Concerning the great tribulation, one thing we know: these events will be worse than anything seen by man before or since.
Matthew 24:21 Jesus says: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
The prophet Amos described the great tribulation as follows:
Amos 5
19 Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light.
19 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.
20 Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?
19 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.
20 Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?
One problem after another with no time in-between. And just when you think everything is settled and you can be at rest, another life threatening problem surfaces, one woe after another.
Recently on TV, I heard a woman in Louisiana say: "We just worked through Coronavirus with our business and the hurricane hit." (she was crying)
In the great tribulation men will desire to die because it is so bad, but they will not be able to die.
Revelation 9:6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
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Jesus tells us that during that time, "one will be taken and another left".
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Matthew 24
24 For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.
25 But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.
26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
I believe this shows us not all of the church will be removed before the great tribulation but some of the church will be removed.
We know some of the elect will be on this earth during the great tribulation because of what Jesus says as follows:
Matthew 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
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The destruction comes after the righteous ones are removed from this earth.
Jesus says:
24 For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.
25 But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.
26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
Those who are "righteous", as in the case of Noah and Lot will be taken out before the days of the great tribulation.
But not all are righteous, who say "Jesus is Lord", for many walk in the flesh rejecting that which the Holy Spirit says in the issues pertaining to this present life.
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Many in the church will not be ready when Jesus returns, for they will be following things of the flesh and ignoring the sayings brought to them by the Spirit.
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
(My assignment from God is to try to get us ready by alerting us to following the Spirit daily in our own lives. We don't have to make lists of things to do or plan out things to avoid, we just follow that word of God when it is brought to us by the Spirit of God and meditate daily in those scriptures which the Spirit of God brings to our attention and follow the Spirit daily when HE speaks to us.)
Example: On the evening of September 19, 2020, I had watched television until about 9:30 pm. I needed to fill a little more time until our blog published at 10 pm. It is my pattern to turn the TV off after the blog publishes and then read the blog ... then meditate on the scriptures I have collected by the Spirit of God.
So that night, I needed to fill about 45 minutes and I was looking for a TV show to watch. First I tried Midsomer Murders on PBS but I didn't find the plot to be of interest.
Then I noticed one of the Dirty Harry movies was on another channel and I started watching that movie.
But I didn't like what I saw for first there was a prostitute who had held back money from her pimp and he found her and killed her and took the money. Then there was a police officer who was following the pimp and the officer stopped him and deliberately killed the pimp in a type of vigilante move. The Holy Spirit reminded me of Romans 12:19 Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Then their was a scene where Clint Eastwood, playing the role of detective, returned to his apartment and a woman was waiting and they got into bed together to commit fornication. I didn't want to see that so I was about to turn the channel when I realized earlier, when I started hunting TV, to fill in time, I had it called to my mind that I could meditate in scripture until the blog published. I turned off the TV and pulled up the scriptures, which I have collected onto my Kindle tablet photos, and began reading these scriptures, following the instructions which I heard by the Holy Spirit.
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When the Holy Spirit brings something to our minds, it is often so gentle we don't even realize we have heard anything ... until a little later.
Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
(Do that which the Holy Spirit brings to your mind and you will not go in the way of the flesh.)
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Being ready for the return of Jesus is a way of life and must be pursued constantly, daily, for we do not know the day nor the hour of Jesus' return.
Therefore we must follow the Spirit when we hear from the Spirit and sometimes we do not realize we have heard from the Spirit as we are following the ideas of our flesh.
If Jesus returns while we are following our flesh, I believe we will be left behind on this earth and will go through the great tribulation even if we are the elect of God.
34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting (over indulgence), and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
36 Watch ye therefore (watch yourselves ... what what you are doing), and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
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