Is There Any Precident That Must Happen Before the Rapture?

Most people have probably wondered about the very same statement I'm about to share, and wonder what the answer is? What about people living in the most remote places on earth, how do those tribes here about Jesus? How are they saved or are they? It's simple.

The answer is found in Romans 1:20 ~ "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

We still should however keep on with our efforts to reach the ends of the earth with the gospel of Jesus until He calls us home. But Scripture clearly points out that even if it doesn't make it through radio ministries or missionaries, His revelation to the mind of man is that He is Creator God. All of humanity, even the ones not yet reached are without an excuse. He is speaking to them and He will reach them even if we don't. That is how merciful our God is.

Right now you have the choice which type of saint you want to be. Either the Church Age saints, the Tribulation saints or you are going to reject God and be forever separated from the love, grace and mercy of Jesus Christ when your life comes to an end or until the Lord comes and raptures the church out of this world. There are some who have stopped by here today, and will say to themselves, well if that all really comes to pass, then I will accept Jesus if it happens like the Bible says it will. Be warned, there are some Scriptures that say if you had the opportunity to come to Jesus before this all happens, your heart might grow so hard, that you will buy into the deception and will forever pass up your opportunity to make that choice. Don't play games with God now. You might end up regretting it for the rest of all eternity.

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 ~ "And in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness."

What this means is that if you understand today, that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior, that He died on the cross for your sins and mine, rose from the dead, and that He is the Almighty and that He loves you, there is a possibility that if the rapture were to take place today, and you were left behind, you might not be able to believe. Accept Jesus today, while you can!

The question might also be asked why was the Tribe of Dan deleted from the list of the 12 Tribes of Israel in Revelation 7:5-8? Dan was the first tribe to introduce idolatry into the tribes of Israel. The tribe of Dan also did not want to cross over into the Promised Land, they wanted to stay on the other side. Many Jewish and Hebrew scholars believe in the Scripture that concerns the tribe of Dan in the Old Testament, a rider shall come forth and he shall fall backwards upon his neck. It is a reference that the tribe of Dan will bring forth the Antichrist or that the Antichrist, himself will come out of the tribe of Dan. It is interesting to note however that the tribe of Dan is not mentioned in Revelation 7.

The people mentioned here in Revelation 7 are not the church age saints, they are the Tribulation Saints and it is clear that you must not confuse the two groups. The church age believers come to Christ in faith before the Tribulation. These other people find their faith in Jesus Christ during the Tribulation period. The church age believers are kept from the Tribulation period, while this group must go through the Tribulation period. The church age believers are seen in heaven wearing fine white linen whereas the tribulation believers wear white robes. The church age believers are called to express their faith by living for Jesus Christ, whereas the tribulation believers are called to express their faith by dying for Jesus Christ. The church age believers are seen seated in heaven before the tribulation period whereas the tribulation believers are found suffering on earth during the Tribulation. The church age believers, they are the heavenly wedding scene whereas the tribulation believers find themselves invited to attend the wedding as well as the Old Testament saints. The Bride and Groom are never invited to the wedding, they are the wedding party. The church age believers are married to Jesus Christ in eternity, whereas the tribulation believers are servants of Jesus Christ forever for all eternity. The church age believers wear crowns in heaven whereas the tribulation believers wear no crowns at all in heaven. The church age believers have harps and vials and the tribulation believers have palm branches. 

Heaven will be well attended by those who have come out of this world.

Revelation 7:13-14 ~ " Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes - who are they, and where did they come from?" I  answered, "Sir, you know." 

When John says, "Sir, you know," it is a subtle play on words, it is basically saying, "I don't know, how could I, I am new here." John was basically telling him he has no knowledge of these things because he is new in heaven. John knows intuitively that the elder knows both whom they are and where they come from. This is a significant truth here. Why? Because these are the ones mentioned in Revelation 6.

Revelation 6:11 ~ "Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed."

This tells us that in the first 3 1/2 years during the opening portion of the Tribulation period, there will be believers who die during the advent of the Antichrist and his antics. When they die and go to heaven, they cry out in the earlier portions of Revelation 6 about being under the altar and crying out to God how long do they have to wait before God vindicates them and they were told to wait a little longer for the others. Now in Revelation 7, these are the others in that parenthetical insert of the Scripture. We know that the 144,000 are Jewish converts to Christ, and that they do not belong to the church age believers. The preaching of the gospel in the earth will be prolific by this men at that time.

There are some who say, based on the way they have been taught in their churches or doctrines that Jesus Christ can not come back until the gospel has been preached to all the world. Did you know that this is not true? This is not true. There is nothing that proceeds the rapture of the church. There is no prerequisite. In fact, even after the preaching of the 144,000 during the Tribulation period, an angel has to be sent into the atmosphere to preach the everlasting gospel to all peoples and then the end will come. So the gospel will be preached in the world to all the ends of the earth during the Tribulation before the end comes but it is post rapture. The church is already gone. So will the church succeed in reaching every person on the planet? No, but that doesn't mean we give up our mission either through outreaches, because Jesus told us to go into the world and share the gospel to all the ends of the world. We will not reach everyone with the gospel.

The 144,000 will not reach everyone. There will come a moment, when we will study it later, that God will send an angel preaching. This will fulfill Jesus' prophetic words in Matthew 24, this gospel shall be preached in all the world and then the end will come. It will be a gathering of God's faithful in heaven. A faithful believer is one who has his course set.

Revelation 7:14-15 ~ " And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them."

When you stand before the altar as husband and wife, what is the whole thing built upon? Faith! They make a pledge to be faithful to one another. Will rough times come? Will tribulation come? Yes! But will that husband and wife endure and make it through those tough times? We need to be faithful. Even if one of you in your marriage has been unfaithful, turn it around. Keep your focus on God and He can turn it around. Don't make things worse by walking away or become unfaithful as well. God can make you both faithful again. You want your marriage to be so strong in your faith, that if one of you walks away it will be leaving the most godly man or woman on the planet. Be faithful in your duties as a husband or wife. If they attempt to leave, let them know that they are leaving the best man or woman in the world. Faithful and that is just in marriage.

Let us be faithful in ministry. Faithful in loving God, faithful in all of the above. You know that is what heaven will be populated with? Faithful people. All Jesus is looking for is faith in Him. If we have faith in Him, our faith will be an active and loving kind of faith. Are you one of God's faithful people? You must believe and trust and faith in Jesus. We just need to yield to Him! Are you ready to meet him? Accept Jesus today, now is the time!