The Revelation of Christ
and the Tribulation saints
and the Tribulation saints
My feeling about the book of Revelation is that it is not for the Church. Yes we can read it and be blessed by it, but it was not directly written for us. So who do I think if was written for. Well let me put it this way. It is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. We as believers have all ready received the revelation of who He really is. That is, God in the flesh who paid the price for our sins. Also you have to take in account that if it is written for the Church, you would see more of the Church written of in the book of revelation. So who is this revelation for?
Could it be written for the Tribulation saints? After all they are the ones seen throughout the book. Once the Church is gone, the book of Revelation will still be here to inform them of the coming events in there new revelation of Jesus Christ. How else can they receive that revelation because the Church is gone. For the Tribulation saints, the book of Revelation will be the most important and relevant book in the Bible at the time and will serve as a tutor of the revelation of Christ. They will see that the things written before hand become the new reality right before their eyes. The final Revelation of Jesus Christ the Kings of kings, and Lord of lords. Now let's take a look at the book of Revelation. Here is what the Revelation will be to the Tribulation saints.
Rev 1:7-8 "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." (KJV)
Yes that revelation will be that Jesus is God the Almighty. This is something that the born-again Church is already well aware of. This verse sets the premise for the book of Revelation.
Rev 1:10-11 "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea." (KJV)
Right from the start, we see a picture of the PreTrib Rapture in John's vision. John is in the Spirit and hears a great. I do not think that it would be a stretch of the imagination to say that the great voice is a shout.
1Thes 4:16-17 "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (KJV)
Right after John hears the trumpet, the scripture now gives praises and correction to the Church. It reminds me of the fact that once we are Raptured, we will be judged for rewards, (praises and correction). Right after the Churches are shown, John picks up right where he left off.
Rev 4:1,2 "After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne." (KJV)
Right after this takes place we see a reaffirming of the judgment of the Churches.
Rev 4:4 "And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold." (KJV)
Rev 4:10-11 "The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." (KJV)
Cleary we can see that right from the start in Revelation 1:10 that the Church is taken out, and that God's judgment and wrath now begins in Revelation 6:1. Some say that that the white horse is Christ. If this is so, this indicates that Christ will roam the earth before he scoots back up to heaven so that He can return again for the Second Coming. In other words if the rider of the white horse is Christ, then we have two separate Second Comings. Not so.
The Church will be removed from the earth, THEN God's judgment and wrath will be served on all those that rejected Him and had entered into damnation. Those who have never heard the gospel, (never rejected Christ), will now have a chance of salvation. But they will now have to pay for it with their own lives. Those who mocked Him and endorsed the system of antichrist will be lost forever.
II Th 2:8-12 "And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (KJV)
My feeling is that the book of Revelation will be as important to the Tribulation saints as much as the book of Thessalonians is for the Church.
http://www.geocities.com/raptureapologetics/RevTribSaints.html
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