When I used to read Jesus' account of The Great Tribulation and the Second Coming of Christ in Matthews 24:15-44, my response was naturally to look upon such events with dread and fear. But now that I have a solid assurance that we definitely will be delivered from God's wrath at the end of the tribulation, I felt more peaceful and secure.
Even though we may not be totally delivered from the wrath of the Antichrist or escape persecution for the sake of the gospel, I am not afraid. I believe the Church is not totally at the mercy of the Antichrist. God's power is greater than the evil one and God is well able to deliver us from persecution. Even if He doesn't, I know that there is a special anointing or provision of God's grace in times of persecution for believers (just like for Apostle Paul). And there is a reward in heaven waiting for believers who suffer persecution for Christ's namesake. God's glory is magnified when believers refuse to bow down to the Beast or the Anthichrist.
Drawing mainly from the passage in Matthew 24:15-44, there are 3 main responses for a believer:
1) Don't be afraid - In John 16:33, Jesus told His disciples that in this world, they will have tribulation but take heart that He has overcome the world. For those of us who will go through the Tribulation, we can still have peace in this world because Christ will preserve us till He comes back for us again. Jesus will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heaven to the other. (Matt. 24:30)
2) Don't be deceived - Jesus has told us beforehand that there will be false christs and false prophets with great signs and wonders to deceive even the elect (Matt. 24:24-26). It seemed to me the way not to be deceived is by spending time in the bible to acquaint ourselves with the true Christ, just like how the bank tellers were trained to spot the counterfeit, not by studying these false notes but by studying the real notes.
3) Watch and pray - Jesus told the believers to pray that their flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath (Matt. 24:20). It does seem like there is a place for the Church to have an influence over the end-times events and the timing of these events. Even though the Church cannot stop the rising of the Antichrist or stop this world from total destruction (at the end of ages), the Church definitely has authority over the principalities and powers of darkness. We can pray for protection over people and we can pray for the salvation of lost souls. We also have a responsibility to preach the good news to the lost because there is a hell to shun and a heaven to go to for all eternity.
Finally I am encouraged to know that even in darkness, light dawns for the upright (Ps. 112:4). I know that as the world gets darker, the Church will shine even brighter. I take heart that even though this world will go from bad to worse and eventually end in destruction, for the believers, the Lord will arise over us and His glory will be seen upon us (Isa. 60:1-2).
My response towards end-times is no longer one of fear and trepidation but one of hope and glory. I can say that I now look forward to the 2nd Coming of Jesus, the Rapture of the Church and the rewards awaiting me in heaven. I no longer fear the occurrence of events signalling the end of times because Jesus says 'Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.' (Luke 21:28)
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