Waiting for the Other Shoe To Drop

With troubling world events dominating the headlines recently, especially concerning Syria, there has been a predictable uptick in the Internet chatter concerning how close we may be to the beginning of the Tribulation, with some eying 2014 as an apparent prophetic hot spot for various reasons.

I have chatted with numerous people online via YouTube and other websites about this topic, and in the process I have run across a number of people who seem to be convinced that the Church will go through the entire seven years of the Tribulation.

They either think the Rapture will happen at the end of the Tribulation, or that it won't happen at all. Some of them are adamant that the pre-tribulation Rapture is a lie and an unscriptural escapist fantasy, and are urging others to start prepping for the tough times to come.

Pardon me while I file that last sentence away for a future article.

I'm sure many who think the Church will go through the Tribulation are sincere, well-meaning believers, but are they right? That's the $64,000 question.

To wit:

Is it reasonable according to Scripture to believe that the Rapture, rather than occurring before the seven-year Tribulation begins (i.e., pre-trib), will not occur until the end of the Tribulation (i.e., post-trib), and that as the Church remains on earth until the Second Coming at the climax of the Tribulation, millions will be saved and added to the Church's numbers?

(Rather than make special mention of those who don't believe in the Rapture at all, I just lump them in with the post-tribbers because...well, let's be honest—it's pretty much the same thing.)

And does it really matter? Is it just some arcane theological argument, or does it have real consequences for real people?

While I was trying to take a step back and ponder the big prophetic picture recently, an aspect of this topic occurred to me that I had never considered. I'd like to say that the Lord showed it to me, but I hate it when other people say that and so I will refrain. It may not be all that terribly profound, but I honestly had never thought of it that way before, and I felt that it was something relevant to the dialogue concerning the Rapture and the Tribulation. As such, I felt that it was appropriate to share it.

But first, a word from Hosea.

Y'all come back now, hear?

The prophet Hosea speaks about God's judgment on Israel and Judah, and makes the following statement:

Most Bible scholars agree that the time of "affliction" being referred to is none other than Daniel's 70th Week—the Tribulation. More specifically, the Great Tribulation, which is the last half of that seven-year period, when the nations of the world will be seeking to destroy Israel in the battle of Armageddon, and the Jewish people will have their backs to the wall.

One of the purposes of the Tribulation is to bring Israel to repentance so that God can reinstate their covenant relationship with Him. But God won't stop there. He will ultimately open their eyes, and they will finally recognize Jesus—the one they "pierced" by having Him crucified—as their Messiah:

Jesus also alluded to this shortly before He was crucified, after being rejected by the nation of Israel as their prophesied Messiah:

"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" is a Jewish messianic greeting, and drives home the point that Jesus the Messiah will not return until (a) Israel demonstrates national repentance, and (b) recognizes Him as their Messiah and pleads with Him to return to save them.

The point I'm getting at is that God has not overtly intervened in human history for nearly two thousand years, and that's part of the reason: The Lord returned to His place (heaven) and will remain there until the judgments of the Tribulation occur to get Israel to penitently implore Him to return to save them at its climax.

People often wonder about the fact that God seems to be far off, apparently unconcerned with what goes on down here on earth. When tragedy or disaster strikes, when great suffering or injustice occurs, people invariably ask:

"Where was God? How could a loving God allow such things to happen? Why doesn't God do something?"

Which, of course, is grist for the atheist mill. And the fact that the world is under the control of Satan isn't the full answer. It has been under the control of Satan since the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. But that never seemed to stop a sovereign Creator from overtly intervening in human affairs whenever He saw fit to do so in the past.

Sometimes people act as if it were up to God (the Creator) to prove Himself to us (His creation), to show Himself and openly intervene in worldly affairs in great power and glory, as if then people might deign to believe in Him.

But that's just it—He's done that, and people still drifted into disbelief.

God openly manifested His power and presence to the Jewish people on a regular basis for millennia. The Old Testament is replete with examples of God intervening in earthly affairs, and here's a quick Top 10 list:

1. God speaks to Moses via the burning bush (Exod. 3).

2. God leads the Israelites with pillars of cloud and of fire (Exod. 13).

3. God parts the Red Sea so the Israelites can escape (Exod. 14).

4. God provides manna from heaven to feed the Israelites (Exod. 16).

5. God heals all who look upon Moses' brass serpent (Num. 21).

6. God backs up the Jordan River so the Israelites can cross (Josh. 3).

7. God makes the sun stand still so Joshua can win a battle (Josh. 10).

8. God burns up Elijah's offering, not that of the pagan priests (1 Kings 18).

9. God saves Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fire (Dan. 3).

10. God shuts the mouths of the lions to save Daniel (Dan. 6).

Oh, and don't forget the fact that He raised His only begotten Son Jesus from the dead after three days, exactly as prophesied in His Word—and yet they still repeatedly rebelled and drifted into idolatry.

Well, what about the last two thousand years?

What about us, here in the Church Age? (EN-CORE...EN-CORE...EN-CORE...)

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Lord has left the building."

He has returned to His place.

It seems that God has not overtly intervened in human history since the birth of the Church. The only true miracle God has performed in the last two thousand years is the miracle of spiritual regeneration He has performed in the sinful hearts of countless people who have come to Him in repentance and in faith for the forgiveness of sin.

God's most stunning miracle of the last two thousand years is the Church itself—a gaggle of sinners who have managed to respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and have believed in simple, childlike faith in Jesus' work of atonement for their sins. As a result, they have been sealed with the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, reconciled to a holy God, and adopted into His family for all eternity.

But let's take a closer look at how the Church actually came into existence.

The easy way or the hard way

It was Sunday, the day of Jesus' resurrection. That evening the disciples were gathered together in a closed room, and suddenly Jesus appeared among them. He scared the pants off His disciples, so the first thing He had to do was calm them down. But then Scripture records that Jesus did something very significant:

Jesus was sending them out to preach the gospel (the fundamental mission of the Church), and He breathed on them and imparted to them the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. They were apparently the first official members of the Church, since the Holy Spirit didn't descend to corporately indwell believers in power until the day of Pentecost about seven weeks later (Acts 2).

I beg to differ: There are respected Bible scholars and theologians a whole lot smarter than me who interpret this event in a variety of ways. With all due respect, however, I personally am content to believe Jesus meant exactly what He said—and I am not alone. This "first in private, then in public" pattern is seen in several other places in Scripture.

But not all the disciples were present and accounted for at this private, pre-Pentecost "inauguration" of the Church.

Jesus was talking about the Church. In one sentence, Jesus eloquently expressed the essential nature of His future bride:

Blessed are they that have not
seen, and yet have believed.

Q. So, what have we not seen?

A. Tangible, physical proof of God's manifest power and presence.

That's what Thomas required: tangible proof. And not only that, but note Thomas's attitude here. It's not as if he really wanted to believe but just couldn't quite do it—he flat out refused to believe. The Greek is emphatically negative: I absolutely will not believe, unless I see the scars.

And did you catch it? Go read the whole chapter. And the next chapter. Notice that nowhere is there any mention of Jesus breathing on Thomas and imparting to him the presence of the Holy Spirit, as He had done to the others. I think the Holy Spirit, the Author of all Scripture, is trying to tell us something here. The Holy Spirit mentions things for a reason—and doesn't mention them for a reason. There is an unmistakable differentiation suggested here.

Oh sure, now Thomas believes. Obviously Thomas has come to the point where he has faith that Jesus really is the risen Christ—that is, after he sees the Lord in the flesh and sees the wounds of His crucifixion. By the way, notice that the Bible never says Thomas actually touched Jesus, in spite of the fact that Jesus invited him to do so. It appears that seeing was sufficient. Jesus didn't say "Because you have touched me, you have believed," He said "Because you have seen me, you have believed." But in any case, don't miss one of the most important points of the entire passage.

Notice what Jesus said to Thomas: "Be not faithless, but believing." In other words, there are two ways to come to faith: the "believing" way that doesn't require tangible proof (the way the first group of disciples chose), and the "faithless" or unbelieving way that does require tangible proof (the way Thomas chose, which earned him a gentle rebuke from the Lord).

That is, we can do this the easy way or the hard way.

And there are special benefits for those who choose the easy way.

I believe that the disciples who received the Holy Spirit that first Sunday night are a model of the Church—they that have not seen, and yet have believed. They believed the report of Jesus' resurrection from the women who had visited the empty tomb early that first Sunday morning. Several of the disciples (who knows—maybe all of them) had seen the empty tomb by Sunday evening. The point is that they were willing to believe in their spirits—they came to have faith—without having seen the Lord in the flesh.

I believe the Holy Spirit is using Thomas to figuratively or as a type to represent another group, however: a group of people who come to have faith based on what they see with their own eyes, and as a result do not have the blessing of being sealed with the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit and so are not part of the Church.

Think about it. How do people become members of this group known as the Church? How do they obtain this spiritual rebirth? Does God shock them into believing? Does He wow them into being born again by performing some miraculous feat of divine legerdemain? Do they believe because they see God overtly display His power in some supernatural way?

Does He have to show them the nail scars?

No. They haven't seen anything. Yet they respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, realize that they are sinners in need of a Savior, and believe in Jesus' atonement for their sin in faith.

That's what the Church is all about—belief without the need for tangible proof.

Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

It's show time!

Daniel's 70th Week—the Tribulation. Even the name sounds bad. The seven-year period we call the Tribulation is foretold by many of the Old Testament prophets, and it is described as a time of unparalleled destruction. The ultimate blow-by-blow account, of course, is in the book of Revelation.

The book of Revelation lays out the Tribulation in terms of three series of judgments, and they're a bit like those Russian Matryoshka dolls, where several dolls are nested one inside another.

First, there is a series of seven seal judgments. However, when the seventh seal is opened, it introduces a series of seven trumpet judgments. Similarly, when the seventh trumpet is sounded, it introduces a series of seven vial or bowl judgments—and the judgments just keep getting worse and worse until it's hell on earth.

Although the book of Revelation gives us by far the most detailed account of the events of the Tribulation, Gospel writers Matthew (ch. 24), Mark (ch. 13), and Luke (ch. 21) all refer to it in their versions of the Olivet Discourse. Luke, however, makes one intriguing comment that caught my attention:

Men will faint for fear. The King James Version is a bit more dramatic, using the phrase "men's hearts failing them for fear."

Whatever else you believe about the Tribulation—no matter how you visualize it or imagine it playing out—the Bible makes one thing crystal clear.

It's going to be scary.

It will be the worst, most terrifying period in human history, bar none. Jesus said that the Tribulation would be so bad that if it were not limited in its duration, it would wipe out the entire human race (Matt. 24:22).

But what's so special about the Tribulation? The world has experienced horrific plagues, pestilences, famines, earthquakes, tsunamis, and other disasters before that have caused widespread devastation. We've had more terrible, bloody wars than we can even count, including a global conflagration that culminated in the use of nuclear weapons. Were those scary? You bet. So what is it about the Tribulation that will make it so terrifying that men's hearts will fail them for fear?

In other words, it will be clear to people on earth that the events going on around them are not just run-of-the-mill disasters: They will understand that what they are witnessing is nothing less than the bona fide wrath of God.

And that's about as scary as it gets.

So will people really see God pouring out His wrath? Will they actually see the hand of God move in supernatural ways to execute His righteous judgment on the nations trying to destroy His people Israel and on those who have rejected His grace?

Yes. They're going to see plenty.

After the Rapture, the restraining influence of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in believers will be removed (along with said believers). God will be rolling up His sleeves and preparing to restore Israel to their covenant relationship, while Satan will be champing at the bit to try to destroy them.

For God and Satan both, it's show time.

Millions will seek God as a result of what they see during the Tribulation, and like Thomas, they will come to faith the hard way—motivated by the terrifying events they see with their own eyes.

And just as Thomas was not among the disciples who received the Holy Spirit that first night, these people won't be part of the Church—they won't enjoy the blessing of being permanently sealed with the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. They will have missed the boat on that one—that ended a few years earlier when all those fundamentalist misfits who would never shut up about Jesus disappeared in that weird alien/UFO deal that was all over the news. These people will be required to maintain a faithful demonstration of their belief, and will have to endure to the end to be saved (until their death or the Second Coming, whichever comes first).

Now, please don't misunderstand me. I am certainly not suggesting that Thomas was never part of the Church. That's stupid—obviously he was. In fact, I think it's fair to say that Thomas gets a bad rap. Thomas loved Jesus with all his heart. In John 11:16, we see that Thomas was willing to die for the Lord. Of course Thomas became part of the Church, and was no doubt among those who received the Holy Spirit in power on the day of Pentecost.

All I'm saying is that I believe the Holy Spirit used Thomas's initial refusal to believe to teach us something about the nature of the Church—and something about those who are really aren't part of it.

Who are you guys?

Many of the people who come to faith during the Tribulation will be martyred for their testimony, and they are the people John sees showing up in heaven in Revelation 6 and 7 (which is clearly after the Tribulation has already begun):

So, it is clear that multitudes of people will be saved (and killed) during the Tribulation. The question is whether or not they are part of the Church, or if some other group is in view here.

The stock response from those who see the Church going through the Tribulation is that these are all members of the Church, which they believe takes a licking and keeps on ticking during the full seven years of God's judgment. They apparently think that millions of people will be added to the Church as they witness God pouring out His wrath.

On the other hand, those who hold to a pre-trib view believe that the Rapture will occur before the Tribulation begins, and this will end the Holy Spirit's ministry of indwelling believers. Pre-tribbers believe that the Holy Spirit will still be present on earth after the Rapture, but will dwell with those who come to faith during the Tribulation, just as He did before the Church came into existence. Since these believers will not have the benefit of being sealed with the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, they will be required to maintain an overt demonstration of their faith just as people had to do in the Old Testament (partly by aiding Jews, who will be Public Enemy No. 1)—even if it costs them their lives.

And for multitudes, it will. Hence all the folks showing up in heaven in Revelation 6 and 7.

Pre-tribbers believe the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit is a blessing unique to the Church and constitutes the defining characteristic of the current Church Age—which ends at the Rapture, before the Tribulation even starts.

As I was pondering these things, I had one of those forehead-smacking "Why didn't I think of that before?!" moments.

(*smack*) "Why didn't I think of that before?!"

I suspect that by now you are beginning to see the $64,000 answer, which finally dawned on me as I asked myself the following question:

If the Church is a body of people who have believed in faith, in spite of never having seen any tangible displays of God's power or presence—those who have not seen, and have believed, does it make any sense to assume that this group will be on earth and growing by leaps and bounds during the Tribulation, as people come to faith as a result of witnessing the terrifyingly tangible judgments of God?

No! That's the point—it makes no sense at all!

Will people repent and seek God during the Tribulation? Yes! Will they be saved by faith? Yes! That's the only way anyone ever has been or ever will be saved. Did Thomas have faith? Of course he had faith...after he saw the scars.

But will they be part of the Church—they that have not seen, and yet have believed—and which has the unique blessing of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit?

No. Millions will be saved during the Tribulation, because...

People who are saved during the Tribulation will come to faith only after seeing the hand of God move in judgment. Yes, they will believe. Yes, they will come to have faith. But...

It doesn't make any sense from Scripture to think they will be part of the Church—they will be what are called Tribulation saints. Many people seem to have a difficult time getting their heads around the idea that there are going to be huge numbers of people in heaven who are not part of the Church—the body of Christ.

Many people, including many of those who believe the Church will go through the Tribulation, don't seem to have an accurate grasp of the true nature of the Church. Some people read the New Testament and see nothing but the Church. Every way they slice it, it comes up Church.

But that's not quite true. If the New Testament were a movie, Jesus would be the leading actor, and both Israel and the Church would be supporting actresses. It's not all about us. We're not the star of the show—Jesus is, but many people want to see His fiancée steal the spotlight.

Waiting for the other shoe to drop

It seems to me that there are a lot of people who are on the fence, spiritually speaking. They might have a passing familiarity with Jesus and the Bible, and may be among those who got caught up in all the 2012 Mayan business or some other species of apocalyptic hoopla and ended up being exposed to Bible prophecy in the process.

Yet spiritually they are still on the fence. They see the storm clouds gathering on the horizon, but it's as if they are waiting to see something...apocalyptic. They're waiting for The Big One.

They're waiting for the other shoe to drop.

As soon as they see something really cataclysmic, they'll get right with God. Then they'll repent. At least that's the backup plan rolling around in the back of their minds. Maybe they're not quite sure if there's anything to this Bible prophecy stuff, but they figure if they see the earth get pummeled by asteroids or the sea turn to blood or something, they'll know God is serious and will hurry up and get saved.

I have no idea how close we are to the Tribulation (nor does anyone else), although I do believe we could be closer than many think. Sometimes it seems as if it could start next week. Sometimes it seems as if things could play out for several more years.

Only God knows, and He's wise enough to bury these things in an ocean of red herrings to keep us honest.

And no, it's not an arcane theological argument. It has eternal consequences for millions of real people—just like you and me.

The point I want to leave you with is that waiting to see some apocalyptic event to find out if God is serious or not is a fool's game of the first magnitude. Especially at this point in the scheme of things. If you're one of those who are on the fence, one who is waiting to see a major apocalyptic sign that God means business, just climb down from that fence while there's still time. You'll find that He's waiting with open arms.

Don't be like Thomas, and insist on seeing the nail scars first. The bad news is that if you do, you may end up being forced to witness a whole lot more than you bargained for.

The good news is that you still have time to be one who has not seen, and has believed.

But please—don't gamble on how much longer you may have.

Don't waste time waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Greg Lauer — SEP '13

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