Correspondence Course Lesson 13:
Enduring Till the End
By DON ESPOSITO
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The end times in the Scriptures are a very important time in the plan of Yahweh. As a matter of fact, one third of the bible is prophecy, and about 80% to 90% of those prophesies are for the end time. But most people in the world, today, calling themselves Christians, don’t seem to think that they have to even consider these end times, which the Bible calls the last days, because of a false doctrine that started in the last century, that all believers are going to be raptured to heaven, before any end time tribulation begins. It is also part of this false doctrine that Yahshua returns twice; once to rapture all believers and children, and some believe even their animals, to heaven before an assumed 7 year tribulation period, and then, He will return a second time at the end of this 7 year period to fight the world’s armies at Armageddon. The rapture theory also purports that many millions of worldly non-believers will come to faith after this rapture happens, and that there will be a great revival in the last days. Nothing could be more unscriptural and further from the truth. The end times speaks of a great falling away from the truth into lawlessness, not a great revival in the last days.
So if the Scriptures do not proclaim a rapture, where does this false teaching come from? In the 1830’s, there was a man by the name of Irving who held services in Ireland. One night, a fourteen year old epileptic girl gave an utterance that the saints would not go through the Great Tribulation. From this utterance the rapture teaching came about, and many believers fell into error. This pseudo teaching was introduced to many other groups in the 1830’s and 1840’s.
Great leaders of the 1830’s totally discounted Irving’s teachings. But the Brethren Church, the Plymouth Brethren and the Scofield Bible spread this error to the United States and to other nations. Dr. Scofield was a close friend of Irving and incorporated the rapture theory into his footnotes. The rapture theory has been taught as fact ever since, even though it has no Biblical precedent.
A note of interest: Irving, himself, had prophesied the end of the world would come in 1847. But that error was overlooked; but the rapture error remains to be taught as truth.
The false doctrine of the rapture was never believed by either the early Apostles or believers, and there is absolutely no historical references that it was ever believed by the congregation in the wilderness throughout the centuries. In this lesson we are going to look at this false doctrine more closely, and we will also look at what is the true Biblical mandate, which true believers should be doing in these end times. There is absolutely no scripture in the entirety of the Bible that ever says in the end times that believers will be raptured to heaven before suffering any type of persecution, but rather it is a false doctrine that false Christianity in the west developed, so as not to have to worry about persecution in the last days.
Is there any scriptural evidence that is mistakenly used for the idea of a pre-tribulation rapture?
1st Thess 1:10 and to await His Son from Heaven, even Yahshua, whom He raised from the dead, for it is He who will deliver us from the coming wrath.
COMMENT: The unbiblical weak theory of the pre-tribulation rapture is based on misinterpreting a few very general scriptures and putting in private interpretation, which Scripture clearly tells us, is wrong (2nd Peter 1:20-21). The above scripture has nothing to do with a pre-tribulation rapture, but is speaking about the wrath of Yahweh, (called The Day of Yahweh in Scripture) which comes at Yahshua’s return to earth, and is on the non-covenant unbelievers. Reference this with verse 16 of the same chapter and you will see that clearly in context, “the wrath to come” is sinners going into the lake of fire, which true believers have already been delivered from through the blood of Yahshua.
But nowhere in Scripture is it promised that believers will never suffer wrath or persecution. All of the Apostles were martyred, and many of the most righteous saints throughout the ages were blessed to be martyred for the name of Yahshua. Did you know that a believer is martyred somewhere around the world about every 9 minutes. There is horrific torture of believers going on in North Korea, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and many other places on earth. Why would all these believers be allowed to suffer persecution, but somehow the Laodicean last day westerners, will be raptured to heaven, simply not to suffer any persecution.
Are the North Korean or Pakistani Brethren any less than the American or European believers? No, it is not true, that as believers we are somehow promised never to suffer persecution, and actually Scripture says just the opposite;
John 16:33 I have spoken these things to you that in me you may have peace. In the world there will be affliction to you, but take courage, I have conquered the world.
COMMENT: This verse clearly shows that as a believer in Yahshua, we are most assured that we will be allowed to have trials and tribulation in our life to purify us from the world, and to build righteous character within us. That is the reason that Yahweh gives us free choice and doesn’t force His will on us, as we need to learn through our trials, to prepare to rule with Yahshua in His Kingdom.
Does Scripture specifically say that believers in the end time will suffer persecution by the end time one world government beast power, instead of being raptured to heaven?
Dan 7:19 Then I wanted to know the truth of the fourth beast, which was different from all of them, very frightening, whose teeth were of iron and its nails copper; who devoured and crushed, and trampled what was left with its feet,
Dan 7:21 I was looking, and that horn made war with the saints and overcame them,
Rev 13:1 And I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on its heads names of blasphemy.
Rev 13:7 And it was given to it “to war with the saints, and to overcome them.” And authority was given to it over every tribe and kindred and tongue and nation.
COMMENT: Again, we clearly see from Scripture, that far from the Bible teaching that all believers will be raptured to heaven, before the coming reign of the end time beast power, that it is just the opposite; when the beast comes to power for the 42 months, which is allowed to him, all the earth will worship and follow this end time beast power, but the beast will persecute and make war with the true covenant believers, because of Satan’s hatred for Yahweh’s covenant people. Yahweh will allow this for a time for the purifying of the saints and to make their wedding garments white, but eventually, when Yahshua does return, the purified saints will reign with Him in the Kingdom for the millennium.
Dan 7:21 I was looking, and that horn made war with the saints and overcame them,
Dan 7:22 until the Ancient of Days came. And judgment was given to the saints of the Most High, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
Dan 7:18 But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.
Pre-tribulation rapture teachers also misunderstand the timing of the last 7 years, and how long tribulation will be on the earth. Most Christian teachers teach that there is a “Great Tribulation” that lasts for 3 and ½ years, and this is the wrath of Yahweh and we are promised to be delivered from this. But nowhere does it say that there is a “Great Tribulation” that lasts for 3 and ½ years and that this is Yahweh’s wrath.
Scripture says that there will be great affliction or tribulation, but this is NOT the 42 month or 3 and ½ year time frame that most rapture teachers are referring to. The 42 month period that they are referring to is NOT the wrath of Yahweh, but is the reign of the beast power and the time of Jacobs’s trouble.
Rev 13:5 And a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies was given to it. And authority was given to it to act forty two months.
Nowhere in Scripture is this 42 month period called “The Great Tribulation”; the time period on earth where there will be the greatest tribulation is called “The Day of Yahweh” in Scripture. The 42 month reign of the beast and the Day of Yahweh are two different times period, as we will show.
But is it really great tribulation during this 42 month period of the beast power?
Rev 13:8 And all those dwelling in the earth will worship him, (the Beast) those of whom the names had not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb having been slain from the foundation of the world.
Rev 13:12 And it executes all the authority of the first beast before it. And it causes that the earth and those dwelling in it should worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
Rev 13:13 And he performed great signs, even so as to make fire come down from heaven upon the earth, before men.
COMMENT: During the 42 month reign of the beast, this comes right after a great war and most people on the earth will believe that this anti-messiah has all the answers to mankind’s problems and they worship this beast power, and things seem relatively good at this time. This is the time period during the 7 trumpets that are spoken of in Revelation 8 & 9. It is not until Yahshua returns AT THE 7th Trumpet that He brings the wrath of Yahweh with Him on all the lawless and sinners living on the earth, who worship Satan’s beast power.
When Yahshua returns at the 7th Trumpet, what kind of trouble will the world suffer from the 7 last bowls that Yahshua brings with Him?
Mat 24:21 For there will be great suffering, such as has not happened from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever will be.
This time period in Scripture is called “The Day of Yahweh” when His wrath will be revealed. This is the time period that true believers are promised to escape, but it is at the END of the reign of the beast power spoken of in Revelation 13, and clearly no rapture happens before this, as during the beast powers reign he persecutes and makes war with the saints, as previously mentioned.
Rev 15:1 And I saw another sign in Heaven, great and marvelous: seven cherubs having the last seven plagues, because the anger of YAHWEH was completed in them.
Isa 13:6 Howl! For the day of YAHWEH is at hand. It shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
Isa 13:7 On account of this all hands shall droop, and every heart of man shall melt;
Isa 13:8 and they shall be afraid. Pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain like one giving birth; they shall be amazed, each man to his neighbor; faces of flames shall be their faces.
Isa 13:9 Behold, the day of YAHWEH comes, cruel and with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land waste. And He shall destroy its sinners out of it.
Isa 13:10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations shall not give light; the sun shall be darkened in its going forth, and the moon shall not reflect its light.
Isa 13:11 And I will visit evil on the world, and their iniquity on the wicked. And I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease; and I will humble the pride of tyrants.
Isa 13:12 I will make a man more rare than fine gold; even a man more than the carvings of Ophir.
Isa 13:13 So I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall move out of its place, in the wrath of YAHWEH of Hosts, and in the day of His fierce anger.
Joel 1:15 Alas for the day! For the day of YAHWEH is at hand. And it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
Joel 2:1 Blow a ram’s horn in Zion, and shout an alarm in My holy mountain. Let all those living in the land tremble. For the day of YAHWEH approaches; it is near,
Joel 2:2 It is a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, as the dawn spread out on the mountains, a great and a strong people. There has never been the like, nor shall there ever be again to the years of generation to generation;
Joel 2:3 a fire devours before it, and a flame burns behind it. The land is the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them is a desolate wilderness; yea, also there is no escape to them.
Joel 2:10 The earth shall quake before them, the heavens shall shake. The sun and moon shall grow dark, and the stars shall gather in their light.
Joel 2:11 And YAHWEH shall give His voice before His army, for His camp is very great. For he who does His Word is strong. For the day of Yahweh is very great and fearful, and who can endure it?
COMMENT: Clearly, this time called “The Day of Yahweh”, which is the wrath of Yahweh, brought on by the 7 last bowls spoken of in Revelation 16, which are brought with Yahshua when He returns at the 7th trumpet is the worst time that the world will ever know, and NOT the 42 month reign of the beast.
Even though there will be a great world war, which will prelude the end time beast into power, and the 7 trumpets happening during the beast powers reign, remember what Yahshua said;
Luke 21:7 And they asked Him, saying, Teacher, then when will these things be? And what will be the sign when these things are about to happen?
Luke 21:8 And He said, Watch that you are not deceived. For many will come on My name,
saying, I AM the Messiah! Also, the time has come! Do not go after them.
Luke 21:9 And when you hear of wars and revolutions, do not have fear, for they are necessary first to happen, but the end is not at once.
Luke 21:10 Then He said to them, Nation will be lifted up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
Luke 21:11 And there will be severe earthquakes from place to place and famine and plagues. And there will be fears and terrorist acts and great signs will be seen from Heaven. And the winters will be severe.
Luke 21:12 But before these things, they will lay hands upon you and persecute you. And they will deliver you to the assemblies and to the prisons. And they will bring you before kings and governors because of My name.
So, we see that first, we will see world war, which will bring famine and pestilences, and also an increase of earthquakes, which we are already seeing today, and then this great war will lead to the last beast power of Daniel and Revelation to take control and reign for 42 months, in which most on earth will worship this satanic entity, and think the false beast is the messiah. This false beast power will make war with the saints and overcome them, and then at the end of the 42 month reign, at the 7th Trumpet in Revelation 11, and 19, Yahshua will return to earth where the believers (dead and alive) will meet Him in the air, and He will bring the last 7 bowls which are the wrath of Yahweh, and is called in Scripture, the Day of Yahweh.
Do we know how long the wrath or “Day of Yahweh” will last?
Num 14:34a by the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a day for a year, a day for a year;
COMMENT: Although it is not concretely laid out in Scripture, it seems that it will not last for more than a year, as if it did there would not be anyone left on earth.
Mat 24:22 And except those days were shortened, not any flesh would live. But on account of the chosen, those days will be shortened.
COMMENT: Once something is laid out in Scripture, it cannot be changed; as Yahweh will accomplish every last word of Scripture exactly as He said (Isaiah 55:11). The beast will reign exactly 42 months. The two witnesses will prophesy 1,260 days. But Yahweh does not give us the exact timing to the world’s worst time and the day of His wrath, because Scripture states that He will shorten the days, or else no one could survive this most awful time in history. But most certainly it will not last for 3 ½ years, and from the inference in Scripture it seems clearly that it will be less than a year, possibly even just a few months.
The next Scripture used by the rapture teachers which is supposed to prove the rapture is Revelation 4:1.
“After these things I saw. And behold, a door being opened in Heaven! And I heard the first voice as a trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come up here, and I will show you what needs to happen after these things.”
COMMENT: The rapture teaching proclaims that Revelation 2 & 3 speak of the church and in Revelation 4:1, a door is opened in heaven and the church is taken off the earth.
It was John who was taken up in the Spirit to see in vision, the things which would happen in the end days. Nothing would indicate that John represented the whole church. Nothing would even remotely indicate that Yahshua is teaching John about a rapture. In fact, He was not talking about the church at all in Revelation 4:1, but rather fulfilling what He spoke to John in Revelation 1:19. Clearly even when we look at the grammatical syntax of this verse, it is only referring to John and not the whole congregation.
Let’s look at another false teaching of the rapture theory. “Lot was taken out of Sodom before it was destroyed and Noah was in the ark before the flood”.
“And as it was in the days of Noah, so also it will be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating, drinking, marrying, giving in marriage, until the day Noah went into the ark. And the flood came and destroyed all. And likewise, as it was in the days of Lot, they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; but on the day Lot went out from Sodom, YAHWEH rained down fire and brimstone from the heaven and destroyed all of them. According to those things, it will be in the day the Son of Man is revealed.” (Luke 17:26-30)
Hence, the false rapture teachers say Christians will likewise be delivered, as Noah and Lot were, through the rapture.
COMMENT: While some might look at Luke 17:26-30 and see the righteous being delivered (and in part it is referring to that), that passage is primarily emphasizing that the wicked will be destroyed by Yahweh’s judgment. The wicked people living during Noah’s day and Lot’s day were oblivious to the immediate danger they were in and continued to live an ordinary kind of life, without repentance of their sins and turning to Yahweh. Hence, they were all destroyed when Yahweh’s judgment came. Notice the rest of the context of that passage:
“In that day, he who will be on the housetop, let him not go down to take his goods from the house. And likewise, he in the field, let him not return to the things behind. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to save his life, he will lose it. And whoever will lose it, he will preserve it. I say to you, In that night two will be on one bed; the one will be taken and the other will be left. Two will be grinding together; one will be taken and the other will be left. Two will be in the field, the one will be taken and the other will be left. And answering, they said to Him, To Where our Master? And He said to them, Where the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.” (Luke 17:31-37)
The disciples asked where they were taken to. Yahshua answered by referring to their dead bodies and vultures being gathered there! That refers to the wicked people, not the righteous. Notice the parallel passage in Matthew’s gospel:
“But as the days of Noah, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as they were in the days before the flood eating, and drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah went into the ark. And they did not know until the flood came and took all away. So also will be the coming of the Son of Man. At that time two will be out in the field; the one is taken away, and the one is left; two grinding at the mill; one is taken away, and one is left. Be alert, then, for you do not know in what hour your Master comes. But know this that if the house Master had known in what watch the thief comes, he would have watched and not have allowed his house to be dug through. Because of this, you also be ready, for in that hour you think not, the Son of Man comes.” (Matthew 24:37-44)
It was the wicked that were taken away by the flood, which killed them. Remember Yahshua is coming back to earth, we are not going to heaven, and we will reign with Him on the earth (Revelation 5:10), so the wicked are taken from the earth, before this time of His millennial rule.
Mat 13:36 Then sending away the crowds, Yahshua came into the house. And His disciples came to Him saying, Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.
Mat 13:37 And answering, He said to them, The One sowing the good seed is the Son of Man.
Mat 13:38 And the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; but the tares are the sons of the evil one.
Mat 13:39 And the enemy who sowed them is the Devil, and the harvest is the end of the age, and the cherubs are the reapers.
Mat 13:40 Then as the tares are gathered and are consumed in the fire, so it will be in the completion of this age.
Mat 13:41 The Son of Man will send forth His cherubs, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who practice lawlessness.
Mat 13:42 And they will throw them into the furnace of fire; there will be weeping and gnashing of the teeth.
Mat 13:43 Then the righteous will shine out like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The one having ears to hear, let him hear.
COMMENT: Please note that, clearly, the ones who are taken away are the lawless and the sinners; and the ones who are obedient (the righteous) stay and are planted in the Kingdom of Yahweh. It is most interesting that the false Christian teachers today, who teach that Yahweh’s Torah is done away and preach a lawless gospel, also teach the rapture and that the ones who are taken are the good ones, when in reality, the ones taken are taken to the Lake of Fire.
Another part of the false rapture teaching is that Yahshua comes twice, once He comes as a thief in the night (1st Thessalonians 5:2) for the rapture, and then a second time to fight the armies at Armageddon; but is this what Scripture is really saying?
The language that Yahshua spoke, and that the earliest New Testament manuscripts was written in is Aramaic, which is a dialect of Hebrew. The Aramaic and Hebrew languages are idiomatic languages and filled with idioms that were used for emphasize. This is one of those cases.
The phrase “thief in the night” is not even remotely talking about an unscriptural mysterious second appearance by the Messiah, but rather is a warning to true believers to stay alert. Paul earlier in chapter 4 was speaking about the return of the Messiah, which we will go over shortly.
Then in Chapter 5, Paul goes on to tell the believers that he need not write about the time that this is going to happen, because the Good-News accounts already state that the people will be eating and drinking and going on with life, as usual, till the end. In other words, they will not see the signs of the times that have been laid out in the book of Revelation.
Now, Paul uses the analogy of the thief in the night to expound on this topic. What was the thief in the night? Well, in the first century, priests had to stay awake and on guard all night during the feast days and guard the sanctuary of Yahweh. They would not wear shoes on the cold stone floor to keep them awake and alert. They usually also had a young boy to watch with them, in case they fell asleep, and then, he would wake the priest, because the High Priest would come in sometime during the night (no one knew when, as with Yahshua’s return) and if the priest on duty was sleeping, then the High Priest would burn his priestly garment that he was wearing, and the next day during the Holy Day, he would be without his priestly garment and all would know he was not alert and he would bear his shame.
This was the warning Paul was referring to when he mentioned the thief in the night; that no man knows the day or hour of Yahshua’s return, and we need to keep watching and keep our garments white and protected to have a garment for the wedding supper. It was merely a warning to believers not to be like the unbelieving and unsuspecting world, but to be on guard doing our job as a watchman for Yahweh’s sanctuary, so not to have Him return and be as the foolish virgins, and left out of the wedding supper. Notice, when Yahshua says He comes as a thief in the night, that this is not a pre-tribulation appearance, but He is coming at the very end of the beast’s reign right before Armageddon.
Rev 16:15 Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is the one watching and keeping his garments, that he does not walk naked, and they may see his shame.
Rev 16:16 And He assembled them in the place having been called in Hebrew, Har-Megiddo.
How many times does Scripture tell us that Yahshua will return and how will it happen?
Mat 24:27 For as the lightning comes forth from the east and shines as far as the west, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Dan 7:13 I was looking in the night visions. And behold! One like the Son of Man came with the clouds of the heavens. And He came to the Ancient of Days. And they brought Him near before Him.
Dan 7:14 And dominion was given to Him, and glory, and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
Will His appearing be before the reign of the beast power and the persecution of the saints?
Mat 24:29 And immediately after the suffering of those days the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give her light, and the stars will fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Mat 24:30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the heavens. And then all the tribes of the land will wail. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and much glory.
Rev 1:7 “Behold, He comes with the clouds,” and “every eye will see Him, and the ones who pierced” Him, and all the tribes of the earth “will wail on account of Him.” Yes, Amen.
COMMENT: Clearly from Scripture, we see that Yahshua does not come to earth twice, but that when He returns, every eye will see Him at that time and know who He is. There is nothing about a secret return to rapture anyone away to heaven previously to this.
Where are the true believers in Yahshua at this time of His return?
Mat 24:31 And He will send His cherubs with a great sound of a large trumpet, and they will gather His chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
COMMENT: In some translations they incorrectly translate the word sky as heaven, to give a wrong implication, but in the original manuscripts, it is clear that the Cherubs are gathering the elect from the four corners of the EARTH. Yahshua will gather His saints at the blowing of the trumpet from the four winds. The four winds in the Bible always indicate the earth. There are four directions on the earth: north, south, east and west. Yahweh is going to send His cherubs with a great sound of the last trumpet and gather His people on the earth from the four winds; from every corner of the earth. These are those who are “alive and remain” (1st Thessalonians 4:17). Also, look at the timing that this happens, as it is not before the last seven years begins, but is at the sound of the last great Trumpet.
Rev 10:7 but in the days of the voice of the seventh cherub, whenever he is about to trumpet, was even ended the mystery of Elohim, as He proclaimed to His servants, the prophets.
Rev 11:15 And the seventh cherub trumpeted. And there were great rumblings of thunder saying, The kingdoms of this world have become our Elohim’s, even of His Messiah; and He shall reign forever and ever.
1st Thess 4:13 But I want you to know, my brethren, concerning those who sleep, that you should not grieve, as the rest do who have not hope.
1st Thess 4:14 For if we believe that Yahshua died and rose again, even so Elohim through Yahshua,will also bring with Him all those who have fallen asleep.
1st Thess 4:15 For we say this to you in the Word of Elohim, that we the living who remain to the coming of our Master will not at all go before those who have fallen asleep.
1st Thess 4:16 Because the Master Himself shall come down from Heaven with a commanding shout of an archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of YAHWEH. And the dead in Messiah will rise again first.
1st Thess 4:17 Then we who remain alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet with our Master in the air. And so we will always be with our Master.
1st Thess 4:18 So, then, comfort each other with these words.
1st Cor 15:51 Behold, I speak a mystery to you: we shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed.
1st Cor 15:52 In a moment, in the blinking of an eye, at the last trumpet; for a trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall all be changed.
COMMENT: Clearly, Yahshua does not return to earth before the last 7 year period before the Jubilee, but appears at THE LAST TRUMPET. If you look in the book of Revelation you will see that there are seven seals, to warn believers that the time is close, then you have seven trumpets during the reign of the beast power, and Yahshua returning at the last or 7th Trumpet, and then He brings the wrath of Yahweh, which is called in Scripture “The Day of Yahweh” which is the seven last bowls. Again, there is nothing about a mysterious rapture, and Scripture shows clearly that Yahshua returns at the 7th trumpet.
We also see from these scriptures that the true covenant believers of Yahshua have not been raptured to heaven, but are on the earth. Paul clearly states in Thessalonians that those of us which are alive at Yahshua’s coming, will not go before those who are dead, but the dead who are sleeping in Messiah will rise first, from their graves, and then those who are alive will meet them in the air.
Now, it’s interesting to note, that Paul, who was a most cherished Apostle, and thought that he would be alive at Yahshua’s return, did not think that he would have been raptured to heaven, but clearly stated that he and the rest of the true believers would have been on earth at Yahshua’s return.
Are there other scriptures that also show that true covenant believers will go through tribulation and not be in heaven at this end time?
Rev 7:9 After these things I saw, and behold, a great crowd which no one was able to number them, out of every nation, even tribes and peoples and tongues, standing in front of the throne, and before the Lamb, having been clothed with white robes, and in their hands palm branches.
Rev 7:13 And one of the elders answered, saying to me, These, the ones having been clothed in the white robes, who are they, and from where did they come
Rev 7:14 And I said to him, Sir, you know. And he said to me, These are those coming out of the great affliction; and they washed their robes and whitened them in the blood of the Lamb.
COMMENT: There is nothing that speaks of a pre-tribulation rapture in Scripture. Any attempt by Satan’s false ministers to teach this false doctrine is simply another way to keep the Laodicean from preparing for the troublesome days ahead.
Who are the ones who will be saved and reign with Yahshua and be in Yahweh’s Kingdom in the end time?
Mat 24:13 But the one who endures to the end, that one will have eternal life.
Rev 21:7 The one overcoming will inherit all things, and I will be Elohim to him, and he will be the son to Me.
COMMENT: The problem with the rapture theory is that it keeps the Laodicean believer blinded to his faults and he doesn’t care about preparing for the end and overcoming sin, because he falsely believes that he will be raptured to heaven; where Scripture doesn’t say we will be raptured, but rather that we need to “endure” unto the end to be saved, and overcome sin to be in Yahweh’s Kingdom.
What is the spiritual condition of most believers in the end time?
Rev 3:15 I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I would that you were cold, or hot.
Rev 3:16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to vomit you out of My mouth.
Rev 3:17 Because you say, I am rich, and I am made rich, and I have need of nothing, and do not know that you are miserable and a wanderer and poor and blind and naked.
Rev 3:18 I advise you to buy from Me gold having been fired by fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, and your shame and nakedness may not be revealed. And anoint your eyes with eye salve that you may see.
COMMENT: The vast majority of end time believers are in a false state of security thinking that they are spiritual because they attend a church, or maybe even have a form of some religion, but as we see from the above Scripture, the majority of these believers are blinded, and spiritually naked. They are lukewarm, and not willing to commit 100% to the work of Yahweh. They are part of the world, with one foot in and one foot out, instead of completely being separate from this evil end time society, and they dress like the world, and work in the world, and watch and entertain themselves just as the cosmic world does. Some even have body piercings against the Torah, and listen to satanic music with heavy demonic beats, just as the new age worldly, secular, society does. Many Christians today even accept homosexuality as a normal lifestyle, instead of the sin it is.
What does Scripture say these end time believers must do, in order to make their garments white and be in Yahweh’s Kingdom?
Rev 3:19 “I, as many as I love, I rebuke and I chasten”. Be zealous, then, and repent.
Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door “and knock”: If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will enter to him, and I will dine with him, and he with Me.
Rev 3:21 The one overcoming, I will give to him to sit with Me in My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father in His throne.
Rev 3:22 The one who has an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the congregations.
Rev 2:16 Repent! But if not, I will come to you quickly, and I will make war with them by the sword of My mouth.
Rev 2:17 The one who has an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the congregations. To the one overcoming, I will give him to eat from the hidden manna. And I will give to him a white stone, and on the stone a new name having been written, which no one knows except the one receiving it.
Rev 2:26 And the one overcoming, and the one keeping My works until the end, “I will give to him authority over the nations,”
Rev 2:27 and “He will shepherd them with an iron staff” like the vessels of the potter they shall be shattered, as I also have received from My Father.
Rev 2:28 And I will give to him the Morning Star.
Rev 2:29 The one who has an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the congregations.
Rev 3:5 The one overcoming, this one shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not at all blot his name out of the Book of Life; and I will acknowledge his name before My Father, and before His cherubs.
Rev 3:6 The one who has an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the congregations.
COMMENT: Scripture shows us that the spiritual condition of the congregations in the end time is not good. Many have turned away from the faith, and are totally in the world, where as others had rejected Yahweh’s judicial order and are totally reprobate, and still others have such a compromising spirit that they accept almost anything and just don’t really care. But what we see in Revelation is that there are 7 end time congregations and except for two (one being the martyrs), that they all are told that unless they repent and overcome, they will risk not being in Yahweh’s Kingdom. This is a very different message than everyone being whisked to heaven, no matter how much sin is in their life, and no matter how uncommitted they are. Many do not realize that Yahweh will allow them to go through tribulation not as punishment per say, but to purify them, so that they will still be able to serve in His Kingdom.
Jacob 1:2 My brothers count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
Jacob 1:3 knowing that the proving of your faith works patience.
Jacob 1:4 But let patience have its perfective work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
Are all end time believers in this poor spiritual position or are there also fervent faith filled believers?
Rev 3:7 And to the messenger of the congregation in Philadelphia, write: These things says the Holy One, the True One, “The One having “the key of David, the One opening, and no one shuts; and shuts, and no one opens:”
Rev 3:8 I know your works. Behold, I have given a door being opened before you, and no one is able to shut it, for you have a little strength and have kept My Word, and have not denied My name.
Rev 3:10 Because you kept the Word of My patience, I also will keep you out of the hour of trial which is going to come upon all the world in order to try those dwelling on the earth.
COMMENT: There is one part of the end-time congregation that is not halfhearted and accepting any false doctrine and compromising with the Word, which is called the Philadelphians. It is interesting that Philadelphia means brother love, so another aspect of these people will be that their love has not waxed cold by the iniquity and immorality that has run rampant on the earth. These people also have good fruit and have not denied Yahweh and Yahshua’s name or their Torah. They are not a big million dollar corporate church, as they only have “a little strength”, but they are faithful in their commitment to Yahweh and His Good News message. They are individuals who have come out of religion, and are seeking relationship, and will follow the truth no matter what the cost. They are also most zealous for the truth, and are absolutely excited for Yahweh’s soon coming Kingdom. Their life is not filled with worldliness, but rather holiness, and prayer and Bible study and helping the fellow believers whom they love as themselves.
Rev 14:1 And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion! And with Him were a hundred and forty four thousands, with the name of His Father having been written in their foreheads.
Rev 14:2 And I heard a sound out of Heaven, as a sound of many waters, and as a sound of great thunder. Also I heard a sound of harpers harping on their harps.
Rev 14:3 And they sing as a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one was able to learn the song except the hundred and forty four thousands, those having been redeemed from the earth.
Rev 14:4 These are the ones who had not become defiled, for they are pure. These are the ones following the Lamb wherever He may go. These were redeemed from among men being the first-fruits to YAHWEH and to the Lamb.
Rev 14:5 And no decoy was found in their mouth, for they are unmarked before the throne of YAHWEH.
I would think that most would want to be in this category, but it will not come unless you make a concerted effort to come out of the system of Babylon and grow in the grace and knowledge of our Master, Yahshua. These are the ones who have made that full commitment to Yahshua in every aspect of their lives and are denying themselves daily and living by true faith, and studying the Scriptures and are constant in prayer, and helping the poor and the widow. (Please read lesson two on True Repentance and lesson 5 on the life of a true Believer)
Unfortunately, most in the world today are not living as Philadelphians, and the coming tribulation that will come on believers from the end time one world government beast will be allowed by Yahweh, to purify these people so that they can still overcome and be in His kingdom, since they did not willingly do this when they had the chance. But to the true Philadelphians, who are qualifying now and living by faith, and dedicating their full life to Yahweh and His Kingdom and not some earthly job for themselves. These people will be taken to a particular place on earth, which Yahweh has set out, and He will protect them from the coming time of trouble, since they have already proven that they are, and will continue to be, faithful.
Isa 26:20 Come, My people, go in your rooms and shut your doors behind you. Hide for a little moment, until the fury passes.
Isa 26:21 For, behold, Yahweh comes out of His place to visit his iniquity on those dwelling on the earth. The earth shall also reveal her blood, and shall no more cover over her slain ones.
Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, the old serpent being called devil, and, Satan; he deceiving the whole inhabitable world was cast out onto the earth, and his messengers were cast out with him.
Rev 12:10 And I heard a great voice in heaven, which said: Now is come the salvation, and the power and the kingdom of our Elohim, and the dominion of his Messiah: because the Accuser of our brethren is cast out, the one who accuses them day and night before our Elohim.
Rev 12:11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the Word of their testimony. And they did not love their soul even until death.
Rev 12:12 Because of this, be glad, the heavens and those dwelling in them. Woe to the ones dwelling on the earth, and in the sea, because the devil came down to you having great anger, knowing that his time is short!
Rev 12:13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast out onto the earth, he pursued the woman who bore the male child.
Rev 12:14 And two wings of a great eagle were given to the woman, that she might fly into the wilderness, to her place, where she is nourished there for a time, and times, and half a time, away from the serpent’s face.
Rev 12:15 And the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a river after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried off by the river.
Rev 12:16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river which the dragon threw out of his mouth.
Rev 12:17 And the dragon was enraged over the woman, and went away to make war with the rest of her seed, those keeping the commandments of YAHWEH, and having the testimony of Yahshua Messiah.
Eze 20:35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and I will be judging with you there face to face.
Eze 20:36 Just as I was judging your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will be judging you, declares Adonai YAHWEH.
Eze 20:37 And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.
Eze 20:38 And I will purge from among you the rebels and the transgressors against Me. I will bring them out of the land where they reside, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am YAHWEH.
SoS 2:14 O, My dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the secrecy of the steep place, let Me see your form. Let Me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your form is beautiful.
COMMENT: Our Heavenly Father does not take pleasure in chastising His children, and would much rather have us now, before this time of trouble, prove our allegiance to Him and Him alone, but since that is not going to happen, He will allow His covenant people, as He did with ancient Israel, to be tried by Satan’s end time beast government to draw them closer to Him. But as mentioned, the ones who are making that full commitment today, who are living by and walking in faith, will not go through the same trials and will have a specific place set apart for them, to protect them from this hour of trouble.
It is interesting to note that not everyone will go to this place of protection, as we see that after the woman goes to her place that Satan comes after her remnant, which keep the commandments of YAHWEH and have the faith of Yahshua. Also, this cannot be speaking about the physical nation of Israel, as they do not keep the commandments of Yahweh and don’t have the faith of Yahshua. This left behind remnant in Revelation 12:17, are the Laodiceans who have not taken their calling seriously and are halfhearted and will have to be purified through tribulation (Revelation 7:14).
But it must be noted that even the remnant that goes to her place of protection from the end time beast power does not go until Satan is cast down from heaven and the 4th part of the end time beast of Daniel is set up. All believers will go through some affliction and purification in these end times, and the ones who are faithful will escape the end time wrath of Satan on the saints, during the reign of the beast, from Revelation 13. As believers our focus should not be on a false rapture that is not mentioned in Scripture, but should be on purifying ourselves from the immoral, secular society that we live in, and striving to live holy lives that without, we will not see Yahweh (Hebrews 12:14).
Rev 21:7 The one overcoming will inherit all things, and I will be Elohim to him, and he will be the son to Me.
Mat 24:13 But the one who endures to the end, that one will have eternal life.
Points to Remember:
1) The pre-tribulation rapture is not scriptural and was never taught nor believed by the early Apostles, and all believers are purified through trials and tribulation.
2) We are commanded to overcome and endure till the end in the last days.
3) A small portion of faithful believers will go to a place of protection during the end time beast powers reign, because they have been faithful during these end times, and don’t need the purifying that the Laodicean, halfhearted, other believers need.
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Enduring Till the End
Congregation of YHWH Jerusalem PO Box 832 Carteret NJ 07008