End Times: Great Tribulation
Chapter 9: Who Will Escape?
Prophecies,
Final Words on the End Times
Who Will Escape?
Revelation 3:10
"Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep [Strong’s G5083: tēreō] you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth."
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Who will escape? Those who are obedient and persevere, and who walk in holiness, not for one day, but each and every day.
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“Strong’s G5083: tēreō: to attend to carefully, take care of, preserve, hold fast, to guard, metaph. to keep, one in the state in which he is, to observe, to reserve: to undergo something.”
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The Hebrew word for "keep" explained and interpreted by Strong is not to be caught up or raptured, but to be kept whole, taken care of, and preserved. Compare, "Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me under the shadow of Your wings," [Psalm 17:8]
Matthew 5:8
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
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Only those that are pure in heart will see our Lord. This is a continuous process of confessing, repenting, and breaking with any known sin, and walking in obedience to King Jesus.
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Do review web page Chapter 1 "Preparing Our Heart".
Matthew 7:13-14,21-24
"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:"
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Again we see the importance of obedience and distinguishing and doing the will of God, not only at the start of our journey.
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Once you have entered this narrow gate, which in fact is Jesus, The Way and The Door, do whatever it takes to keep going until the end.
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Make no mistake God is a Holy God, the Holy One of Israel, may we be faithful in doing His will.
John 15:4-5,12-14
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing ...
This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.”
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Loving God and one another is crucial, as well as bearing Holy Spirit's fruit by abiding in His Presence and praying without ceasing.
Luke 9:23
“Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me."
Hebrews 12:14
"Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord."
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Considering the above Scriptures it should be clear that not everyone will Escape, but those that are fully surrendered to God.
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Moreover, not all that call on His name will be saved.
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Some will be martyred, and others will be kept safe in God's Secret Place.
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There is no guarantee that either one of us are in this special "Secret Place" group. Hence, it is better to prepare mentally and spiritually for the worse, and hope for the best.
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Recall Revelation 12:11, "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death."
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Let us declare as Paul did, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die gain. " In another translation it says, "For to me, to live is Christ [He is my source of joy, my reason to live] and to die is gain [for I will be with Him in eternity]. [Philippians 1:21, AMP]
Prophecies to Come to Pass Before Jesus' Return
The Following Are Not Necessarily In Chronological Order:
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The Book of Revelation specifically indicates that there have been/will be 7 Seals opened by our Lord Jesus, the Only One worthy to do this. Followed by 7 Trumpets blown by 7 Angels, and 7 Bowls poured out on earth by 7 Angels. These are the 7 Seals, 7 Trumpets, 7 Bowls found in 3 Tables shown in Chapter 10.
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In our opinion the first 4 Seals have already been opened, at least so it seems, as deception, wars, famine, killings and diseases have hit humanity during the various generations, and have increased.
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In Chapter 3 we asked the Question, when does the Day of the LORD at the End Times start? We find after the 6th Seal is opened in Revelation 6:15-17, "And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” The 7th Seal is about the half hour of silence after which the 7 Trumpets start. So we can understand that the Day of the LORD starts at the 1st Trumpet. The 5th Trumpet takes 5 months to complete [Revelation 9:10], while the 6th Trumpet lasts exactly 1 year **, 1 month, 1 day, and 1 hour. [Revelation 9:15] So we can conclude that this Day of the LORD during the End Times has a 1½ year time period.
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** As the 5th and 6th Trumpet take up 18 months (13+5), not taking into account Trumpets 1-4, this would entail that Satan has less than 2 years of his wrath.
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The Abraham Accords mediated by the USA have established peace, security and prosperity and normalized relations between Israel and various Arab and Islamic states. Up to this date: Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, Morocco, Syria, Lebanon, Kazakhstan, Somaliland, Saudi Arabia are in or almost in.
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The fall of "Babylon the Great" in one hour, which might well be New York City and the USA. Is there any other country that has dominated the world industrially, economically, politically and military, since early 20th Century? This would of course cause chaos, as once the USA is from the map, the nations can more easily come against Israel. [Revelation 16:19; 17:5,15-18; 18:1-11,17-19,23b-24; 19:11-21]
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Damascus is destroyed and no longer exists as a city, while Israel is also hit. [Psalm 83; Isaiah 17:1]
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Complete chaos due to world disasters: this could be World War III, or a great earthquake (6th Seal), or another global 'plan-demic' (resulting in for example millions of deaths and famine), or another global psychological operation mentioned in previous Chapters, so the Beast World Control System can be setup in which "small and great, rich and poor" will receive the Mark of the Beast System. By the way, this will of course not be called as such, to the contrary it could be a minor scratch (tattoo) with an enticing name attached to all kinds of benefits. [Revelation 13:15-18]
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The Third (3rd) Temple is built on the Temple Mount and sacrifice rituals are ongoing. [Revelation 11:1-2]
- The Abomination* of Desolation stands "in the Holy Place" in the Temple, which most likely is the Antichrist with his (Quantum AI) Image of the Beast (possibly an AI-Robot) that the people must worship or be killed. [Daniel 7:25; 8:11; 9:27; 12:11; Matthew 24:15; Revelation 13:14]
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* Strong's Greek Lexicon G946 for bdelygma, "Abomination", stands for a foul and detestable thing, of idols and things pertaining to idolatry, while "Desolation" that is destruction is the result of God's judgment.
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Jerusalem is surrounded by armies, the Antichrist stops Temple offerings and the Great Tribulation begins with the persecution of all who have not taken the Mark. [Daniel 9:27; 11:31-36; Matthew 24:21; Revelation 13:8]
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The 2 Witnesses appear in Jerusalem for 3½ years. [Revelation 11:3]
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The 3rd Trumpet the great burning star Wormwood falls on the waters and makes a third bitter. [Revelation 8:10-11]
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The 5th Trumpet with locust-scorpion demons tormenting those that have taken the Mark of the Beast during 5 months. [Revelation 9:5]
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During the 6th Trumpet one third (1/3) of earth’s population is slain by 4 death angels [Revelation 9:14]; this 6th Trumpet lasts a bit more than 13 months. [Revelation 9:15] Despite all this, the inhabitants of the earth do not repent and blaspheme God.
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The Jews realize that Yeshua HaMashiach is the real Messiah who said "you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!'" [Matthew 23:39; Luke 13:35]
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The Rapture at the last, which is the 7th Trumpet. [1 Corinthians 15:51-52; Revelation 11:15-18]
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Seven (7) more Plagues are poured out as Bowls (Vials) of God’s Wrath. [Revelation 15:1-8; 16:1-21]
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The Battle of Armageddon against Gog, chief prince*** of Meshech and Magog (possibly Russia, Ukraine, Republic of Georgia), and Tubal (possibly Turkey), as well as Persia (Iran), Ethiopia (Sudan), Libya (Put), Gomer and Togarmah (Turkey) and coming from the north, most likely from Russia. Their weapons are burnt with fire during 7 years [Ezekiel 39:9], while the house of Israel buries the multitude of dead bodies during 7 months [Ezekiel 39:12], and that Israel now knows that "I Am the LORD their God" [Ezekiel 39:7,22], hence they have finally come to know Yeshua as the real Messiah. [Ezekiel 38:1-23; 39:1-13; Revelation 16:12,16-21] As this is the almost-final battle at the end of the Great Tribulation, these 7 years and 7 months -so it seems- would be during the start of the Millennium, the 1,000-Year-Reign, of King Jesus.
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*** Many of the names mentioned are sons of Japheth and Ham, see Genesis 10:1-2,6. This chief prince Gog might be the Antichrist, or Magog's leader, maybe from Russia, as they come from the north of Israel, but he can also be the higher evil spiritual principality under Satan, or Satan himself, who influences and directs the leaders of those nations.
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After the Millennium the final battle is held with Satan and all the nations of the earth, Gog and Magog, fire comes down from God and the devil is "cast into the lake of fire and brimstone". [Revelation 20:7-10]
Final Words on the End Times
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I want to thank you for having an open mind and taking the time to do your own research, while going through the provided Scriptures in these various Chapters discussing the End Times.
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For some it can be a shock once you realize that we will -with a really high probability- need to go through the Great Tribulation.
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I felt compelled to share this study with you, once I realized that this was the case, because my earnest desire is that all of us, God’s faithful children, would not be offended as we enter these increasingly difficult times.
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For years I believed in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture which was taught by many spiritual leaders, but somehow the more I studied the Scriptures the less convinced I became of this.
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Moreover, not Enoch, not Daniel, not any Early Christian, no Apostle -that is not Peter, not James, not Paul- mentions it, while all of them warn of going through persecutions and tribulations as we saw in this study. More importantly, Lord Jesus Himself clearly warns us that we would go through tribulations and be hated, and even be killed. [Matthew 24:9]
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During the ages, and even today in numerous countries, born-again Christians have gone and are increasingly going through diverse sufferings, tribulations, and many are martyred for their faith in Christ Jesus. Would you dare to tell them, 'Hey, don't worry, we will be Raptured before any Tribulation?' Certainly, they would say that this Pre-Tribulation Rapture theory is a deception or at least a misunderstanding. Remember what happened in for instance China, see Chapter 7: "How Can We Prepare? Is there Escape?".
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All the Apostles, except John, were all martyred and they will for sure be honored in heaven. Now why would the last generation of Christians be exempt from going through the Great Tribulation?
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Remember, a large section of the Great Tribulation is Satan’s Wrath against God’s children, as he is thrown down from heaven.
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“And Jesus said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” [Luke 10:18] “So, the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; …” [Revelation 12:9] “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.” [Matthew 24:9]
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Paul and Barnabas, and other disciples, preached the gospel in Derbe, and when they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, they were “strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, ’We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.’ “ [Acts 14:22]
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May we all be faithful to Jesus all the days of our lives; let us not be deceived, but persevere until Jesus comes.
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Let us neither be distracted by all social media, global news and other world events, and other unworthy activities, but may we daily walk in holiness with and have fellowship with Christ Jesus looking unto Him, the Author and Finisher of our faith:
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“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” [Hebrews 12:1-2]
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Two crucial Bible verses show us how to overcome, ”And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” [Revelation 12:11] and "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." [Philippians 1:21]
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Of course, we do not know what the future holds for each one of us. We might escape this in God's Secret Place, however, it is important to be ready for whatever it takes.
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May we realize that a moment of pain on earth can never be compared to an eternity with our Lord Jesus. We will certainly see our loved ones -whether it be our babies that are sanctified in their parents, or our children, our parents, our other loved ones- who were and might be killed because of their faith in God during the Great Tribulation.
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In closing, may the grace of our Lord Jesus, the Agape love of our heavenly Father, and Holy Spirit's communion be with you always.
To God be all the glory and praise
forever and ever. Amen!