Are We in the Tribulation today?

 “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him…” This was Paul’s subject in 1 Thessalonians 4. He describes the rapture of the Church. One day, Jesus will come in the clouds and snatch up His Bride. In the twinkling of an eye, these earthly bodies will be transformed into eternal bodies – bodies fit for God. And we’ll be gathered to each other and to Jesus. Paul didn’t leave the Thessalonians up in the air about the rapture. He carefully explained what’s up with this important event. Yet, confusion had occurred. False information had been disseminated.

 And in verse 2, Paul confronts it… “we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.” Actually, “The day of Christ” here is a synonym for “the day of the Lord.” In fact the NAS, and the newer translations have “the day of the Lord.” Now, what happened to the Thessalonians’ hope? From Paul’s statement in verse 2 we can infer that someone told them they had missed the rapture. “The day of the Lord,” or God’s future judgment, had begun. Put yourself in Thessalonian shoes… with the fierce persecution they were under they might have determined that they were experiencing the Great Tribulation because of what was going on around them and to them.

 Remember, today is “the day of man.” For the most part, mankind is having his say and getting his way. But God is about to spoil the party. God will intervene in the affairs of men and have His say! Daniel 9 speaks of a final seven year period that will end mankind’s domination of planet earth. God will reign down His wrath on the wicked world, purify Israel, and usher in the Kingdom of God. And that period, yet future – starting at the rapture and culminating with the Kingdom – is “the day of the Lord.” What scared the Thessalonians was the possibility that they’d missed the opening act – the rapture – and had been tossed into this period of Great Tribulation.

 In fact, they had even received a letter, supposedly from Paul, that had confirmed their fears. Paul assures them the letter was a forgery. They’d been duped.  The church panicked, but they had no reason to be… Recall the two types of tribulation spoken of in Scripture. Jesus promised His Church that “in this world you will have tribulation.” There is a tribulation the world brings upon the Church. But the tribulation that comes in the day of the Lord is the wrath of God poured out on an evil world. This is the Great Tribulation, and from it God will spare His Church. As we’re promised in 1 Thessalonians 5:9, “God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus.”

The rapture is our great escape! So, verse 3, “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day…” What day does he mean? Not the rapture per se – but “the Day of the Lord” – the period of time when God will pour out His fierce judgments. This final time period “will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed…” Follow the logic Paul uses to clear up this confusion. If events unfold A, then B, then C – and you haven’t seen A and B – then you know C hasn’t happened yet. so, before God pours out final judgment there’ll be a falling away and the man of sin is revealed. Since the Thessalonians had seen neither, they didn’t miss the rapture and weren’t in the midst of Great Tribulation.

In essence this is what Paul says – if you’d missed the rapture and you were in the midst of the Great Tribulation – then you would’ve already seen what comes first – “the falling away” and “the man of sin.” He mentions two events…. First, “the falling away” – the Greek word means “departure.” It’s interpreted by most Bible scholars as a departure from the faith. An apostasy will plague Christianity. False doctrine will lead folks astray. Believers will no longer rightly divide God’s Word. They’ll move away from Scripture, and create their own eclectic religion. It’ll be a religion of tolerance that accommodates all kinds of persuasions. Surely, the Church today is barreling towards this apostasy. This is the religion that catapults the Antichrist to power. Revelation 17 envisions it as a spiritual harlot.

 Yet there’s another possible interpretation of “the falling away.” Famed Greek scholar, Kenneth Wuest, points out that the Greek word could also be a reference to the departure of the Church or the rapture. In other words, Paul is saying “the day of the Lord” won’t begin until the Church has been snatched away! They know that they’re not in the Great Tribulation because “the falling away (or the rapture) comes first” And second, “the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition…” The final seven years of Great Tribulation in Daniel 9 begins when a world leader, known in Scripture as “the man of sin” or “the Antichrist” makes a covenant – or signs a treaty – with the nation Israel. Piecing various passages together: The Antichrist will rise as the leader of a confederacy of ten European nations. He expands his power to rule the world.

At the midpoint of the Great Tribulation he’ll violate his agreement with Israel, and desecrate their Temple. We’re told here in verse 4 that he “opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” Apparently, this Antichrist will turn on the apostate Christianity that catapults him to power, and sets himself up as God. And Revelation 13 explains how the man of sin will blackmail the world into worshipping him. To buy or sell a person will be required to take his number. It’s a mark on the right hand or forehead… the number 666.

 Apparently, this Future Fuhrer will take over the hardware of economic exchange. Cashless technology, digital currency, electronic transactions – may be tools by which the Antichrist extorts the world’s worship. He’ll use some kind of configuration of 666. It’s interesting how many people are afraid of this number. In 1979 Ronald and Nancy Reagan moved to the Bel-Air area of Los Angeles. Their new address was 666 St. Cloud Rd. They had it changed to 668. There were new moms who went to great extremes to keep from birthing their babies on June 6, 2006. In fact, there’s a term for the fear of the number six hundred, sixty-six, “Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia.”

 Here’s the good news. Christians don’t have to be afraid of 666! We’re not looking for the Antichrist, we’re looking for Jesus Christ. Paul tells us He comes first. Verse 5, “Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?” He’s covering old ground here. He’s straightening out their deception. “And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.” Paul tells us “the mystery of lawlessness is already at work.” There’s “a spirit of Antichrist” in the world today – a hostility against Christ. You can speak about God all day long and not offend anyone, but mention the name of Jesus, and they’ll want to shut you up. Satan has been jealous of Jesus from early on. He doesn’t just oppose Jesus, he wants to take His place. This is why throughout history Satan has deceived men into assuming God is the bad guy, and he is the good guy – he’s the one who ought to be worshipped. This is what Paul calls, “the mystery of lawlessness.” And if you think the animosity toward Jesus is bad now, just wait until “He who now restrains is taken away.”

And who is the Restrainer? – you might ask… There’s debate over His identity. But I believe “He who now restrains…” is the Holy Spirit in His Church. Not the Holy Spirit per se, for the Spirit will continue to be around after the rapture, and during the Great Tribulation. But right now it’s the Holy Spirit in the Church that’s pushing back and keep the devil at bay. But once the Church is raptured it’s katy-bar-the-door. Satanism, paganism, war, sexual perversion, greed, domestic abuse, random violence will all run rampant. Think it’s bad now, you ain’t seen nothing yet! Today, the Spirit’s presence in the Church is all that’s holding back the tide of evil in the world.

 On the job, in the hood, at the school, among the family – whether we realize it or not, our belief in God, our love for Jesus, our stand for the truth – is providing resistance to the devil and keeping evil in check. But when the Church is gone the devil will have a heyday. Verse 8, “And then the lawless one will be revealed…” Once the Restrainer is gone, the Antichrist has no restraint. He takes control and moves his real agenda center stage – but he’s not in power for long… For he is the one “whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.” This is a real show of power! You’ve heard of breath that would kill – that’s Jesus! He’ll blow on the devil’s blow-hard, and the evil Antichrist will be vaporized. God breathed into Adam the breath of life. Here Jesus breathes the breath of death. A single glimmer of His glory disintegrates the Beast.

 In 1588, after the British Navy defeated the Spanish Armada, Admiral Drake asked Queen Elizabeth if she would honor his troops with her presence. He wanted the Queen to pass out medals to his admirals. She agreed, but before she arrived Drake commanded his men, “On account of the dazzling loveliness of Her Majesty, all men, upon receiving their prizes, should shield their eyes with their right hand.” And so was born the military salute. Here Paul is telling us the only protection from the searing heat of the glory of Christ is a salute. We need to bow and pledge allegiance to the Master. Either yield to His glory now, or be destroyed by it later. Paul adds that “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders…” Satan’s power is real, and his wonders are legit. Moses turned his rod into a serpent, but Pharaoh’s magicians duplicate the feat. The Antichrist is a miracle man. He performs wonders, but they’re “lying wonders.” God uses miracles to draw men to the truth. Satan uses them to sell lies.

 Verse 10 highlights the purpose of his lies. “And with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” Satan knows he’s going down. He wants to take as many folks with him as possible. It’s sad, but once a person rejects the truth, they’ll fall for anything. This means people alive in the Great Tribulation will be vulnerable to Satan’s deceptions. Verse 11, “And for this reason God will send them a strong delusion, that they should believe the lie…” Notice, this is not just a lie, but “the lie.” Perhaps it’s the very first lie – the lie that upended utopia. Eve believed the lie that she could be like God!

 Today, self-deification is the foundation for eastern mysticism and new age philosophy. It’s the belief that the god-force dwells in you. “Use the force, Luke!” That you can shape your own reality – be your own god. And self-deification is the epitome of all sin. It’s the spirit of Antichrist. Realize the prefix “anti” as in “Antichrist” can mean either “against” or “in place of.” so, the spirit of Antichrist either bucks and opposes the will of Christ – or puts itself in the place of Christ.

 This kind of self-worship is becoming increasingly popular. And it could well be the strong delusion – “the lie” – that unites the world in the worship of the beast. And God sends this lie to consolidate mankind’s rebellion. He’ll end the coup once and for all. Verse 12, “that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” And why would anyone want to be their own god? It’s fun. Sin is pleasurable. That’s why it’s tempting. Yet one day God condemns those “who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in unrighteousness.”

Look, today is the day of salvation!

Call out to Jesus and repent of your sins or turn away from them and turn to Jesus today. Ask him to come into your heart and begin to live a life filled with purpose and joy.

Amen