“And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:
“They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage UNTIL THE DAY that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
“Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but ON THE DAY that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fired and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.
“EVEN SO WILL IT BE in the day when the Son of Man is revealed,” (Luke 17:26-30).
Very recently, my family and I experienced Hurricane Florence close up. While the storm was still in force, God began to give me pictures of what the Day of the Lord will be like, based upon my personal experience during Florence.
1) There were many warnings given about the coming hurricane. Although no one could specify the exact time it would actually “hit” or make landfall, we knew by heeding the warnings of the experts that we were in the general timeframe.
God NEVER EVER brings judgment without first warning through His prophets and His word. “Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals to His servants the prophets,” (Amos 3:7). The faithful church will not be caught off guard by the return of Christ and the onset of God’s Day of judgment. Although we do not know the day nor hour, we will recognize the season of His return as surely as one can recognize the signs of summer when the green leaf starts to bloom. “BUT YOU, BRETHREN, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief,” (1 Thessalonians 5:4).
It is not the prepared, but the unprepared who will be suddenly caught off guard “as a thief in the night.”
2) On the morning of the hurricane, God took me and my family to a place of safety.
God is not going to remove His people early. He is not going to remove His people late. He will remove His people exactly on time. It was ON THE DAY that Noah got taken into the ark. It was ON THE DAY that Lot was taken out of Sodom. “EVEN SO WILL IT BE in the day when the Son of Man is revealed,” (Luke 17:30).
In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, Paul the apostle explicitly taught the church that the Day of the Lord “will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”
The removal of the righteous— quickly followed by the onset of the wrath of God— cannot take place unless Antichrist has first been revealed as the abomination sitting in the Jewish temple! This may run counter to a very popular view of the rapture, but it is what the Bible says.
3) When the hurricane actually hit, it shut down restaurants, businesses, shopping, and other activities of daily life.
Jesus taught that normal activities of society will come to a halt when the great and terrible Day of the Lord begins. Jesus named some of the activities affected: eating, drinking, marrying, buying, selling, planting, and building.
Those who study Bible prophecy will tell you that for the first 3 1/2 years of end times following the signing of a treaty (Seal #1), Israel will be offering sacrifices & offerings in a rebuilt temple. And although this will be followed by wars, famines, pestilences, and martyrdom (Seals #2-5), there will ALSO still be the normal activities of society going on. Remember the MARK OF THE BEAST? What is it used for? It is used for buying & selling. So, although Antichrist will be in power, society will still be going on, business as usual. It is not until the visible Second Coming of Jesus Christ & the onset of God’s day of judgment that human activity will be interrupted!
4) My family and I were quite comfortably sheltered, fed, and protected at a hotel during the hurricane.
Where will the righteous spend the Day of the Lord? Revelation 7:9-10 gives us a picture: “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, OF ALL NATIONS, TRIBES, PEOPLES, AND TONGUES, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “SALVATION belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
When Jesus comes to gather His saints, we will be taken to THE place of safety while the storm of His Day unfolds upon earth. On that day we will be removed, while God’s angels begin to pour out His trumpet & bowl judgements upon the earth.
And Israel? Jesus taught that those living in the area of Judea should flee to the mountains when Antichrist reveals himself in their temple (Matthew 24). The Jews’ own history of persecution during the time of the Maccabees by the abomination of Antiochus Epiphanes will warn them to flee. During the outpouring of the wrath of God, repentant Jews (who have just looked “upon Him whom they pierced and mourned for Him”) will be protected, just as the Israelites were protected in Goshen during the plagues of Egypt. Israel MUST be present on earth during the entire 7-year period of end times in order to fulfill the prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27. But, the church of faithful believers do not need to be present the entire time; only that which fulfills scripture. The faithful in Christ will be removed immediately prior to the onset of the Day of the Lord, just like Noah & Lot.
5) After the storm, my family and I returned back to our town to survey the devastation and begin the clean up process.
At the end of God’s judgments, we will return to a devastated earth with our Lord. Seated upon white horses, we will survey the bloody aftermath at Armageddon. The clean up process will be aided by the birds and animals. It will take seven months to bury all the dead.
But, out of death comes life. Out of Armageddon will come the millennial reign of Jesus Christ.
At the end of the millennium, there will be another short-lived storm of rebellion and quick judgment (Revelation 20:7-10). Following that will be eternity, with no more storms!
Halleluia and thank you, Jesus!
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