Book 2 of Musings Release From Trouble
When you are under pressure and are praying for release, you may find that God first may give you victory in your pressured situation, and then remove the particular pressure.
There is a fundamental flaw in the concept of the "pre-tribulation rapture" of the Christian people.
According to this totally unscriptural doctrine, Christians will be whisked away from the earth in order to escape the troubles of the great tribulation and the rule of Antichrist.
This is not the way God works. This would be a Dunkirk, a fleeing from a powerful enemy, an escape from a superior, encircling force.
If we would just stop and think logically we would see the error of such thinking. An examination of the fourth chapter of First Thessalonians, the "rapture" passage, will reveal that the saints are resurrected (or changed) prior to their being caught up to meet Christ in the air.
Now consider: How could resurrected saints be harmed by Antichrist or the great tribulation? This is ridiculous!
The reason the saints are caught up into the air to meet Christ at His coming is so they can return with Him and fight the Battle of Armageddon, the war that will drive Satan and all his forces from the earth.
The Christians are not caught up to Heaven but into the air, because the initial staging of the army will take place in the air.
No, resurrected saints cannot be harmed by Antichrist or any other kind of danger or trouble on the earth. Once we have been raised from the dead and our body has been changed into a body like that of Christ, we cannot by injured by the physical forces of the earth. This is obvious.
But there is another reason why the destructive doctrine of the pre-tribulation rapture should be removed from the Christian churches. It not only is not scriptural or reasonable, it is not the way God works.
When Israel left Egypt the country was in ruins. The Egyptian army that came after the Israelites was drowned in the Red Sea. This was not a Dunkirk-type withdrawal from an encircling, victorious army. This was the Lord's army marching out in total victory, leaving a defeated enemy in chaos. A similar situation shall exist when the saints are caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Sudden destruction will fall on the wicked of the earth. There will not be a seven-year period during which the wicked proceed to enjoy themselves.
When Lot left Sodom, destruction fell out of the heavens. This is how it shall be when the saints are caught up to meet the Commander in Chief in the air.
Sometimes Noah and his family are presented as a type of a "rapture" of the Christian people to escape trouble. Noah and his family were not caught up to Heaven to escape the judgment of God. They remained in safety, buoyed up by the very waters that destroyed the wicked. So it is true that when we are serving the Lord, the troubles that fall on the world press us into Jesus. We "ride" on the waters of judgment as did Noah and his family.
When we are abiding in the secret place of the Most High, people may fall on either side of us but we shall escape unharmed. God can save us in the midst of the worst possible calamities.
Daniel in the Lion's den is an excellent scriptural example of the manner in which God delivers His saints from trouble.
Enoch was not "raptured" to escape trouble, neither was Elijah. They were caught up to Glory as a manifestation of their closeness to God.
When the sons of God are resurrected, and before they are caught up, they will spend time on the earth having a season of fellowship. Then slowly, grandly, they will ascend into the air above. The wicked will see this and be terrified, gnashing their teeth in anger and frustration.
God always sets a table before us in the presence of our enemies.
The angel of the Lord always encamps around those who fear God and delivers them.
God has given us power over all the power of the enemy. We can tread upon the most formidable forces Satan can bring against us. Jesus has all authority and power in Heaven and on the earth.
I cannot think offhand of any instance in the Bible when a saint was delivered by being moved from one place to another. Can you? God has too much power to have to withdraw His people in order to prevent their being harmed.
Perhaps you are in a difficult place situation right now. You are praying for God to remove you. You are tempted to break God's laws, if you have to, in order to escape from the unpleasantness.
Do keep on praying, but don't move until you hear from the Lord. You don't know what God will do to deliver you and bring you peace.
What sometimes happens is that God finds a way of giving us perfect joy and peace where we are. Then when He moves us there was no real necessity for Him to do so. By faithfully praying to Christ and remaining at our post we gain victory right where we are.
How many divorces would have been prevented; how many children would have been spared the problems associated with growing up without a mother, or without a father; had the parents (or at least one of the parents) sought God for a solution.
I do not say there never is a time for a believer to remove himself or herself from a painful situation. There do come such occasions. But we must wait until we are sure God has spoken, not fleeing because we "can't stand it for one more minute."
Character is formed in us when we wait in our prison until God releases us. Much good accrues to us. We are given the crown of life. Saints are not formed in a milk bath but in the fire.
So be patient and pray. Stay with it, unless God clearly shows you otherwise. God will give you victory right where you are if you don't run away.
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. (II Corinthians 2:14)