SOUTHEND FULL GOSPEL CHURCH
Hiscoming Ministries
Sunday Thought – Sunday 19th April 2020
“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 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. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition…” 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 NKJV
“But with respect to the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to meet Him, we entreat you, brethren, not readily to become unsettled in mind or troubled–either by any pretended spiritual revelation or by any message or letter claiming to have been sent by us–through fancying that the day of the Lord is now here. Let no one in any way deceive you, for that day cannot come without the coming of the apostasy first, and the appearing of the man of sin, the son of perdition, who sets himself against….” 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 Weymouth
There is no doubt that we are living troubling times. And in these troubling times, all kinds of assumptions are being made with very little evidence to back them up. This is especially true amongst Christians. As Pastor of a fellowship and to many, an on-line Pastor, I have had e-mails and messages that are very disturbing, because I find people jumping to conclusions rather than trust the infallible word of God. I am currently writing an article on Psalm 91, because this appears to be a popular choice of many, by claiming that as believers no plague shall come near our dwelling! Based upon verse 10 of that Psalm that states “No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling” This only gives people a false sense of immunity with the current Corvid 19 virus. I shall publish the article when it is completed.
But for now, I want to hone in on the false assumption that what we are experiencing is described in Chapters 4-19 of the Revelation, and therefore places us now in the TRIBULATION period. This is no new problem. It happened in New Testament times. There was, for instance, the false teaching of Hymenaeus and Philetus that Paul mentions in 2 Timothy 2:16-18 that overthrew the faith of some believers who thought they had missed the RAPTURE. I spoke about this in a recent video message that I posted of Face Book.
But returning to our text above, which I quote from the NKJV and the WEYMOUTH translation, because there can be confusion over the apparent interchangeable phrases “DAY OF CHRIST” and “DAY OF THE LORD” There is a big difference between the two. The DAY OF CHRIST refers to the RAPTURE and subsequent Judgement seat of Christ in heaven, whereas the DAY OF THE LORD speaks of the TRIBULATION and God’s judgements upon this earth.
Paul here is saying, and I paraphrase for clarity, that in the light of the RAPTURE, we should not be worried or concerned that the DAY OF THE LORD (the Tribulation) has happened. He in effect says, don’t believe rumours that you have heard, because the Tribulation cannot happen until the GREAT APOSTASY and THE ANTICHRIST have been revealed.
We are already in the time of APOSTASY, which means a FALLING AWAY from the truth. The Greek word is apostasia, meaning a departure from the TRUTH. But when the TRIBULATION arrives, this DEPARTURE from the TRUTH will reach a grand climax, more that we are experiencing today, it will give rise to THE MAN OF SIN, the Antichrist, who will proclaim himself to be god.
So you see, the Bible is very clear, we are NOT in the Tribulation yet, Jesus has not yet returned to collect His true Church, so we cannot be experiencing the judgements of God mentioned in REVELATION! Take heart, my dear friends, as awful as this CORVID 19 virus is, don’t believe the sensationalist dribble of the false teachers who are out to scare people and cause a stir. TRUST GOD’S WORD, Our Lord will never fail you.
Please , stay safe, as believers, we do not have immunity against this or any other disease, but we are totally IN GOD’S HANDS and need to trust Him in all things.
God bless you all!
Brotherly love…..Pastor Keith
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