The misled and the fearful who don't want to believe the truth, grab for straws to justify escapism. One of the more common misconceptions that we hear is, "We are not appointed to wrath, so Christ will come before the Great Tribulation and take us home. Then those remaining shall go through God's wrath." This, of course, is taken from the book of First Thessalonians, Chapter 5...

9. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
10. Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.

    Remember when God commanded Moses to smite the waters of Egypt while the children of Israel were there? Were they affected by this? No, they were not. and who got the credit? God did. What about the rest of the plagues? Were the children of Israel taken out before they came about? NO. And who got the credit and glory for their safety? God did.

    Paul said that Christians were not appointed to wrath, but to obtain salvation. He did not say they would be removed. In fact, he defined the difference between deliverance and removal in II Timothy, 3:11

11.Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured; but out of them all the Lord delivered me.

    Remember, in St. John 17, verse 15, Jesus said:
I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

Further, in verse 20, he said...
Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

    All Christians in this day believe on Jesus through the recorded word of the apostles. That means that the prayer he prayed was all inclusive. In other words, he was talking about all Christian believers.

Misconception:

The Tribulation is the Day of Wrath

    Another of the great misconceptions concerning the end time is the belief that the Great Tribulation period is the "day of God's wrath". let's connect some scriptures and see what God's Word says about that, beginning with Matthew 24:29...
29. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30. And then shall appear the sign of the son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

    Now let's fix the exact time when these things shall come about. Jesus said "immediately after the tribulation of those days". At what point in time will this be in relation to the prophecy of the Book of Revelation?

    The time is placed in Chapter 6, beginning with verse number 12...

...And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13. And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

    We find, then, that the sixth seal is opened "immediately after the tribulation of those days...". Now, take a close look at what follows the opening of this sixth seal. In Revelation, Chapter 6, verse...
15.And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16. And said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the lamb:
17. For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

In the light of these scriptures then, when is the Great Day of his Wrath? According to them, it comes immediately after the tribulation of those days.

    We see, then that the Great Tribulation, although it certainly contains some of God's wrath, is not the Great Day of his wrath. That day is after the heavens depart as a scroll; in other words, afterthe return of Jesus.

    Even though God will pour out wrath upon the earth, the saints will be cared for, in the same manner that the children of Israel were cared for in Egypt. The scriptures tell us that we are sealed and protected.

Consider Revelation9 and 4

...And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

Consider St. John 6, and verse 27... Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: For him hath God the father sealed.

Also, in II Corinthians, Chapter 1, these verses...
21. Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;
22. Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

Likewise, in Ephesians, Chapter 1 and verse
13...In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy spirit of promise.

Ephesians, Chapter 4 and verse 30
... And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

Who, then, are sealed? It is apparent from the scriptures that all true Christians are sealed. Specifically, at that final time...

in Revelation, Chapter 7, the following verses...
9. After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
10. And cried with a loud voice saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
11. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,..
12. Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever, Amen.
13. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
14. And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

    With these scriptures in view, were the children of Israel appointed to God's wrath while they were in Egypt?....No. The children of Israel had to act upon only one plague; that was the plague of death. Blood had to be placed upon the two side posts of the door, and the top door post. By this act, they were sealed and protected. Even though they went all the way through the tribulation and the plagues, they were unharmed, and God received the glory.

    Consider Noah and his ark. Even though Noah had his own time of tribulation, we see that he was not appointed unto God's wrath. Noah's belief and faith in God, along with his obedience in building the Ark, sealed him and protected him from all harm. He still went through the flood, but even there, in the midst of the destruction and death, Noah was protected.

    Consider the three Jews, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. All three had faith and trusted God. But their obedience required great courage and loyalty to God, much like it will be in the last times.

Read the 3rd chapter of Daniel, beginning with verse 15... ...Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?
16. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
17. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

    They knew what was right, and they stuck to it, even if it meant death. Today, many, many people boldly stand in their place and claim that they would gladly die for Christ. But thousands can't even give up their sinful nature to serve him.

    Were the three Hebrew children appointed to wrath? It is recorded that they were not.

    When Daniel was thrown into the lion's den, was he appointed unto God's wrath? Even though he stood in the midst of death, the answer is emphatically No!

    In the Book of Job, we see that Job was a type and shadow of the Christian Church of today. Satan does all his evils, but God protects us in the midst of tribulation. And it is important to note that through tribulation, we are refined and made pure. See Isaiah 12, verses 8 through 12.

    No! We are not appointed to wrath, but are sealed by the Holy Ghost, and because of it, will go through tribulation unaffected. When those who are sealed are not affected by the tribulation around them, who receives the glory... almighty God.

Misconception:

One Taken, One Left, is the Rapture...

    Another common misconception is that the "one taken, one left" scriptures denote a pre-tribulation rapture. Actually, these scriptures contain no reference at all to a rapture, as we can see once we include all scriptures on the subject. the one most often referred to is the one in the Book of Matthew, so we shall begin there, in the 24th chapter...
40.Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41.Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
    It's easy to see that these verses, alone, are susceptible to any interpretation one would like to attach to them. But that's not how the Bible is written. The Word of God will not contradict itself.

    (There is a primary rule to follow in studies of the scriptures: No matter what conclusion you reach when reading any particular passage, it MUST AGREE with the rest of the Book! If it does not do this, then your conclusion is wrong!)

    Let's look at more scriptures and try to piece the puzzle together. Here is Luke, Chapter 17
... 34. I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
35. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
36. Two men shall be in the field, the one shall be taken, and the other left.

    These are tares who are removed during the tribulation. How do we know?...Read on...

Luke 17:37, And they answered and said unto him, where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.

So the next question is: where are the eagles gathered? the Book of Job, Chapter 39, verses 28 through 30 tells us...

28. She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place.
29. From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off.
30. Her young ones also suck up blood: and where the slain are, there is she.

    So where are they taken?... to where the slain are, where the Eagles (the biblical word for vultures) are gathered together. That certainly doesn't sound like heaven to me. Can we prove this?... Read Matthew 13, beginning with verse 24...
.....Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, the kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
25...But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
26. .But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27. .So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
28..He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29.. But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
30. .Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

    Verse 30 states that the tares are gathered first. If there is any question about when this takes place, it is answered in Matthew 13, beginning with verse 37, Jesus' own explanation of the parable of the tares.
37. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man.
38. The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
39. The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41. The son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42. And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

    So we see then that the tares are taken out first. But out of where? Are they removed from the earth? Well, let's look and see. Jesus said, they are taken out from the wheat. In other words, they are separated from the Christians. They are gathered in bundles to be burned. How is this done?

    Consider the scripture in Revelation 9 and 4.
4. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

    There you have a picture of the tares, and how they are bundled to be burned. They have not the seal of God in their foreheads. We know that the sealing takes place during the Great Tribulation, that's how the tares are separated from the wheat. But when does the burning take place?

    If we refer again to Revelation, chapter 6 , we find that it takes place after the Tribulation period, when the sixth seal is opened, the heavens rolled back, and Jesus returns. Note the passage in verse 17... "For the great day of his wrath is come"...

    Does the picture begin to clear up now? During the Great Tribulation the condition of not being able to buy or sell separates the tares from the wheat. Christians will place themselves in the hands of God, and refuse the mark of the Beast. But the tares, not knowing God, will rely on the mark to keep them alive, allowing them to buy and sell and not be persecuted by the Beast and his "World Church". From that point, they are irrevocably lost. They have separated themselves from the wheat; they are "taken out", and they are bundled to be burned.

    So then, according to the correlation of the scriptures, when the heavens depart as a scroll when it is rolled together, that's when the tares are burned and the wheat is gathered into the barn. You will note that the tares have already been taken out (from among the wheat, not from the earth).

Misconception:

The saints who are "alive and remain"

are those who were saved during

the Great Tribulation period

    Let's consider the facts concerning this misconception. Begin with the Book of Daniel, chapter 12, verse 10...
10. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.

    What?! The Bible says that none of the wicked shall understand during that time. Does it only say that in the Book of Daniel? No, let's look in Revelation, chapter 9, verse 20 ... And the rest of the men which were not killed by the plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver,and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk.

    Note that the phrase "the rest of the men" is all-inclusive, it means all of them, and it says that they "repented not", in total agreement with the statement made in Daniel 12:10.

    Revelation, 16:10 & 11...
10. And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
11. And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

    These three scriptures completely refute the misconception that anyone who was not saved gets saved during the tribulation of those days. You must note that this is not opinion, it is direct Bible scripture, quoted and rightly divided.

Misconception:

"Jesus was talking to the Jews in

Matthew 24, so it doesn't apply to us."

    This argument borders on the ridiculous. Consider the fact that about 90% of Jesus' teachings were made to the Jews, including the following:
1. There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
2. The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: For no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
3. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, Verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. ...St. John 3:

    Then, according to the misconception highlighted above, we, as non-Jews, do not have to be born again to be Christians, because Jesus was talking to Nicodemus only. It would seem, then, that God wasted a lot of paper by retaining all those teachings that were made to the Jews. According to that, we should have had a much thinner Bible.

    Fact: Every teaching recorded in the Bible is meant for you and me.None of it is superfluous, otherwise, God would not have retained it. So much for that misconception.

Misconception:

The "falling away" is actually a "calling

away" or a "taking out".

    Another "straw" that pre-tribbers grab for is in II Thessalonians, chapter 2, and verse 3...
3. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition:

    The "straw" in this case is the insistence that the phrase "falling away" actually means rapture, or "taking out". Let's look at a few scriptures and see what the Word actually says.

I Corinthians, Chapter 14,
verse 33... For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

    How does this pertain to the subject at hand? Very simply, if a phrase in the Word of God means a particular thing in one scripture, it must mean the same thing in any other scripture, otherwise, there will be confusion, and God is not the author of confusion. Then let us see what the phrase "falling away" means in the rest of the scriptures.

Luke, Chapter 8, verse 13... They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.

    What? Was Jesus saying that, in a time of temptation, these people were raptured out? No. It is quite apparent that they lost their faith in a time of temptation and "fell away" from God.

Hebrews, Chapter 6, verses...
4. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
5. And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
6. if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

    Were these people "raptured out" because they crucified to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame? That would be against everything that Jesus ever taught. It is obvious to anyone who reads it that the term "falling away" in these scriptures means moving away from God. It follows, then, that it means the same thing in II Thessalonians. Otherwise, God has authored confusion. Since we know that God does not author confusion, then we also know that the term means the same in Thessalonians as it does in Luke and Hebrews.

    It is also interesting to note that there are some 40 references to "fall" in Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, and in none of them does the word mean anything other than to lose standing, as in Jude 24, Romans 11:11, Isaiah 14:12, Job 4:4,etc.

    The only conclusion that is consistent with the rest of the Book is that Thessalonians tells us there will be a great apostasy before the "Coming of the Lord, and our gathering together unto him." "Let no man deceive you by any means;..."

    Matthew, chapter 24, verse 31...And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Misconception:

The "Elect" are only the Jews...

    Matthew 24 is explicit as to the time of Jesus' second return.. (immediately after the tribulation of those days). As we see in verse 31 , it also places the gathering together of his elect at this same time.

    The "straw" here is the belief that the elect are only the 144,000 Jews. How consistent is that with the rest of the book?...Not very.

    The Book of I Peter, Chapter one...1. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.
2. Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:...

    The address was made to strangers from different countries, and Peter referred to them as elect.

I Peter 5:13... The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.
Romans 11:7... What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for: but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.

    It is obvious, then, that the Elect are those who, through faith in Jesus, have become Christians...the children of God. Elect, as specified by these scriptures, does not mean any particular nation or race, but all the born-again Christians.

Misconception:

"He who now letteth.." is the Church.

    Straw-grabbers, who refuse to accept the scriptures for what they are, argue that the one in II Thessalonians, Chapter 2, verse 7... "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way."... is talking about the church and means that it will be removed to make way for the Anti-Christ.

    Consider this fact: at no place in the entire Word of God is the church referred to as anything but "she". (i.e....the "Bride of Christ", for instance). Therefore, we must again revert to the fact that "God is not the author of cunfusion. And it would certainly be confusion to refer to the church as "she" in every scripture in the book except one. Who, then, is the only "He" that could actually hinder the takeover of the Anti-Christ? For the answer to this question, refer to the Gospel of St. John, Chapter 16, verses 7 through 11.

7.Nevertheless, I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
8.And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin,and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9.Of sin, because they believe not on me;
10.Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
11.Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

    It becomes apparent, then, that the only he who could hinder the forces of the Anti-Christ in that day is the "Comforter", the Holy Ghost, who will "reprove" the world of sin, until He be taken out of the way.

    Where will the church be in that time? Refer to Isaiah, 20:26..." Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.

Conclusion

    In the year, 1830, John Darby (the establisher of the Premillenarians), put forth the view that the rapture would take place before the seventieth week of Daniel began (or before the great tribulation began). This view sprang from the statements made two years earlier by a 13-year-old girl named Margaret McDonald who had a dream that the Church would be raptured just prior to the great tribulation. Many ministers who were present at the time, and ministers who heard of the dream later, adopted it into their church belief.

    In their search for something to back up the belief, these ministers chose Matthew 24:40 and 41 (the "one taken, the other left" scripture). They neglected, however, to take the other scriptures in the harmony of the Gospels to find out the exact meaning of those two verses. In other words, they failed to "rightly divide" the Word of God.

    In the days of Jesus' teachings he taught that it would all take place on the last day. It wasn't until 1830 that belief in this teaching changed. So our choice is either to listen to the teachings of Jesus, or the dream of a 13-year-old girl. The choice is ours. Which will it be? (It is interesting to note that the church the girl attended when she had this dream, will not go through the great tribulation. It was, indeed, taken out, by death...all its members are long since gone.)

What's the Difference?

    Frequently this question is heard when discussing the end times. What's the difference? What is the big deal?... What difference will it make when he returns?

    The difference is that in America, and in many countries around the world today, we are so used to living a relatively high-class life style (color TV's, fine cars, electricity, supermarkets, swimming pools, homes and lands, hospitals, medicines, drugs, etc., etc.), that we don't know what it's like to really do without. We run up all kinds of bills, thinking that it won't matter because before the tribulation comes we'll all be out of here. That would be great under the rapture theory. But under the original teachings of Jesus— that we don't leave until the last day —the situation will be drastically different.

    What happens when the Mark comes out? Without it, nobody will be able to pay for any of the things we have become accustomed to. What happens when those in the church family that have been taught the pre-tribulation theory wake up one morning to find out they must take the Mark to survive? Being totally unprepared, will they be able to depend entirely on God for their very sustenance?

    If you're a teacher of the gospel, be certain that you have included and rightly divided all the scriptures in the book that pertain to this final time on earth. In that light, we leave you with this extremely important scripture...

Ezekiel 33:6...But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.