Friday, April 11, 2025
The truth about life, death and the hereafter is that everyone believes someone, even if that someone is oneself. Here some will say, “That depends on your definition of truth”, to which I say, “There is one source of truth, and His name is Jesus Christ the Son of God” and He must be believed by grace through faith via one’s born again heart. Christ said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). [My emphasis] Many professing Christians have trouble believing that because faith-blockers of church traditions get in their way. It was the same with ancient Israel, choking off faith with their traditions of men.
If you’re not familiar with thefridayletter.com of the past nearly 18 years and the two books I’ve authored, then know that in June 2007 God placed on my heart a burden for the many Christians who do not believe the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ regarding the resurrection rapture and gathering of His elect “Immediately after the tribulation” (Matt. 24:29–31), “at the resurrection” (John 5:28–29), “at the last day” (John 6:40, 44 and 11:24). They believe rather in an unbiblical dispensational pre-trib rapture which is found nowhere in the Bible because it’s based wholly on assumption and conjecture. But many prefer its ear-tickling deception that holds them hostage to the belief that they will be snatched off the earth before the seven-year tribulation even begins.
The deceit of the pre-trib rapture is widespread. And because that deceit has been allowed to stand as truth, other progressive deceits followed and caused great rebellion and unbelief of Scriptures that were formerly held as truths in the church that existed for centuries before the 20th Century when all these deceptions began infecting the church, and leadership either could not or simply did not want to discern “the truth”. The result? Tens of millions of self-professing believers are paying no attention to the many prophetic signs of the end-times being fulfilled all around us today. They have been blinded by deceit as they expect an imminent rapture to snatch them out of harm’s way of the tribulation for which “the truth” of Jesus Christ strongly warned.
I’ll never forget the words of a dispensational theologian who teaches at a prominent Christian university as he taught an audience of thousands of young people: “I cannot conceive of a God who would drag His bride through the mud of the tribulation, to then turn around and marry her”. Yet, that’s the very nature of God which is clearly revealed throughout the Scriptures as He dealt with rebellious ancient Israel. God repeatedly and severely gave Israel tribulation at the hands of wicked and ungodly nations around them. And a similar tribulation will attend the rebellious church of these end-times. God forewarned “That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun” (Eccl. 1:9). The problem is that many “cannot conceive of a God” and His record of dealing with so-called believers who rebel against the truth of God and His Christ to follow deceptively crafted traditions of men.
Similarly, God warned the church at 1 Cor. 10:1–13, to look to ancient Israel as our example that we not fall into unbelief and rebellion as they, because we know God said “For I am the LORD, I do not change” (Mal. 3:6), and God’s Holy Spirit said “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8). God will use the 7-year tribulation to purify the rebellious and largely unbelieving church of these end-times, for church leadership allowed much rebellion, unbelief, sin and corruption to enter, examples of which I’ve repeatedly written about. God’s historical nature has never been to snatch His people off the earth in times of trials and tribulation, but to use them as instruments to cleanse and purify His people, “that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:27). Yet, as it is today the organized church has much rebellion and unbelief, but God won’t have it. God’s church will be built on His terms, not on the terms of traditions of men for which ancient Israel was famous in her repeat rebellion, unbelief and sin.
If you know the NT, you know that Jesus Christ never ran after or pursued those who would not believe, for whatever their reason(s). No, Christ repeatedly let unbelievers go their own way and did not beg them to believe Him. And neither will I run after those who, for whatever the reason reject the testimony of Christ that He gathers His elect “Immediately after the tribulation” (Matt. 24:29–31). As I said at the top of today’s Letter, “everyone believes someone”, and everyone is free to believe whoever he or she will, but as for me and my house we will believe the testimony of Christ and prepare to endure to the end just as He taught at Matt. 24:13 that we might be like the five wise virgins of Matt. 25:1–13 who prepared and endured the difficult night waiting for the arrival of their Bridegroom. As for me and my house we won’t be shocked or offended at the arrival of Antichrist, his false prophet or “the image of the beast” of Rev. 13, because we believe Christ when He said that “when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ [the Antichrist] spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand)” (Matt. 24:15); and unless we die first, we will all see him. To deny that is rebellious unbelief of Christ.
“One important thing is we don’t see when others walk away is Jesus giving chase. As powerful as Jesus was, as brilliant as Jesus was, as pure as Jesus was, and as surrendered to God as Jesus was, not everyone He interacted with ‘changed,’ repented, or agreed with Him. Sometimes to follow in the footsteps of Jesus is to walk away from others or to let them walk away from us.” (Source) On one occasion when Jesus spoke to His disciples and the multitudes about what it meant to follow Him, many of His disciples were offended, and “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more” (John 6:66). (Source) In disbelieving Jesus’ detailed gathering of His elect “Immediately after the tribulation” (Matt. 24:29–31), many today close their ears to His truths and believe instead what theologians and pastors tell them to believe according to the unbiblical pre-trib rapture that tickles their ears and keeps them starry-eyed and happy but ignorant of the soon-coming tribulation and seven-year rule of the Antichrist at which time offense, Matt. 24:10, will set upon the unbelieving and unprepared believers in the church.
On numerous fronts the table is set for WWIII. And for all the good President Donald Trump is doing he will not lead America into a “Golden Age” which he widely touts. There is no Golden Age for America or any other country. What’s coming instead is a global financial collapse due to unsustainable debt and then violence on steroids. Oh, there’ll be a brief era of what appears to be a Golden Age not because of President Trump, but of Antichrist and his biblically prophesied 3 1/2 years-long age of peace and security until he breaks his Dan.9:27 covenant. But be warned that God said “when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape” (1 Thess. 5:3).
My new book “ON EAGLES’ WINGS” explains in detail how to know Christ and find God’s Bozrah sheepfold of safety and place of provision for the last 1,260 days of the great tribulation.
Marlin J. Yoder
