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Religion in America Freedom of Religion God and Government? A Bit of American History Roy Moore About the Author Brother Tommie My Visions and Experiences And He Opened My Understanding Contact information:
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A Thief
in the Night Will God give us a sign of his coming? This seems to be a controversy for some because many Christians teach
an eminent return of the Lord and some teach that certain signs must take
place before Christ returns to establish his kingdom upon the Earth for a
thousand years. The reason many believe in an eminent return is because Jesus said that
he would come as a thief in the night. The eminent return of the Lord
means that Jesus could come at any time, at any moment, that there are no
signs to be fulfilled before he returns. The reason some stick with this
belief is because they feel that if there were to be signs that had to be
fulfilled before his return that he would not be able to take the Church
by surprise. This view supports the teaching that he must return secretly
in order to catch many unaware who will be caught as a thief by surprise.
They fear that if people are not left under this constant threat of the
eminent return of the Lord that they will backslide and become sinful. This is known as the left behind theory. In this view it is the
Christians who will be taken by surprise, some will and some will not be
prepared for Christ to return. Those who are not prepared will be left
behind to go through the great Tribulation. This teaches that the rapture
must take place before the last seven years, commonly called the
Tribulation period. The Christian will be the only one taken by surprise
in this secret coming because the sinner won�t know anything about it,
because Christ will not appear at this event. This view appears to be supported by the stories of Noah's Ark and the
story of Lot and his escape from the Sodom and Gomorrah. The revelation to
this teaching to many is that Noah's Ark and Lot's City of refuge was a
type and shadow of Heaven instructing us that the true believer will be in
Heaven before the Wrath of God can come upon the children of disobedience.
Jesus did say. "And as it was in the days of Noe, also the same day that
Lot went out of Sodom." So this teaching appears to be true. But, is this
the true light of these scriptures? Let us take a closer look at these
stories. The Days of Noah Mt:24: 38: For as in the days that were before the flood they
were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day
that Noe entered into the ark, Personally I feel that to believe that the Ark is a symbol or type and
shadow of Heaven would be a distorted thing to believe. Why? Because, I
believe that the Ark is a type and shadow of Christ, He is the refuge from
the coming wrath of God. To understand this parable, we must remember the
whole story of Noah. Noah and his family worked a hundred years to build
the Ark. They knew that when the Ark was finished that the flood would
come because God had told them so. Question; Did Noah and his family expect the flood to come upon them
suddenly while they were working on the Ark? Did they expect it to come
upon them like a thief in the night? You and I both know that they didn't
expect this to happen. Why? Because God had told them that the Ark would
be their refuge from the coming flood, the Ark was a sign to them. They
knew that the flood couldn't possibly come until the last nail was driven
and the last of the Ark was covered with pitch. The only people who could
possibly be taken by surprise were the sinners that Noah had warned of the
coming flood. This was Noah's concern: that the sinners he was preaching
to would refuse to believe his message and when the Ark was finished the
flood would come to destroy the world and they would not be in the
Ark. The Ark was a sign to the whole world during the time of Noah. They did
not believe the preaching of Noah. Instead they went on with their lives
continuing to live in sin and their own personal dreams and expectations
of life. They married and were given in marriage as if the world would
continue as always. God in his mercy had given them something to watch.
Jesus said this; "if the good man of the house had known in what watch the
thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have
suffered his house to be broken up. They were not looking for the signs
that God had given them. Jesus called the man of the house the good man of
the house because the world always has the view of them selves as being
good. Jesus said that there is none righteous no not one. The Ark was an open sign, it was not hidden nor was God trying to
disguise it. Had they believed Noah's message they could have watched the
Ark and when they saw that it was just about finished they would have
known that it was getting close to the time of the flood. They could have
come down to Noah and found refuge from the flood. You know why they
didn't come? They did not believe the message. So they ignored it and were
taken by surprise when the flood came. The animals that came to the Ark
should have been a sign to them but they ignored it as well, probably
explaining it away to one another the way mankind does with things they
don't understand. Noah and his family was a type of Church. Question: how many of Noah's
family gave up serving God during the time of building the Ark? How many
were lost and were taken as a thief in the night when the flood came?
Something to consider about this story is this. It took a hundred years to
build the Ark. They knew when the Ark was only half way finished that it
would probably take another fifty years to complete. How many of Noah's
family decided to turn back to sin until they saw that the others were
about to finish and then jump in at the last minute? Would you say none? I
would say so as well. I mean, they knew the flood couldn't possibly come
until they were finished, right? If God gave them a sign to watch why
didn't at least one of them go back to sin since they knew the flood would
not catch them unaware? The reason was God's grace. God would not allow
them to do it, because they were his own and he would have a remnant from
this earth that would believe in him. The Bible tells us that Noah was a righteous man, but if Noah had not
climbed into that Ark he would have perished with the rest of the world.
Noah held on steadfast because he had found Grace in the eyes of the
Lord. Were any of those who worked on the Ark left behind? Were any of
God's children in this story left behind? The only ones left behind were
those that did not believe and were not watching the signs. Those that
believed God were taken and those who believed not were left behind. One
shall be taken, another shall be left behind. The Ark did not rise above the earth the instant the flood came. It had
to rain for several days before the water was high enough to lift the Ark
from the ground. Was the Ark lifted completely away from the flood? Or did
it rise in the midst of the flood? Absolutely, it rose up during the
flood. We are kept by the power of God unto Salvation no matter what
happens around us. God's people will endure until the end because God will
work in them to accomplish this end. The true children of God will not be
taken as a thief. In the story of Noah, after everyone had gotten aboard that was going
to go the door was left open for seven days as a sign for others to get on
board. It was unbelief that kept them out. Then God sealed the door. After
the flood came did any of God's children get thrown overboard? No way, do
you know why? God sealed the door. The Holy Spirit seals us as well.
Professing Christians are not sealed; the Spirit seals those who are truly
his. The Tares are being gathered into bundles to be burned. I believe
that only a professing Christian can turn to another god or
go back under the Law of Moses for justification. I also believe that only
a professing Christian can go back to the world to live in
sin. None of God's children will be thrown overboard He will not kick us
out of the boat we are sealed. Lot's deliverance Lk:17: In order to understand this parable we must also go back to the
original story. This story is very similar to that of Noah and the Ark,
before we are finished with this teaching I believe that you will be able
to see what I mean. In the story of Noah it was the Ark that was the place
of refuge, in the story of Lot and his deliverance from Sodom it is the
place that the angels told Lot to go to for safety. In Gen. 19:12-13, Lot was told to take his family and anyone that
belonged to him and leave Sodom because God was going to destroy that
place. Living with him, in his home, was his wife and two virgin
daughters. Him and his wife had other daughters who were married that were
living in the city. Lot went to his sons in law and pleaded with them to
leave at once because God was going to destroy the city. In verse 14 the
scripture says that he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.
This is a very important part of this story because it is telling us that
they didn�t believe his message. But this will end up in a tragedy for
Lot's wife. The next morning the angels told Lot to take his wife and his two
daughters that were living with him and leave at once so that they would
not be destroyed. In verse 16 the scripture says that Lot lingered. Now
there is a reason that Lot and his family was lingering. It isn't very
hard to figure it out. They were killing time hoping that Lot's other
daughters and their husbands would come on. It is only natural for them to
do this. Most of us would do the same thing. You don�t want to leave
family behind to face the wrath of God. God was merciful and time was running out so the angels took Lot, his
wife and two daughters by the hands and led them out of the city. After
they had brought them out of the city they told them not to look behind
them, they should leave the plain at once and escape to the mountain or
they would be consumed. In verse 18 Lot begin to plead. Lot was afraid of the mountain and asked the angel to spare one of the
cities of the plains, since it was just a little city so that they could
go there for refuge instead. The angel accepted his request and told them
to go and to be quick about it because he couldn't destroy the cities of
the plains until Lot had gotten into the city that he had chosen to be his
refuge. We must take a close look at this, the only place of safety for
Lot, his wife and two daughters were inside the gates of the city of Zoar.
This is a type of Christ just as the Ark in the story of Noah. Noah would
have been destroyed if he had not gotten inside of the Ark. Lot and his
family are to be destroyed if they do not get into the city of Zoar. All
of mankind is doomed that does not get into Christ who is our refuge to
save us from the coming wrath upon this world. The problem in this story is that Lot and his family were hesitating,
lingering, waiting and hoping that their friends and family would come
with them to the refuge. This could have cost them their lives. There was
one thing that preserved Lot. It was the same thing that preserved Noah.
The scriptures tell us in the story of Noah, that Noah had found grace
in the eyes of the Lord. Notice in verse 19 that Lot told the angel
thy servant hath found grace in thy sight. This is the same thing that
brought about the deliverance of Noah, grace. This is why the
angels took him by the hand to lead him and his family out. It was grace,
but salvation from the destruction would not come until they were in the
refuge. Remember they are on their way to the refuge? This is a similar
type and shadow as Noah and his family boarding the Ark. This is a type of coming to Christ to be saved. They were on their way
to the refuge. God would not let the wrath fall until Lot had reached the
city of Zoar and was inside. Remember that God would not send the flood
until the Ark was finished and Noah and his family plus all the animals
were inside. Which was a sign, as long as these things were in the process
of happening the flood could not come. As long as Lot was not inside the
gates of the city of Zoar the wrath would not come. The angel had given specific instructions to Lot and his family. They
were told not to stay in the plain or to look behind. Some think that
Lot's wife was looking back at the sins that she loved. I think that it
was her daughters that were still in Sodom that was on her mind. You see
she made the mistake of taking her eyes off of Lot. God had told Lot that
once he was inside the city that the wrath of God would fall on the plains
and destroy everything except the city that Lot was in. All she had to do
was to watch the sign. What sign? Lot was the sign to watch, as long as he
was outside the city the wrath could not fall. Once he stepped inside it
would fall. Lot�s wife was lingering just like the whole family was in
Sodom before they left. This is why she was turned to a pillar of salt.
She should have been walking beside Lot and her two daughters that were
with them but she had fallen behind. I believe that she was longing for
her other children to come on. When Lot stepped into the city with his two
daughters beside him his wife was still outside the city in the plain.
This is why she was destroyed with the rest. This is the reason that Jesus said to remember Lot's wife. She
waited until it was too late to get into the refuge; she didn't pay
attention to the sign. This is like a sinner lingering to come to Christ
because of family members or friends that cannot make up their minds to
come to Jesus to be saved. Lets look once again at these scriptures in the
17th chapter of Luke. Luke 17:30: Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is
revealed. Jesus is telling us in these scriptures that at the time of the end
that it would be like Lot's wife whose hesitation to escape cost her life.
In verse 31 he explained that if we were on the housetop or were working
in the field and had something valuable in the house not to take time to
go back for it because the end might come before we get to safety. This is
to say not to allow something to cause us to hesitate about getting saved;
it could cost us our soul. Especially in the last days when time is
drawing to a close. That is to say, if we have family or friends or
something that we value not to put them first above our own safety when it
comes to salvation. Do it now. Understanding these parables makes it a little easier to understand
that at the beginning of Matthew 24 that the disciples of Jesus asked him
a question. The fig tree in this scripture is often quoted as the sign that we
should look for and I am not disputing that it could be a parable
concerning Israel but this is not what verse Jesus was talking about when
he said "So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it
is near, even at the doors." This was the sign of his coming and the end of the world. The question
that his disciples asked him about in verse three. He was saying that you
could look at a tree and tell by the leaves that summer is close. That in
the same manner you could look at the events that Jesus told us about in
Matthew 24 and know that it was close to the end. A Common Sense View So the next questions that follow are these: In order to answer the first question, "how could a person possibly
refuse salvation while Jesus gives us visible signs of His return?" As
born again Christians we have a tendency to see things in a completely
different light than the world. There are many atheists in the world today
and millions that have not lived in true Christian homes. This puts up the
first block in the nature of human beings. All the signs in the world will
not convince a person that they need to repent as long as they hold on to
their atheists or humanists ideas. Any sign given will be simply passed
off as being some kind of phenomena or unusual circumstance and will
quickly be dismissed. It is the same as it was in the days of Noah, they
watched the Ark being built for a hundred years hearing the same message
everyday and were unmoved by the promise of the coming destruction. Even
when the animals gathered into the Ark you can hear the people say things
like: it looks like Noah is getting ready to open a Zoo. Or Noah must a
magician to cause all of those animals to come to him and go into the Ark.
Whatever excuse they had for the signs that they were looking at they
remained unchanged because of the spiritual sleep that they where in. They
could not recognize their own coming destruction. The second question is based on the imminent return of Christ, that is
Him being able to come at any given second. How could Jesus surprise
anyone if there were signs given? Along with what I just said in the
previous paragraph, it is imperative that we realize that people are
willing to run the risk of losing their souls no matter what we do or say.
Telling people that Jesus may come in the next few seconds has no affect
on people who do not want Jesus. People calculate risks and are foolish
for doing so, but they do it anyway. It is the nature of the human being.
Knowing that the Church has been telling the world that Jesus is coming
back and has been for around two thousand years has a blinding affect on
the normal sinner. While weighing the odds they feel very confident that
this will not happen during their life and are willing to run the risk. Of
course this is if they believe in Jesus at all. Dying is a lot more probable than the coming of Jesus Christ in the
minds of a sinner. In fact the odds of dying are a lot greater and still
have little affect on the sinner. It is not a probability that we will
die, it is a fact that we are going to die and this fact seemingly has
little or no affect on someone that is not born again by the Spirit. The
only thing that will cause a sinner to come to Christ is for the Holy
Spirit to draw him and only then can he come to Jesus to find salvation.
Whether we believe in the imminent return of Christ or pre-trib Rapture or
post-trib Rapture makes no difference to most sinners. Now with Christians
this is a whole different matter because we already believe in Jesus and
we cannot understand how anyone could refuse Him. All of our arguments
over this subject is totally off on the sidelines of sinner's thoughts and
are vain for us to be over concerned about. We simply need to pray for the
salvation of the lost and witness to the lost for Jesus. I have often thought about those that believe Jesus is coming at any
second and wonder why the streets are not full of such preachers. I do
believe that they themselves do not believe the message that they teach
and preach or they would be doing all that they can to make sure that
everyone makes it. But, they are not there. It is obvious where their real
belief is. They don't believe that Jesus is coming at any moment anymore
than those that believe that there are signs to happen before He returns.
Thank you for reading this teaching. I hope that you enjoyed it. Please
feel free to share any or all of our teachings with others. It is Gods
word; we don't have a copyright on it. Your brother in Christ, |
