Friday, January 1, 2021
Today, while many desire to celebrate a new year, the world increasingly descends toward the biblical 7-year tribulation and powers of anti-Christ evil spirits. This is due to God increasingly withdrawing His restraint on evil, for the time of the end of this age is at hand. Are you ready?
I begin 2021 by speaking urgently to professing Christians; those claiming new birth faith in Jesus Christ; claiming they’re “true Jews” (Rom. 2:28–29); that they’re “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9), but yet believe the false and satanically inspired pre-tribulation rapture tradition. Satan is always at work to destroy the testimony of Jesus Christ.
First, those who believe the pre-trib rapture did not come to that conclusion based on their own, sincere, Acts 17:11 Berean study of the truth. No, the pre-trib rapture is believed because that’s what people are told to believe by teachers esteemed to be more intelligent and spiritual! People are led to believe the pre-trib rapture because satanic spirits do not want Christians to know or prepare in the testimony of Jesus. And if ministers and teachers loved the testimony of Jesus more than the praise of men their false rapture teachings would stop! You’ve entered a critical decision time: to believe the testimony of Jesus Christ, or the testimony of man. If you believe Jesus, there’s much for which to prepare, but if you believe man, there’s little to prepare.
Secondly, the Holy Spirit will NEVER contradict the testimony of Jesus who said that He gathers His elect “Immediately after the tribulation” (Matt. 24:29–31). So we must ask the question “Are we His elect”? If we say “yes” then we have no choice but to believe the testimony of Jesus and prepare as did the five wise virgins of Matt. 25:1–13. But if we say we’re not “His elect”, then we have a problem as we’ve become like one of the foolish, unbelieving and unprepared virgins of Matt. 25:1–13. Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). But do you really and truly believe that Jesus is “the way”?
Here’s why that’s so important: Jesus said “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and he leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers” (John 10:1–5). We need to spiritually discern ourselves and Christ in this account. The pre-trib rapture is “some other way” into the sheepfold; it’s the way of a “thief and a robber”. Voices of the pre-trib rapture are those of “a stranger”. Jesus further said “Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice” (John 18:37). Whose voice do you hear: Jesus or men?
Not until the epiphany of theologian John Nelson Darby (1800–1882) in the mid-19th Century did the pre-tribulation rapture seize upon the church. As his teachings tickled the ears of many, Darby’s heretic end-times was adopted, even making it a prerequisite to ministerial credentials in most Christian denominations. This led the multi-level departure from the testimony of Jesus for the end-times. Millions of professing Christians are today drawn away from believing Christ to loving the testimony of man. That deceitful departure fueled many other departures from God’s Word also. The pre-trib rapture is assumption and conjecture without one Bible verse of support!
Time is swiftly running out, because 2020 was the precursor to the onset of the tribulation which I believe will begin in the fall harvest months of 2021. This year will be dramatically worse than 2020. If you think you lost freedoms from COVID-19, and we did, wait until globalists usher in the Great Reset of 2021. And it won’t matter who’s in the White House; the Great Reset of 2021 is coming, and it will strip freedoms from people everywhere. But if President Trump serves the second term he rightly won, he will temporarily blunt the near-term effects of the Great Reset.
Are you prepared to endure the tribulation to the end? That’s critical, for Jesus said He gathers His elect “Immediately after the tribulation” (Matt. 24:29–31); occurring at “the resurrection of life” (John 5:29); “at the last day” (John 6:40, 44, 54); at “the first resurrection” (Rev. 20:4–6); “at the last trumpet” (1 Cor. 15:51–52); when “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, and with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thess. 4:16); because “He [Christ] must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything” (Acts 3:21 NIV). Nothing here is assumption or conjecture.
We don’t need man’s convoluted PhD-level theological exposition of dispensationalism’s pre-tribulation rapture replacing Jesus’ testimony. We just need to believe Jesus! Academia is good if used properly and for the good of mankind. Remember, Jesus said “unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3). And remember too, Paul’s confession about his unparalleled religious academia – “I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ” (Phil. 3:8).
Here’s the third thing I believe God wants you to know and understand from His Word of truth. At the middle of the tribulation, [which I believe will occur in the spring months of 2025, 3 1/2 years, or 1,260 days after the tribulation start in the fall harvest months of 2021] “the mark of the beast” (Rev. 13:16–17) will be issued. At that time, there will be a small window of time when believers, like Lot, can flee to the safety and provision of God for the next 3 1/2 years, or 1,260 days which constitute the “great tribulation” (Matt. 24: 15–28). For at that time “the woman [the “freewoman” Gal. 4:21–31] fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days”, being believers “counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass” (Luke 21:36). Dear believers, carefully note the Words “counted worthy to escape”, meaning exactly what it says. Both Noah and Lot were “counted worthy to escape” because they believed God. Also note that just as it was in the days of Noah and Lot, there will be multitudes who are not “counted worthy to escape”!
At the middle of the tribulation, those who believed God will be “counted worthy to escape” all the things that attend the “great tribulation” (Matt. 24:15–28), to find the safety and provision of God for 1,260 days, or 42 months. But that means that like Noah and Lot, we too must love God more than the things of this life to enter God’s provision. We must be willing to quickly leave it all for the sake of entering God’s safety, see Luke 17:26–37. One’s heart cannot be like that of Lot’s wife, who, loving her earthy stuff and in-laws more than God, disobeyed God, turned and looked back toward home where some of her family was and immediately perished, turning into a pillar of salt! Therefore, Jesus said, “Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32); and “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Matt. 10:37). This is why we must lead and teach our loved ones to believe the truths of Jesus’ end-time teachings lest we miss God’s safety and provision for the 1,260 days of great tribulation. An ancient prophet also wrote about this time, see Isa. 26:20–21.
Here’s another huge problem with the pre-trib rapture. About a fourth of the Bible is prophesy and end-times. And since the Bible consists of 31,103 verses, about 7,775 verses are prophetic and end-times related. While many of those verses have already been fulfilled, thousands remain unfulfilled relating to the end-times and return of Christ. Here’s the big problem: for believer’s who hold to the pre-trib rapture heresy, they, having been led by false teachers, ignore thousands of verses that would otherwise lead them to knowing, believing and preparing in the truth! When reading much of the prophetic end-times it’s simply ignored as they’ve been taught that anything pointing to the truth of a post-trib rapture doesn’t even apply to them, but to others less fortunate who are more deserving of the 7-year tribulation. FULL STOP! That’s unbelief and foolishness!
The Bible does NOT teach a pretribulation rapture – not even a little bit. What the pre-trib rapture does, however, is that in the hearts and minds of believers, it changes the God of the Bible to being a sugar-daddy who shows partiality and favoritism, but the Spirit makes clear “there is no partiality with God” (Rom. 2:11). The Spirit also taught that “You [Christ] do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth” (Luke 20:21). The pre-trib rapture also leads people to believe there’s more than one body of saints, but the Spirit again makes clear that “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling” (Eph. 4:4). True desire to know God and His Word rejects assumptions and conjecture, and refuses to add or subtract from the Word, but discerningly searches out truth. This proves love for God.
A closing thought on a different matter: a Middle East war is imminent. We know it must and will come. Initially, it will likely be Israel and the United States against Iran. Other nations will be drawn in. This may be the war that destroys Damascus, Syria according to the yet unfulfilled Word of the Lord, saying, “The burden against Damascus. Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, and it will be a ruinous heap” (Isa. 17:1). We must also expect food famines and natural disasters; and even an increasing famine of God’s Word from Christian pulpits.
Finally, do not fear 2021 or what globalists are capable of, but be prepared. Christian families might be torn apart and separated because we don’t accept the mandates of the Great Reset of 2021. Just keep your spiritual heart and eyes focused on winning the prize of Christ, for even though the trials of tribulation may be severe, “consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18).
Marlin J. Yoder
