Subtitle: Since the approaching global system called the New World Order is the Kingdom of the Antichrist, with his 7-year reign known as the Tribulation, many worried Christians have asked us, "What can we do to survive?" We will attempt to answer this question today.
God's Holy Word is so full of Precious Promises that most Christians cannot begin to fathom the precious way in which God loves His children, and looks after them to protect them. Many of us also do not have a mature concept of how God looks at human life versus eternal life. Because we do not have these proper perspectives, we poor Born Again humans simply do not have the confidence we should possess as we enter this period of unparalleled disaster and judgment.
In this section, we shall discuss the proper perspective we Christians should have on this matter and what preparations we should be making to get ourselves, and our precious loved ones, ready for the judgment to come.
GOD'S PERSPECTIVE
1. One of the most intriguing Scriptures in the entire Holy Bible is found in Ecclesiastes 7:1b, "the day of death [is] better than the day of one's birth". [ Parallel Bible, KJV/Amplified Bible Commentary]. Isn't this a perfect example of God's viewpoint on a person's life rather than man's viewpoint? We humans make over little babies to the highest degree, and say, "Oh, isn't it exciting that little Susie has her entire life ahead of her?" But, God looks at little Susie with just a touch of remorse, because He can see the disappointments and heartaches she will be experiencing as she lives out her life.
On the other hand, we humans grieve over a loved one who is getting elderly, and wish that Grandma or Grandpa didn't have to reach the end of their lives. We wish that they could just live without getting old and infirm and dying. We doubly feel this way about ourselves.
This is the human perspective. We love little babies and envy them their life ahead, while we grieve over the elderly, especially when we are the ones getting elderly. This is the human perspective. But, it is not God's perspective. When a Born Again person is reaching the end of his or her life, God begins to prepare to receive His own into His presence and the presence of His dear Son, Jesus Christ. God is glad when He can call his own saints home!!
2). The Biblical definition of death is most precious to me, and just in case you have never had it explained to you, please allow me to do so. We shall let the Bible speak for God.
* "The days of Abraham's life were 175 years. Then Abraham's spirit was released, and he died at a good old age, an old man, satisfied and satiated, and was gathered to his people." [Genesis 25:7-8, Parallel Bible, KJV/Amplified Bible Commentary]. Isn't that sweet? A person dies when God brings their spirit home to Heaven, when God " releases" the spirit from the body.
Somehow, death loses most of its fearsome qualities when I just think of it as a "releasing" of my spirit from this old body of clay. Indeed, many unsaved people have noticed, throughout the years, that Christians die "well", as they have no fear when they are facing the time when God releases their spirit into His presence. No Christian faces the "grim reaper", but only a loving Lord, bringing home His son or daughter!
* Jesus stated many times that a righteous person does not die, but sleeps. (1) ".. after that he saith unto them, 'Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.' [John 11:11] (2) "He [Jesus] said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth." [Matthew 9:24; Mark 5:39; Luke 8:52]
Again, Jesus comforts us in the time when we face death, telling us it is no more terrifying than a sweet sleep. We know that our spirits are awake and active in Paradise, so Jesus is trying here to comfort us by telling us that our spirits will be resting in Paradise, just as our body rests in normal sleep [Remember the passage in Revelation 6:11, where Jesus invited the souls of the martyred Christians to " rest" and "wait patiently".
3). We see also that, whenever a righteous person leaves this human body, he or she immediately goes into the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. (1) "And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, 'Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.' " [Luke 23:43] There is no such thing as Purgatory. We pass immediately into the presence of our dear Lord; (2) "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus ..." [Romans 8:1] I love the Amplified Commentary for this verse. "Therefore, there is now no condemnation, no adjudging guilty of wrong, for those who are in Christ Jesus .." Jesus paid for our entire penalty on the cross, so that we will not have to face our sins on Judgment Day. The Judicial Judgment Day, also known as the White Throne Judgment, is not for Born Again Christians, but for the unrepentant; (3) In Revelation 6:9-10, we are introduced to the scene of the souls of martyred saints coming into Paradise, where the first thing they say is to complain about the lack of action the Lord has taken against the evil men who have martyred them. Then, Jesus lovingly intervenes, in verse 11, "And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season ..." All the souls of the saints are thus invited to the Lord's rest as soon as they enter Paradise. They are given white robes and told to rest for a little time. How precious!
In God's wonderful Mind, He is infinitely more concerned about the destiny of our eternal soul than He is about our earthly bodies. We find it hard to escape the tendency of the natural man to focus so completely on our earthly existence and upon these frail vessels of clay. Please remember this fact as we continue our discussion of How To Survive in these coming days of judgment and terror.
HOW TO SURVIVE?
1) Understand that God is in complete control over world events. Consider these Scriptures:
a) "Seek out of the book of the Lord and read; not one of these details of prophecy shall fail; none shall want and lack her mate in fulfillment. For the mouth of the Lord has commanded and His Spirit has gathered them." [Isaiah 34:16, Parallel Bible, KJV/Amplified Bible Commentary]. God expects us to know Bible prophecy and to read them with the complete faith that not one of them shall fail to come true! How can this be true? They are true because God is in complete control of world events, down to the most tiny detail.
b) The lot is cast into the lap, but the decision is wholly of the Lord. Even the events that seem accidental are really ordered by Him." Proverbs 16:33, Parallel Bible, KJV/Amplified Bible Commentary]. Even the "accidental" practice of casting lots is controlled by God. NOTHING escapes God's control.
c) "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will." [Proverbs 21:1] If God controls the hearts of the good kings, He also controls the heart of the wicked. If God has you in His Plan for martyrdom, He will ensure that you come through it with power and with victory through Jesus Christ! This is absolutely the worst case scenario, and it is not so bad, after all. You will be in Glory!
PREPARING YOUR HEART
1) "Thus says the Lord, the Lord ... of hosts ... I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no God. Who is like Me? ... Fear not, nor be afraid in the coming violent upheavels..." [Isaiah 44:6-8, Parallel Bible, KJV/Amplified Bible Commentary]. This Scripture was given to Isaiah before the prophesied judgment from King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon actually fell upon Israel.
2) "He [God] shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword." [Job 5:19-20] While this Scripture is absolutely true, please remember that God's Perfect Will comes into play at this point. Throughout history, God has willed that many of His saints were to be martyred for their faith. Did God fail these saints? Of course not!! God's Plan called for these people to die for His Glory. Nevertheless, we can rest assured that, if it is God's Plan for us to survive, we can survive any calamity, and any judgment
3) "Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." [Isaiah 43:1-3] Notice God said when we pass through the fires of trial and testing, not if we pass through them. In every person's life, they will experience much of the pain and anguish of living in this sinful world and living in physical bodies which still want to sin; but, God has promised us that these trials would not consume us to destroy us. These promises are doubly true for those Christians who are facing the End of the Age! God even gives us a picture of Last Days' Saints passing through the fires of trial by Antichrist, below:
"Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace." [Daniel 3:22-23. This fiery furnace is a perfect picture of the coming fiery trial of the saints of Jesus Christ, before and during the actual reign of Antichrist. Here, the three righteous servants of God were cast into the fiery furnace. You remember the next part of the story.]
"Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counselors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." [Daniel 3:24-25. King Nebuchadnezzar, whose statue formed the dimensions of 666, looked into the fiery furnace, and saw that there were four men walking around in the fire, not just the three that he had cast into the furnace. And, the Fourth man looked like the Son of God that He truly was -- the Pre-incarnate Jesus Christ!]
"Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counselors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them." [Daniel 3:26-27. Now, this is the perfect picture of how we are to trust God to pass through the judgment of the fiery Tribulation Period. This is the perfect example to us, that even though we may have to pass through the fire of Antichrist and may be martyred, God will ensure that our eternal destiny with Him remains intact! This is God's perspective.]
Rather than thinking and worrying about how you and your loved ones are to "survive" this coming holocaust of Divine judgment, you need to begin intensive spiritual preparation. You must get holy before God, with the power of the Holy Spirit. You need to throw yourself wholeheartedly into the task of praying for people by name, for pouring your heart out to your God, weeping over the lost condition of the people in your life who are not saved. These people may be loved ones, friends, or work acquaintances. You must now begin to boldly live for Jesus Christ and to take advantage of every opportunity to present the Gospel which can save their souls.
The premise behind Jesus' declaration in Matthew 6:25-34 is one of the passages we should focus upon now. "Do not worry", "do not be anxious", and "do not be perpetually uneasy" Jesus commanded us [ Parallel Bible, KJV/Amplified Bible Commentary].
Do not spend another anxious moment worrying about how you are going to "survive" the coming Holocaust of Antichrist. Let God worry about that. You just double and triple your effort to pray and live the holy life God commands, in this period leading up to the Tribulation. And, when you see the planned chaos and crisis erupting that will panic the peoples of the world to accept Antichrist and his dictatorial government, go into your prayer closet with your family and loved ones, and pray that God's Will be done, and His Glory manifested in your life. You have committed your eternity to Jesus Christ when you became Born Again; now, you can depend upon His Holy Spirit power to bring you through this crisis.
I want to finish this article with my most favorite Scripture of encouragement, Hebrews 13:5b-6. "... be satisfied with your present circumstances and with what you have; for God Himself has said, 'I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. I will not, I will not, I will not* in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake you, nor let you down, or relax My hold on you. Assuredly not! ... The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm, I will not fear or dread or be terrified. What can man do to me?" [*The Holy Spirit caused the writer to the Hebrews to use "three negatives preceding the verb" to emphasize that God intended the maximum emphasis given to His Promise] [ Parallel Bible, KJV/Amplified Bible Commentary].
Before signing off this article, I feel the need to state that we believe in the Imminent Pre-Tribulational Rapture of the Church [1 Corinthians 15:50-58 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18] We believe that we will be Raptured out either just before, or just after, the staged appearance of Antichrist .
Still, our theme as we face the coming appearance of Antichrist is, "What can man do to me?" This should be your theme song from this moment on. The End of the Age is truly upon us. Are you spiritually ready? Is your family? Are you adequately protecting your loved ones? This is the reason for this ministry, to enable you to first understand the peril facing you, and then help you develop strategies to warn and protect your loved ones. Once you have been thoroughly trained, you can also use your knowledge as a means to open the door of discussion with an unsaved person. I have been able to use it many times, and have seen people come to Jesus Christ as a result. These perilous times are also a time when we can reach many souls for Jesus Christ, making an eternal difference.
If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, but have been very lukewarm in your spiritual walk with Him, you need to immediately ask Him for forgiveness and for renewal. He will instantly forgive you, and fill your heart with the joy of the Holy Spirit. Then, you need to begin a daily walk of prayer and personal Bible Study.
If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as Savior, but have come to realize His reality and the approaching End of the Age, and want to accept His FREE Gift of Eternal Life, you can also do so now, in the privacy of your home. Once you accept Him as Savior, you are spiritually Born Again, and are as assured of Heaven as if you were already there. Then, you can rest assured that the Kingdom of Antichrist will not touch you spiritually. If you would like to become Born Again, turn to our Salvation Page now.
We hope you have been blessed by this ministry, which seeks to educate and warn people, so that they can see the coming New World Order -- Kingdom of Antichrist -- in their daily news.
Finally, we would love to hear from you.
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