OF SLAVES AND SONS

OF SLAVES AND SONS

                “For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.” Romans 8:19

                A slave does what he is told without asking questions. He is a slave and his job is to do what his master requires him to do whether he likes it or understands it or not.            A son, on the other hand, may ask many questions.  He may ask: “Why this and how that and when this or that?”… not because he doubts his father, but because he stands to inherit the family business some day and he wants to know how his father made it into the success  and how he does this and why he does that.

                Some religious institutions treat their people like slaves while others treat their people like sons. For instance in medieval times as scholar who dared to question the system could be branded as a heretic and burned at the stake for his questions. Even to this day there are institutions in which frustrated scholars dare not voice their questions. Every doctrine and interpretation has been worked out and formed into doctrine so that if one questions the interpretation, he too will be branded as a heretic. So even if he knows things, he must remain silent. He must be a slave and not a son.

                I am one that asks a lot of questions, not because I doubt my Father in heaven. I believe His Word from front to back and I absolutely believe that His prophecies will come true with great accuracy. So if I question things, I don’t do so out of doubt in God and His Word, but maybe in the way mankind has interpreted it. As a son I want to understand my Father’s business because I stand to inherit it someday… and I think that my Father in heaven is happy that I have taken such an interest in the family business.

                It is easy to take on a slave mentality. We presume that things are the way they are and so rather than to rock the boat, or to appear stupid, or doubtful, we remain silent with our questions. But I have found that even some of the stupidest questions; have resulted in some very good answers from God as I seek to understand the ins and outs of the family business.

                For instance, I listened to a prophetic program the other day where the teacher was adamantly declaring without possibility of negotiation that the second coming of Christ involves only one event at the end of the tribulation. Well, I agree in part. After all Jesus said in Mt. 24:29-31: “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from the sky and the powers of the heavens will be shaken and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds from one end of the sky to the other.”

                This seems fairly cut and dried and I can see why some would be so adamant about the second coming being one solitary event at the end of the tribulation and that is that. So why should we question this, or why should we even countenance the idea that there might be what many call “the rapture” an event that occurs at some point before the second coming?

                On this question there are many points to be covered.

1.       In sequence the tribulation includes the wrath of God, beginning in Rev. chapter 16 and yet we are promised not to experience the wrath of God, which is the punishment of the kingdom of the Beast.  Romans 5:9 “We shall be saved from the wrath through Him.” 1Thess 1:10, “Which delivered us from the wrath to come.”  1Thess. 5:9 “For God has not appointed us to wrath…” Luke 21:36. “But keep on the alert at all times praying in order that you may be counted worthy to escape all of these things that are about to take place and to stand before the Son of Man.” Rev 3:10. “Because you have kept the word of My perseverance I also will keep you from the hour of testing that hour that is about to come upon the whole world to test those who dwell upon the earth.”

2.       In Mt. 24:37 Jesus said that the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered the Ark.

                In this sequence of events, Jesus does not talk about how wicked the people were before the flood. He rather seems to be describing life as usual. Noah had been preaching and warning for over a hundred years, but they no longer believed him and they were living life as if no flood was coming. Then Jesus says in Mt. 24:44. “For this reason you be ready too; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.” Here Jesus doesn’t just say that His coming takes them by surprise, but rather that He will come when they specifically don’t think He will come. How can this be?

3.        If we take a look at the tribulation we see catastrophic global events along with the Mark of the beast in which no one can buy or sell and people will be beheaded for their faith. We see catastrophic events in nature. The heavens are shaken and the earth as well. The sea and the rivers have turned to blood. This event alone could kill off the population. One Hundred pound hail has fallen. All greenery and trees have been destroyed. Earthquakes and floods and massive fires have rocked the planet. The earth is reeling to and fro like a drunkard. About 2/3 of earth’s population has been killed. Many faithful saints have fled to the mountains where they are being hunted down like animals and it seems that without exception, everyone who has come to the Lord during those times has been beheaded for their faith. So, given this almost total annihilation of the planet and its population, give me one reason why people would be thinking that Jesus will not come at that time. Explain to me how, when the earth is in a complete shambles and 2/3 of the population has been killed by these events, that Jesus would still take them by surprise, like a thief in the night? And how possibly could people still be eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage as if life is going on as a normal routine? Does this really add up?

4.       And as for the event we call the second coming which is at the end of the tribulation; there are several features we seem to overlook. Revelation 19, for instance, describes Jesus’ returning on a white horse and His saints are returning WITH HIM. This is verified in Zechariah 14:10 saying: “The Lord my God will come and ALL HIS HOLY ONES WITH HIM.”  Or 1 Thess. 3:13. “…so that He may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before our God and father at the coming of our Lord Jesus WITH ALL HIS SAINTS.” Or 1 Thess. 4:14 “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will BRING WITH HIM those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.”

5.       At the second coming we do not see a catching away of the saints to meet the Lord in the air such as we see in 1 Cor. 15:51. Rather in His second coming we see Jesus returning with His saints to defeat  those who are surrounding Jerusalem at the battle of Armageddon and then He sets foot on the Mount of Olives and prepares to take up His earthly millennial reign. Zechariah 14:4 There is  no rapture mentioned in this scenario and in fact that special group of tribulation saints that comes to life and is included in the first resurrection in Rev. 20:4 is not caught up to meet the Lord in the air, but simply come to life and reigns with Chris for 1000 years.

6.       There are many significant differences in the two events we identify as the rapture and the second coming. One is a surprise, a resurrection and a catching away of the bride to meet the Lord in the air. It happens while people are eating, drinking, marrying and giving in marriage as if everything is normal. The other event finds the earth in a complete shambles with 2/3 of the population dead and every wall has fallen and even the islands and the mountains have disappeared. Jesus returns WITH HIS SAINTS to put an end to the antichrist kingdom and He throws the Beast and false prophet into the Lake of Fire and He binds Satan in the pit for 1000 years.

7.       So the rapture and the second coming of Christ are two very different events and while I  personally don’t find sufficient evidence for a pre-tribulation rapture, I do see good evidence for a rapture in Revelation 14 where the angel puts in his sickle and reaps a harvest of people that we see standing on the Sea of Glass in chapter 15 and another angel puts in his sickle and reaps a second harvest that is cast into the wine press of God’s wrath that we see taking place in Revelation 16.

                So even though I see these possibilities, I don’t make doctrine out of them. In fact it has been a cardinal rule of mine not to make doctrine out of prophetic interpretations simply because our understanding of these events will change and ripen and mature as they unfold. Think of it this way: Today we see technologies coming on line that will make many of the Biblical events possible in our day… so to have made doctrine out of our views say a hundred years ago would have locked us into a doctrinal box that would not allow for the very real events we now see unfolding and we would be rendered blind to what is actually going on.

                God’s prophecies have not changed, but the ways in which these things will take place has changed a great deal.

                So, as aspiring sons and inheritors of Christ’s coming kingdom, it is okay to ask questions. It is okay to question our interpretation of things and to adjust our thinking as the events unfold.  It is okay not to make doctrine out of things that are still taking shape. We can believe with absolute certainty that God’s prophetic Word is true and that everything will take place just as He said it will, but we must remain flexible as to exactly how it will all unfold.

                If you were to take a picture of a rose bud and show it to somebody who has never seen a rose and you told them that this is a rose, you would have been telling the truth. It is a rose. But if you make a doctrine out of rosebuds, the person you showed it to as a rosebud, will not recognize it when it has blossomed into a full flower. Jesus gave us the signs of His coming so that when we see these signs we will recognize them. He did not give us these signs in order for us to make doctrine out of our present interpretations. Nor did He give us these prophecies to try and predict the day and hour of His return. He gave them so that we would understand the times in which we live and the seasons of His coming as they mature before us.

                I do not argue with people about a pre, mid, or post trib rapture. I simply look at all of the signs that we have been given and these signs seem to add up to two events (A resurrection and catching away of the Bride as well as the return of Christ with His bride at the end of the tribulation) simply because both sets of information cannot happen at the same time. Therefore I have determined that whenever Jesus returns I want to be ready and if I have to face persecution before He comes, or if I have to face the Mark of the Beast, then I want to practice being faithful even unto death so that I can receive the crown of life.

                I am a son and not a slave; therefore I am diligently learning how my Father does things as I watch His predicted events unfold. How about you? Do you ask stupid questions like I do? Well, perhaps our Father is happy that we are showing an interest in the family business.