Expert: Marilyn - 11/11/2009

Question
Hey Marilyn, hope all is well, I have aquestion for you concerning scripture, specifically Revelations 14:12:

Revelation 14:12

12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.

Is this speaking of us?? Or is this speaking of the 144,000 in the begining of this chapter, I know Ive probably asked more dificult questions in the past but I am particularly stuck on this verse and it's meaning

I humbl thank you in advance.

Junior

Answer
Hello Junior;

Doing fine. Always glad to hear from you.

I subscribe to the belief that the Rapture, the Catching Away found in I Corinthians 15:35-55, will happen before Anti-Christ attains power. I adhere to this view based on the following:

II Thessalonians 2:7 & 8, "For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work, but the One who now holds it back will continue to do so till He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of His mouth and destroy by the splendor of His coming." The question is: Who is the One who holds back the power of lawlessness? Answer: the Holy Spirit through the Church.

"...you were also included in the Christ when you heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit," Ephesians 1:13. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit in Acts 1. Before the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles, they were ordinary men cowering in the upper room afraid of their own shadows. It's the Holy Spirit through the Church Who holds back the lawless one.

Another argument for this position is this: the first 3 chapters of Revelation describe the church age, one type of church appearing in the order described, one after the other. I also believe that the seven churches Jesus talks about not only characterize how the church has behaved through time in consecutive order, but also individual churches at any given time. But the point is, in Revelation 4:1 John says, "After this I looked and there before me was a door standing open in Heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this."" The key words here being "after this," i.e. after the church age come up here.

Another view holds to a mid-Tribulation rapture at the same time as the Two Witnesses are told to come up to Heaven, Revelation 11:12, "...a loud voice from Heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they went up to Heaven in a cloud."

The post-Tribulation Rapture is backed by Revelation 18:4, "Come out of her, My people..."

Another argument states that there are several raptures. One before the Tribulation, one in the middle and one at or near the end.

Revelation 20:4-6, "I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the Word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years."

The first resurrection began with Jesus' resurrection, He is the Firstfruits. "But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the Firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep," I Corinthians 15:20. The first resurrection will not be finished until the Tribulation saints receive their resurrection bodies.

The Great Multitude are also mentioned in Revelation 7:9-14. I believe these are the ones who are saved as a result of the preaching by the 144,000. The Two Witnesses, Revelation 11, will also pull in some more people for God. It is my opinion that Revelation 14:12 refers to both the 144,000 and those saved during the Tribulation.

Daniel 12:1 & 2, 13, " "At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people--everyone whose name is found written in the book--will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt...As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at then end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance." "

One interpretation states that the ones resurrected to everlasting life are the Old Testament saints and the ones who are resurrected to everlasting shame are the Old Testament sinners. One might use this verse to argue in favor of a post-Tribulation rapture of all saints. However, Revelation doesn't mention the resurrection of the unsaved dead until Revelation 20, after the Thousand Year Reign. All Scriptures I know of have believers resurrected before the thousand year reign and ruling and reigning with Jesus during that time.

Until the end of the thousand year reign is a long time for those Old Testament saints to wait, but I guess when you consider how long eternity is and that they're in a good place, maybe it's no big deal.

Since we are all part of One Body of the Lord, the answer to your question is "yes." It's a smart aleck answer, but hey, it's true.

My opinion: I believe in a pre-Tribulation rapture for everyone who believes in Jesus when that day comes, one of these Rosh HaShanahs in the future, maybe next year. The Bible clearly states there will be a rapture for the Tribulation saints. And there may be another in the middle, to my mind the evidence for it is shakier.

I believe we may see Anti-Christ step onto the world stage, but we might not realize it's him because he won't be able to achieve his status as one world ruler until we are taken out because we, who are marked with the Holy Spirit, move according to the Spirit and act according to the Spirit, hold him back.

Jesus said that the end would not come until the Gospel has been preached unto the ends of the earth, Matthew 24:14. A few thousand people groups are left who do not have the Word of God in their own languages. Until the day everyone has heard, Jesus won't come--the house won't be ready.

Regardless of when we believers live, we must endure with patience and remain faithful. The ladies in Iran who accepted Jesus as Savior and are held in prison are being patient and faithful. So are the believers in Egypt or in Pakistan or Iraq...some of the patient believers even live in the United States right now. We all must endure patiently, and work to take territory for the Lord, until satan is at last thrown into the lake of fire.

Hope this helps, but God hasn't made all this prophetic stuff totally clear. He does this because He doesn't want to show too much of His hand to the enemy and because He likes us to ponder and argue about it. He seems to value faith right up there with love and is determined to make us live by faith one way or another.

Hope to hear from you again soon,

Marilyn

P.S. all your questions are hard, but that's good for me. I learn more.