Derrol PORTER Emancipated by the Liberating King

The verse you quoted is indeed written by the Apostle John as he had his revelation of what was shown to him about the present time of his living and future events that are to come. He was experiencing tribulation of persecution from the Roman government, as he was exiled to the isle Patmos, for his Christian stand and preaching, probably around 95 to 100 AD.

Your question is, will Christians of present time also live through a tribulation? In a general sense around the world many Christians are being persecuted and could be said are living in a tribulation period. However I believe the Bible teaches there is to come a period like the world has not seen before that will last seven years, divided into the tribulation and the Great Tribulation, each lasting three and one half years each.[Daniel 9:20-27, Revelation 12:5-6, Revelation 13:5, Matthew 24:15]

Now the question is, will all Christians that are alive at the time have to go through this tribulation? Well, there is genuine sincere debate and disagreement among conservative Christians about this question.

I believe the Bible teaches that there will be a pre-tribulation rapture of the church or the bride of Christ before the seven years start. [1 Thessalonians 4:11-18, John 14:1-4, 1 Corinthians 15:51-58] Also [Revelation 3:10] Jesus says to the church at Philadelphia that they will be kept from the hour of trail or wrath that will come to the whole earth, now this could be specific to Philadelphia but the seven churches also represent warnings to all churches of all ages..

Then [1 Thessalonians 1:10, 1 Thessalonians 5:9, Romans 5:9] state God has not appointed His church to wrath.

So if the present day true church is raptured before the tribulation will there be people that become Christians during the tribulation and have to endure the events and horrors of this time? Yes.[Revelation 6:9, Revelation 7:4, and Revelation 20:4].

Again there is much debate by sincere Christians as to whether or not the present day church will have to go through the tribulation, but there will be a time coming that is a time of wrath and tribulation.. The most important thing to know is: AM I a born again child of God and in His hands, and know Heaven is my ultimate destination?

August 10 2019 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Shantkumar S. Kunjam An Indian, Mennonite Church, Pastor, Administrator, Bishop,

Before we answer this question we need to find out what are the events that are going to take place at the end time and the sequence in which they are told to take place. I believe the events of Revelation up to 8:1 have already taken place. The opening of the seventh seal reveals the events of 8:2 to 22:5 yet to take place. They are still in the future.

In 1:9-20 John the seer has the vision of the risen Lord and is commissioned to write the things he had seen, he is seeing and he will be seeing (1:19). In chs. 2 and 3 he receives the Lord's seven letters to the churches of seven cities. These letters are actually meant for the churches of all time at all places. In chs. 4 and 5 he has the visions of God sitting on the throne as controller of all the events, and Lord Jesus Christ as the Lamb who is there to see that God's plan is executed. The opening of the first four seals in 6:1-8 reveals the condition of the world now. In 6:9 - 7:17, by the opening of the fifth and the sixth seals, are revealed the present conditions of three groups of people. 6:9-11 shows the NT believers who are killed because of their faith; now their souls are resting under the heavenly altar. As in Gen. 4:10, the silence of their innocent blood is a constant cry to God's ears until He avenges the crime. The spirits of these killed NT believers in 7:9-17 are praising God before His throne. So the souls in 6:9-11 and the spirits of 7:9-17 belong to the same killed NT believers. 7:1-8 reveals the NT believers living on the earth as redeemed Israel. The minute details here and in 14:1-5 make it clear that they are not Israelites-Jews alone. 6:12-27 reveals the condition of living and dead unbelievers.

After opening the seventh seal in 8:1the rest of the events from 8:2 to 20:15 are revealed along with the vision of blessed status of all the believers in 21:1-22:5. The events of 8:2, the blowing of the first trumpet, to the second coming of our Lord in 19:11-21 will take place in 24 years and 6 months, if we take the rule of the anti-Christ as of 42 months (Rev. 13:5). It is clear that there are three and half years gaps between the sixth trumpet and the seventh trumpet, and between the seventh trumpet and Jesus' second coming. The pouring of the bowls of God's wrath will take place during the reign of the anti-Christ. After the blowing of the sixth trump (9:13) according to 1 Thess. 4:16-17 there would be heard loud cry and the words of the Archangel. The vision for this is in 10:3. And then the seventh trumpet of God, as per 1 Cor. 15:52 it is the last trumpet, will be blown in 11:15.

After these, the taking up of the NT believers of 1 Cor. 15:52 and 1 Thess. 4:16-17 will take place. According to the book of Revelation after the blowing of last trumpet, in ch. 12 taking up of male child, rapture of the NT believers, takes place. Many think that this child refers to Jesus, but my conclusion is that this child is the new humanity whose head is Jesus Himself (see Eph. 2:13-16). And then immediately after that in ch. 13 the anti-Christ appears. This corresponds with the revelation in 2 Thess. 2:6-8. This passage reveals that something or someone is blocking the appearing of the anti-Christ. Many, including myself, believe this is the presence of the Holy Spirit in the NT believers in the world blocking his appearance. When these believers are taken up, he will appear followed by wholesale forsaking of Christian truths and worldwide satanic activities. Thus the NT believers will be on earth during the blowing of the trumpets, but they will have on their foreheads God's protective seal. But they will not be on earth during the pouring of bowls of God's wrath at the time of anti-Christ's rule.

So the answer to the question is the NT believers will not be on earth at the time of the pouring of the bowls of God's wrath. They would have been raptured 3 and a half years before the second coming of our Lord.

August 10 2019 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht ABC/DTS graduate, guitar music ministry Baptist church

The Greek preposition (*ek), translated “from” in Revelation 3:10 (“I will keep you from the hour of trial”), carries the idea of separation from something. This means that believers will be kept from the hour of testing in the sense that they will be completely separated from it by being raptured before the period begins (1 Thessalonians 1:10; 5:9). --Jesus and the End Times, ebook by Ron Rhodes

* τηρεῖν τινα ἐκ etc. To keep one at a distance from etc. (cf. John 17:15; Revelation 3:10. -- Strong's Concordance

Granted, there is another view that says that the Greek for this phrase can either mean "keep you from undergoing" OR "KEEP YOU THROUGH." --NIVSB, but I hold to the first view. Whichever view you choose to believe, Christ promises protection for your eternal soul IF you are in Christ (Luke 21:17-19).

March 01 2021 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report