe the Rapture of the Church before the Tribulation could start by the writer Luke as in both the cases people who had been dead are raised back to life in a new glorious resurrection, which brings a brand new metaphysical body that is eternal to transcend physical time, space and matter to make each one of them fly like a eagle upon the skies and not be restrained by gravity of the old body and the old earth (Luke 17:20-37; Isa 40:28-31).
So by God's grace let us "watch and pray", and get ready to be raptured as the heaven seekers Church of Jesus Christ and escape all the Tribulation that is coming upon the whole earth to test those earth dwellers of the world (Rev 3:10; Heb 11:13-16).
Much Blessings....
Answer: Greetings in Jesus wonderful name!
Yes you are right, I am espousing post-mid imminent Tribulation. Because I believe that this is the only one that fits a literal interpretation of all of what Jesus, Paul, Peter, James and John talked about in the Scripture as the end time eschatology which means, 'a branch of theology concerned with the final events in the history of the world or of humankind, and also the part of theology concerned with death, judgement, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind.' This is the only presentation that you can literally interpret without reading in to the Scripture the idea of many different people from many different times in which they understood it culturally rather than literally.
Generally Jesus told that for every Christian that they will face tribulation in all generation living in this world which hates them for no reason except for following Jesus in their lives (Mark 13:13; Matt 10:22; Luke 21:17; John 15:18; 16:33). Paul the apostle also told that, "through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22) and "all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution" (2 Tim 3:12). But the one specific Tribulation that is going to happen at the time of the end is separated and highlighted by all writers from all other generation general kind of tribulation that all spoke about. First of all when we speak about Tribulation in the New Testament context, the only specific Tribulation which the Bible speaks about in a variety of words used by different writers which all pinpoint to the same unprecedented cataclysmic end time hardship that is going to come in all the earth which Jesus spoke as the "Great Tribulation.., Tribulation.., that Day come of you unexpectedly....it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the earth, if someone else comes in his own name, you will receive him...[to start the Tribulation of God.] " (Matt 24:21; Mark 13:19; Luke 21:34-35; John 5:43). Paul spoke of this Tribulation as, "saved from wrath (Rom 5:9), "Jesus...delivers us from the wrath to come" (1 Thess 1:10), "as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they [i.e. left behind unbelievers] shall not escape" (1 Thess 5:3), "this Day should not overtake you as thief because you are not in darkness" (1 Thess 5:4), God will repay with "tribulation for those who" trouble the believers not knowing the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to obey it, "when He comes, in that Day" (2 Thess 1:6, 8, 10). John the apostle also spoke about this end time Tribulation saying, "the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole earth" (Rev 3:10). Peter the apostle also spoke about this day of Tribulation saying, "Where is the promise of His coming?...the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water...the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night" (2 Peter 3:4, 6, 10). The apostle James said that "the coming of the Lord is at hand" (James 5:8). In other words, all the writers in the New Testament concentrated on the coming of the Lord, because Jesus has promised to Rapture His people away from the world, before the Tribulation on the earth will be kick started with the Antichrist and the wrath of God which will follow it will continue and end suddenly, because if the Tribulation will continue until the Second Coming of Jesus to the earth, no flesh would be left alive (Matt 24:22).
For example, what did Jesus tell about Tribulation:
"15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened. 23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together." (Matt 24:15-28).
Note the context in which Jesus speaks about the whole end time message in the above Scriptures clearly, in fact He is speaking chronologically in which it will all unfold:
(i) Matt 24:15 - Jesus tells all the believers to look for the mid-point of the Daniel's 70th week spoken by Daniel the prophet standing in the Holy Place (Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:9, 11-12), apostle Paul agreed with this message of Jesus and told the believers to look for these following important signs before which "the day of Christ" to rapture the Church will not come. First he pointed out that unless the falling away comes first when they say "peace and saftey" (1 Thess 5:3) in the first part of the Daniel's Seventieth week, and then "the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition" (2 Thess 2:3) exactly in the mid-point called by Jesus as "the abomination of desolation" (Matt 24:15), the rapture will not take place before these events take place.
(ii) Matt 24:16 - Jesus tells all believers from Judea to flee away to the mountains because the persecution of Antichrist will start from Jerusalem. As Paul points out that at mid-point, "[Antichrist] who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." (2 Thess 2:4). Once Antichrist will boast himself as the messiah and the savior of the world, the first thing he will do under the guidance of the False Prophet will be to implement the idea to seal all the human beings who will worship him and give their allegiance to him as god through worshiping the image of the beast which will speak with the very voice of Satan (Rev 13:11-18), all others will be pursued in haste and will be put to death by the sword of the guillotine (Rev 13:10). We know that Muslims will be one among the Antichrist, so they will not have to be killed as they will accept this mahdi as their redeemer. But true Christians and those born again Messianic Jews are those whom Jesus tells to flee to the mountains at that time, because even though they will be hungry or without food for sometime, eventually they will all be raptured before the Tribulation will start.
(iii) Matt 24:17 to 19 - Jesus further tells all the believers, "17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!" (Matt 24:17-19). When Jesus says "let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house" and " let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes", it does mean that the earthly concern has no time for priority, because the Judgment of God through Tribulation is ready to break out as the Antichrist will start to seal up people with his mark which will bear the name of the beast or the number of his name on all humans, which will be implemented by force on all people as they will proclaim to all the world that this one mandatory religious dogma is for the prosperity and safety of all humans under Satan, which will be placed right on the spot of the foreheads of people or on their right hand as a mark that all should follow and worship Antichrist or else cease to exist on earth to die by sword (Rev 13:16). Even Jesus referred this same imagery in the writing of Luke to Lot's wife who had earthly concern and turned back to see when God already told them who are escaping out of Lord's judgment not to look back upon the burning Sodom (Luke 17:29-33). In others words, earthly minded people who have no faith will be left behind, but those heavenly minded people of faith will be rescued by the Lord Jesus Christ before the Tribulation could start to fall on the earth (2 Peter 2:6-7, 8-9; Ezek 16:49-50). Jesus further said, "woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days" because the babies need constant milk from their mother to survive if they go in to hiding, and also we know that they might raise their voice and start crying to thus reveal themselves out of their hiding place. Also we know that only if the mother eats enough nutritious food, she will be able to provide the baby with the sustenance through her milk. How terrible will be the time when the secret intelligence officers try to pursue those who are in need to put their seal upon them or else kill them? But thank God, the Lord has instructed us all believers to watch and pray, so that we may be counted worthy to escape all the Day of Tribulation that will come as a snare upon the whole wide earth (Luke 21:34-36).
(iv) Matt 24:20 to 21 - Jesus further says in context to Tribulation and the escape of it by the believers, "20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be." (Matt 24:20-21). So the question may arise, what winter or Sabbath Jesus is speaking about? Why should not the flight of rapture not take place during the winter or Sabbath? Later we will see what it is, but the answer to "Why should the flight of rapture not take place during the winter or Sabbath?", Jesus himself gives the answer to it in the next verse by saying, "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be." So we as believers know that our flight of rapture should be before the winter or Sabbath of Tribulation, because if we are earthly minded at this time, we will be caught up with the world and will enter in to Tribulation like 'Lot's wife' who had a divided heart and turned back to be caught in the Lord's judgment (Col 3:1-4). The Sabbath day of Millennium starts with the rapture of the Church and the Tribulation on earth (2 Peter 3:10, 8, 9). The summer is the great harvest of souls in which the gospel will be preached in all the world with signs, wonders and miracles, and then the end will come to start with Tribulation in all the earth, this is the winter season which our Lord Jesus is referring to (Matt 24:14; Rev 14:6-7; Jer 8:20). Divided heart was the reason Lot's wife looked back, as her heart was set on earthly things and it made her to disobey the word of the Lord which was given as a warning to them and to all of us. A person can be saved religiously, yet their heart can be far away from the Lord. So we should heed the warning of the Lord Jesus to "Watch and Pray" so that we might be saved not only in our spirit (1 Cor 5:1-5), but also truly saved from the world and the judgment of the Lord that is coming upon the whole world (1 Samuel 7:3; 1 Kings 18:21; Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 6:24; James 1:8; James 4:4; 4:8; 1 John 2:15; Revelation 3:15-18).
(v) Matt 24: 22 - Jesus further said, "And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened." (Matt 24:22). One thing that we should never forget to remember is the goodness of God, while the Church saints who have received the gospel and obeyed the word of Jesus to "Watch and Pray" will be raptured, those fleshly believers who will live like the world will be left behind during the Rapture. God's concern for his children is so great, that when they the children of God come to realize that they were left behind on earth because of their earthly minded life, they will come to realize their mistake and then they will have only one choice, to go further in their earthly life of survival by faith so that they will go hungry and thirsty in to hiding or else show themselves openly to ask for food and sustenance, and risk being caught up by the Antichrist vigilance and secret intelligence team, who will take them to authorities who will tell them to receive the seal or die for their faith. These Tribulation saints will choose to die by the sword when they are caught (Rev 13:7-8, 9-10; 14:9-13; 7:13-17; 12:17), or else survive in the midst of hunger and thirst and nakedness during the Tribulation in hiding (Matt 25:31-46). But God's love for His children on earth will make Him reduce the time of the Tribulation for the sake of the Tribulation saints left behind, so that some of them with faith may be left when Jesus comes to the earth to rule on earth for a thousand years (Luke 18:1-8). Thank God in the midst of God's greatest judgment, He shows mercy to those who fear Him and trust in His mercies like Samson (Jud 16:28-30), that is our God (Hab 3:2; Psa 103:13, 17).
(vi) Matt 24:23 to 28 - Jesus continues saying, "23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together."" (Matt 24:23-28). These are a clear description of the Tribulation times, so we know that "false christ and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect", which are chilling words from Jesus that should make the children of God on earth who are the Tribulation saints to be very careful during the time of Tribulation, if their names has not been written on the Book of Life, they will be deceived by the deception as the very deception will be sent by God to separate the wheat from the chaff (Rev 13:8; 2 Thess 2:9-12; Matt 3:12; Luke 3:17; 13:24-30). But as we know when Jesus says, the deception of Antichrists and false prophets will be at loose to deceive during the Great Tribulation that, "if possible, even the elect" they will try to deceive, which means to us we know, things not possible with man which is to get saved from sin is only possible with God (Matt 19:26; Luke 18:27), which does mean that those who were and are saved by God before or even during the Tribulation of those days cannot be deceived by the deception of the world, and they will even die during the Tribulation receiving the grace of God than to accept the mark of Antichrist for the Glory of God (Rev 13:10).
Islam will search for its mahdi and will finally find its False Prophet in the desert without fail as their anti-climax hero of the end time, Roman Catholicism will find the last pope as the mystery man who will seem to make them secure and prosperous for a certain time in the inner room inside Vatican, to very soon get judged by God even during the time of Tribulation (Matt 24:26-27; Rev 17:11-18; 18:1-24; 19:1-6).
When Jesus said, "For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together." (Matt 24:28), it means that Jesus is speaking about the resurrection of the righteous saints will at the end of the Tribulation will become nothing but the carcasses on this earth, but just when all the evil oppression over the people of God by the Antichrist, Satan and the False Prophet will be over, they will want to fight against the very Lamb of God Jesus Christ Himself, and thus will come to destroy Jerusalem the city of the King Jesus (Matt 5:34-35, 37), that is when Jesus Himself along with all the saints of heaven will descend to fight them to make them a carcass for the eagles and all the birds of heaven as a feast of the supper provided by the Great God (Rev 17:14; 16:12-16; 19:11-21; 13:10).
So the imagery "For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together," is not just limited to Second Coming of Jesus in which the resurrection of Tribulation saints will happen (Rev 20:4-6), but also the same has been used to describe the Rapture of the Church before the Tribulation could start by the writer Luke as in both the cases people who had been dead are raised back to life in a new glorious resurrection, which brings a brand new metaphysical body that is eternal to transcend physical time, space and matter to make each one of them fly like a eagle upon the skies and not be restrained by gravity of the old body and the old earth (Luke 17:20-37; Isa 40:28-31).
So by God's grace let us "watch and pray", and get ready to be raptured as the heaven seekers Church of Jesus Christ and escape all the Tribulation that is coming upon the whole earth to test those earth dwellers of the world (Rev 3:10; Heb 11:13-16).
Much Blessings....
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