For My Name's Sake

In the late afternoon hours of March 5, 1991, weary members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted on one last resolution: According to Item 30.12 of the Journal of the House of Representatives, it was a resolution commending the President and allied military forces for the success of Operation Desert Storm. As per standard procedure, a recorded vote was taken, and according to Item 30.13, the tally was Yeas 410, Nays 8.

Whew...resolution passed. Let's go home!

The next order of business, according to Item 30.14, was to inform members that they would reconvene the next day at 12:00 noon, which everyone present understood to mean they were adjourning for the day. Within minutes, nearly all of the 400-plus representatives present had left the floor and were on their way home, under the assumption that they were done for the day.

But four congressmen did not leave the floor—evidently there was some other business to attend to. They were Rep. Thomas Sawyer (D-OH), Rep. Thomas Ridge (R-PA), Rep. Benjamin Gilman (R-NY), and Minority Leader Rep. Robert Michel (R-IL).

Rep. Sawyer brought up HJ Res. 104, a seemingly innocuous bill that had been introduced a month earlier by Rep. Michel and that looked to be little more than the formal recognition of the 89th birthday of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, wrapped up in a wholly innocent-sounding piece of legislative fluff that called for the establishment of something called "Education Day, U.S.A."

Alrighty then...happy birthday, Rabbi Schneerson...(yawn).

Interestingly enough, however, Rep. Sawyer asked for "unanimous consent" in taking up HJ Res. 104. Now, the expression "unanimous consent" warrants a bit of explanation. According to Wikipedia:

In other words, a resolution might be taken up by unanimous consent when the matter at hand is some mundane, uncontroversial issue that would almost certainly fly through with no objections, and it's often done at the end of a session when people are in a hurry to go home. It's a shortcut—a time-saver, and although a vote is taken, it is not a recorded vote. No record is made of who voted or how they voted.

At the same time, however, any seasoned congressman will tell you that it is also occasionally used as a tool of legislative skullduggery, when there are people who wish to slide something through the House without attracting unwanted debate or undue attention.

Well, yeah, but...birthday wishes for a rabbi??

So, Rep. Sawyer brought up the bill, and Rep. Ridge reserved the right to object, but never did so. (If he had, it would have stopped the procedure of unanimous consent.) Rep. Ridge merely acknowledged the work of Rep. Michel, who was the chief sponsor of the bill, and then yielded to Rep. Gilman. Reps. Gilman and Michel spoke briefly, and the Speaker of the House asked if there was any objection to Rep. Sawyer's request.

None and done.

Now, I am certainly not accusing any of these four fine congressmen of some type of legislative skulduggery. Although 225 members of the House had signed on to HJ Res. 104 as co-sponsors, it is a virtual certainty that none were aware of the "full" text of the bill, which included a silent attachment regarding something referred to as the Noahide Laws. These so-called Noahide Laws are alluded to twice by that name in the main text of the bill, but no light is shed on what they are.

HJ Res. 104 was passed in five minutes flat by four congressmen who casually presumed it was little more than a routine piece of fluff to honor the birthday of a well-known rabbi. The Noahide Laws referenced therein were never brought up, and it's uncertain if any of the four congressmen even knew what they were, much less what they actually entailed.

For the record, here is the text of HJ Res. 104:

H.J.Res.104

One Hundred Second Congress of the United States of America

AT THE FIRST SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday, the third day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-one

Joint Resolution

To designate March 26, 1991, as 'Education Day, U.S.A.'.

Whereas Congress recognizes the historical tradition of ethical values and principles which are the basis of civilized society and upon which our great Nation was founded;

Whereas these ethical values and principles have been the bedrock of society from the dawn of civilization, when they were known as the Seven Noahide Laws;

Whereas without these ethical values and principles the edifice of civilization stands in serious peril of returning to chaos;

Whereas society is profoundly concerned with the recent weakening of these principles that has resulted in crises that beleaguer and threaten the fabric of civilized society;

Whereas the justified preoccupation with these crises must not let the citizens of this Nation lose sight of their responsibility to transmit these historical ethical values from our distinguished past to the generations of the future;

Whereas the Lubavitch movement has fostered and promoted these ethical values and principles throughout the world;

Whereas Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, leader of the Lubavitch movement, is universally respected and revered and his eighty-ninth birthday falls on March 26, 1991;

Whereas in tribute to this great spiritual leader, 'the rebbe', this, his ninetieth year will be seen as one of 'education and giving', the year in which we turn to education and charity to return the world to the moral and ethical values contained in the Seven Noahide Laws; and

Whereas this will be reflected in an international scroll of honor signed by the President of the United States and other heads of state: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That March 26, 1991, the start of the ninetieth year of Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, leader of the worldwide Lubavitch movement, is designated as 'Education Day, U.S.A.'. The President is requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe such day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate. [Source]

Two days later on March 7, the bill passed the Senate and on March 20, 1991, it was signed by President George H. W. Bush and became Public Law 102-14.

It's different this time: Actually, Congress has been passing resolutions honoring the birthday of Rabbi Schneerson and celebrating "Education Day" or "Education and Sharing Day" (which always falls on the 11th of Nisan, Rabbi Schneerson's date of birth) every single year since 1978. Sometimes the Noahide Laws are mentioned in the text, sometimes they are not.

Q. Well, then what's so special about what happened in 1991?

A. This is first time the Noahide Laws became associated with a Public Law.

And what exactly does Public Law 102-14 do, one might innocently inquire. I mean, it sounds so public and so lawish. Well, here's a word from our friends at Wikipedia to help sort things out:

So, what does it do? Oh, not much, really. As all such resolutions before and since, it establishes the 11th of Nisan of that year as Education Day, U.S.A., which I confess doesn't sound like something I'd cancel any plans for. But it also accomplishes one thing that sets it apart from other such resolutions:

It establishes a potential legal basis for
beheading every Christian in America.

OK, I know what you're thinking, so let's get one thing straight right now:

I'm not a conspiracy theorist whack job with a tinfoil hat and a couple of screws loose.

Believe me—in this case I almost wish I were. But I hope you know me better than that. Again and again, I do the same basic thing: I look at what's actually happening, and I go to the Word. Real events, real Scripture. That's the only game in town as far as I'm concerned, so I don't waste much time with the hardcore tinfoil hattery—I don't need to.

Although it's true that some fairly whacked-out things have been written on this topic, I have no intention of allowing this article to be counted among them. That's one reason I took you on a little field trip to the U.S. House of Representatives—I want you to understand one thing and I want you to understand it in no uncertain terms:

I'm not getting this via a little tinfoil hat.

It is disturbingly real, and in this article I want to show you that it ties into Scripture disturbingly well. Before we go any further, however, let's take a closer look at exactly what the Noahide Laws are and what they say.

The Seven Commandments?

According to Jewish tradition (emphasis on the word "tradition"), the Noahide Laws are a set of seven laws, six of which God gave to Adam, and which God gave to Noah after the Flood, with a seventh law added (the seventh and final law on the following list).

Of course, there is nary a word in Scripture about God giving these laws to either Adam or Noah. Other than the fact that several of the laws are restatements of some of the 10 Commandments given roughly a thousand years later to Moses on Mt. Sinai, this whole Noahide Law business is pure fiction. It is based entirely on the opinions and traditions of generations of rabbis, whose opinions have been elevated to the level of God's Word and who have lusted after control of the Gentile populations—whenever the day comes when they have the power to obtain such control.

And mark my words—that day is coming.

Although much has been written about the interpretation of the Noahide Laws, I don't feel the need to go into great depth here. The detailed manner in which Jews interpret these seven laws is not the primary point of this article—my focus is on how their interpretation will affect believers during the Tribulation.

Another reason I'm not going to lose any sleep over the tons of interpretive details concerning these laws is because it's utterly irrelevant. The Jews insist that Gentiles who follow the Noahide Laws will be granted the same place in the World to Come (i.e. the Millennial Kingdom) as any Jew. But anyone who knows the Bible from a bag of donuts knows this is a lie from the father of lies. Any biblically knowledgeable believer knows exactly how much keeping the law contributes to our salvation and our subsequent part in the kingdom:

The law's contribution? Absolutely nothing. Salvation is by grace through faith in Christ and that alone—not in keeping the law...any law. It's not found in meticulously following the 10 Commandments that are given by God in Scripture, let alone a collection of laws that have been derived from them and that have been gussied up with additional fleshly requirements by men who believe and teach that righteousness is to be found only in the fastidious adherence to those and many other laws. Even the 10 Commandments that were given to Moses only served to convince men that they were utterly unable to keep them perfectly, and in so doing attempt to make themselves righteous in God's eyes through their own fleshly efforts.

As useless to men's salvation as they are, however, here are the Seven Noahide Laws (which are often enumerated in the following order, although it doesn't seem to be critical), along with some brief comments.

1. Do not commit idolatry.

Rabbinical tradition interprets this as a command to worship, fear and pray to the one true God alone (emphasis on the word "one"). This is interpreted by Jews to focus on the recognition and reverence of the oneness of God.

This is the one that frequently gets the thickest slathering of politically correct claptrap from many Jewish commentators, blubbering about the consummate oneness of God...embrace His oneness, worship His oneness, God is one, one, one...yada yada yada. And I know why:

Jesus...that's why.

This is invariably interpreted in a manner that strictly precludes anything remotely resembling the Christian Trinity, which has some demented, would-be prophet from Nazareth named Yeshuah errantly worshiped as the so-called "Son of God." What idolatrous nonsense! What blasphemy!

Make no mistake—this is the one that will send millions of believers straight to the guillotine during the Tribulation.

What goes around: I suppose it's poetic justice that when the Jews' presumed savior the Mashiach (aka the Antichrist) demands to be worshiped as God after the abomination of desolation and the Jews refuse to do so, theoretically he could claim they are violating this Noahide Law and order their execution—he could easily spin this so as to accuse them of refusing to worship God in the proper manner (based on "new revelation" of his supposed divinity). So, the Jews may end up being condemned by the same trap they've set to ensnare Christians, which makes a lot of sense when you stop to consider that this entire plan is not being orchestrated by the Jews—it's being orchestrated by Satan to ultimately destroy the Jews.

2. Do not curse or deny God.

This would roughly correspond to the Third Commandment about not taking the name of the LORD in vain.

3. Do not murder.

Corresponds to the Sixth Commandment.

4. Do not engage in illicit sexuality.

This is a take on the Seventh Commandment (against adultery), but the Jews have taken it to greater extremes. Jewish tradition has lumped all manner of illicit sexual activity under this law, including incest, bestiality, various species of child molestation (not all, disturbingly enough), and homosexuality.

To the surprise of no one, many Jewish commentators on the Noahide Laws fail to mention that last bit. Although some make it crystal clear that homosexuality is indeed a violation of this Noahide Law, many glibly gloss over the whole LGBT issue by simply leaving it out of the mix, and I have my own pet theory as to why this might be the case.

As everyone on the planet knows, people today have no choice but to tacitly acquiesce to the whole LGBT agenda if they don't want to be pilloried for failing to be tolerant, inclusive, diverse, and affirming, and instead wind up being branded as a homophobic bigot (and if I missed any of the buzzwords du jour, feel free to let me know).

But the simple truth is that the great majority of normal (yeah, normal) people aren't really comfortable with the LGBT thing—they don't really like it or feel inclined to support it, and they certainly don't want their kids exposed to it. And why on earth should they? Most instinctively know it's just...wrong. But they refrain from expressing those perfectly natural feelings due to the social pressure brought to bear by the gay mafia...er, I mean the LGBT community (four letters...that's it).

Well, I've got bad news for Rainbow Brigade. Under the Noahide Laws, that's all gonna change. Under these laws, homosexuals and their ilk will be targeted—and the penalty for violating this law will be the same as for violating any of the others: death by decapitation.

Now, stop and think. When the Noahide Laws are enforced, do you think the majority of people will scream and cry about how this universal moral code isn't tolerant, inclusive, diverse, and affirming because it fails to embrace and support the gay mafia's agenda? Au contraire. If anything, this law will be viewed as freeing society from the tyranny of a small minority of sexual deviants who demand special rights and delight in forcing their perversion down the throats of others, and it will get a thumbs up from billions of people who have chafed under that tyranny for too long.

Satan's useful idiots: In my humble opinion, the LGBT crowd is one of Satan's biggest gaggles of useful idiots, and he's going to play them for all they're worth. He is going to use them as a tool to prep society to be more willing to embrace the Noahide Laws when they finally come to the fore, since the great majority of people will instinctively sense that eliminating the scourge of homosexuality that has been forced on them is a step in the right direction for mankind. As a result, the world will be that much more inclined to be accepting of this new universal moral code.

5. Do not steal.

Corresponds to the Eighth Commandment.

6. Establish courts of law.

This is basically a command to set up courts of law and a justice system for the primary purpose of upholding and enforcing the other six Noahide Laws, in addition to other pertinent statutes and regulations.

7. Do not eat meat taken from a living animal.

According to rabbinic tradition, this is supposedly the one extra command that God gave to Noah that He didn't originally give to Adam.

This is based on the following passage of Scripture:

God was giving Noah and by extension all of mankind express permission to consume meat—the only stipulation was that it was not to contain blood (see also Acts 15:19–20). This may have been to teach man to respect the inherent sanctity of blood, which He wanted to teach them to connect with atonement for sin, not T-bone steaks.

But how can they do that?!

As I said, Public Law 102-14 with its silent attachment of the Noahide Laws establishes a potential legal basis for beheading every Christian in America. But how can they do that?! I mean, this is America, for crying out loud—the land of the free and the home of the brave and all that. We've got a Constitution! We've got Amendments!

We've got rights, for Pete's sake!

How in the world do you get from that whole "freedom of religion" thing to beheading Christians?!

Good question. Yes, we do have a Constitution—we do have Amendments. Speaking of which, let's have a look at the First Amendment:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

The First Amendment packs a real constitutional punch, guaranteeing a total of six distinct freedoms:

1. Freedom of Religion—the Establishment Clause
2. Freedom of Religion—the Free Exercise Clause
3. Freedom of Speech
4. Freedom of the Press
5. Freedom of Assembly
6. Freedom of Petition

For the purposes of this article, however, we are only going to look at the first two of these, the part pertaining to freedom of religion.

Public Law 102-14 says that the Noahide Laws "have been the bedrock of society from the dawn of civilization" and constitute the "historical tradition of ethical values and principles which are the basis of civilized society and upon which our great Nation was founded." I'm sorry...our nation was founded on them? Actually it wasn't...but that sure makes the Noahide Laws sound actionable and enforceable.

Public Law 102-14 says that America should never lose sight of its "responsibility to transmit these historical ethical values from our distinguished past to the generations of the future." That sure makes it sound like we need education programs to teach them to our children.

Public Law 102-14 also says that the President of the United States will sign an "international scroll" with "other heads of state" in order to "return the world to the moral and ethical values contained in the Seven Noahide Laws." That sure makes it sound like this is not just for the U.S., but for the whole world.

But what about this idea of making the Noahide Laws the law of the land? Since the Noahide Laws are religious in nature, wouldn't enforcing them on American citizens be unconstitutional?

You bet your sweet bippy it would be unconstitutional.

Pop quiz:

Q1. Would enforcing the Noahide Laws on Americans constitute the making of a law respecting the establishment of religion?

A. Yes, absolutely. It establishes a body of religious laws that must be followed, wouldn't you agree?

Q2. Would doing so constitute prohibiting the free exercise of religion?

A. Yes, absolutely. If you can be decapitated for violating any of these laws, you don't have freedom to exercise any other religion, wouldn't you agree?

And there you have it: Making Public Law 102-14 part of the law of the land and enforcing the Noahide Laws on Americans is overtly unconstitutional. The Constitution protects us from such shenanigans—that's exactly what it was meant to do.

And the Constitution will continue to protect us
from such things—that is, as long as it's in force.

Which leads us to the third of our pop quiz questions:

Q3. What would cause the U.S. Constitution to no longer be in force?

A. Martial law.

If the president declares martial law, the Constitution is temporarily suspended and it remains suspended until order is restored and the president sees fit to return the country to constitutional rule.

So, for extra credit:

Q. How many hours do you think it will take for the president to declare martial law in the panic and chaos following the Rapture?

A. What makes you think it will take a whole hour?

Never forget: The Rapture is going to plunge the world into a state of terrified chaos the likes of which it has never seen. I simply cannot stress this enough. Several hundred million people will suddenly disappear in a global supernatural event that will shake the world to its very core, and nothing will ever be the same. Terror and chaos will ensue, and Satan is going to use it for all it's worth. Trust me...the imposition of martial law will be the least of people's worries.

Not only that, but I am convinced that once martial law is declared following the Rapture, America will never see a return to constitutional rule. I believe the day of the Rapture will be the last day the Constitution of this once-great nation will ever see the light of day. I believe something dark and sinister will take the place of constitutional rule in America and other countries, and before you can say "suspension of habeas corpus," the Tribulation will be in full swing.

Scriptural tie-ins

So, the scenario that will emerge during the Tribulation appears to be one characterized by martial law, which will open the door to the advent of the Noahide Laws that were surreptitiously positioned by a group of Orthodox Jews to become the law of the land in the worldwide panic and upheaval following the Rapture. Not only that, but it appears likely to me that the Seven Noahide Laws will provide the basic moral code that will undergird the one-world religion that will come to global prominence during the Tribulation.

When the Noahide Laws are finally in force, it will open the floodgates to the convictions and executions of people who have come to faith in Christ during the Tribulation, either as a result of the preaching of the 144,000 or through other means. We see the first wave of these Tribulation believers in Revelation 6, when Jesus opens the fifth seal judgment:

The next wave of martyred Tribulation saints comes in chapter 7, and is attributed to the evangelistic efforts of the 144,000 Jewish apostle Pauls who will take the gospel throughout the post-Rapture world. The 144,000 are first introduced in Revelation 7:4–8, and notice what starts happening in the very next verse:

A huge number of people from "every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages" (which proves they are Gentiles) begin showing up in heaven (which proves they are believers and are...well, dead).

These martyred Tribulation saints are also mentioned in chapter 20, where in addition to being told why they are killed, we are told exactly how:

Now we know why all of these believers are in heaven during the Tribulation and how they got there—they have been beheaded for violating the first Noahide Law that prohibits idolatry. Plus we are told the nature of that idolatry in no uncertain terms—their testimony of Jesus Christ.

The Lord also gives us some insight into what will happen during the Tribulation in the Olivet Discourse, and it jives perfectly with what we have learned of the consequences of the Noahide Laws that will be in effect.

For example, here is Matthew's version of some of Christ's words concerning the persecution believers will face during the Tribulation:

Here is Mark's parallel version of the same passage:

And Luke's version:

BOOM BOOM BOOM...same deal: Believers will be put to death, and for the same reason we saw in Revelation 6. They will be put to death for the "testimony of the Lamb," or as Jesus puts it in His private briefing on the Mount of Olives:

"For my name's sake."

Jesus is telling them straight out that believers will be killed during the Tribulation for His name's sake. In other words, the preceding passages of Scripture make it thunderingly clear that during the Tribulation...

People will be beheaded for worshiping Jesus Christ
as their Lord and Savior, which will be considered
idolatry and blasphemy against the oneness of God.

One other verse that comes to mind is the following:

Here, Jesus is clearly talking about the fate of the disciples to whom He is speaking—verse 4 makes that obvious. I don't dispute that point. But like many prophetic passages in the Bible, I believe this also has eschatological overtones that will come to fruition in the end times. In this case, during the Tribulation under the Noahide Laws.

The Orthodox Jews responsible for slipping the Noahide Laws into a position to become enforcable law in the aftermath of the Rapture absolutely believe they are serving God with all due diligence. When the time comes that the Noahide Laws are in force and the Jews are swooning over their false Messiah, they will sincerely believe they are paving the way for the World to Come—a world where everyone worships God in a manner that excludes the real Messiah Jesus Christ. And killing millions of people they judge to be guilty of idolatry and blasphemy by worshiping that real Messiah will most certainly be seen as doing God a worthy, highly commendable service.

Here is another intriguing point about what Jesus told His disciples in the Olivet Discourse, and it warrants a wee bit of background.

As I said, the penalty for violating any of the Noahide Laws is decapitation, but note that this speaks primarily to Gentiles. The rules are less stringent for Jews, and more in-depth proceedings must be carried out before condemning a Jew according to traditional rabbinical teaching. That's because Orthodox Jews have developed a doctrine that can only be described as satanically inspired mysticism that teaches that the soul of a Jew is superior to that of a non-Jew, and that the Jews' ultimate divine purpose is to rule over the Gentiles, both now and in the World to Come.

And if you think that sounds nutty, trust me: This is just the tip of the iceberg in regard to the bizarre, satanic body of doctrine taught by Chabad, which has become the largest Orthodox Jewish movement in the world. Also known as Chabad-Lubavitch or the Lubavitch movement, this Orthodox Jewish sect was founded in 1775, and Rabbi Schneerson (the group's seventh leader), was largely responsible for making Chabad the Jewish juggernaut it is today. In fact, many of Schneerson's followers were convinced he was the Messiah, and after his death on June 12, 1994 at the age of 92, many of them were convinced he would rise from the grave after three days to assume that role.

He didn't...and many are still waiting.

Huh, that's weird...I wonder where they got the crazy idea that the Messiah would rise from the grave on the third day after his death.

Incidentally, I want you to actually see the mandate to behead Gentiles for violating any of the Noahide Laws so you don't think I'm making this stuff up. The following is from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, and you can rest assured that Chabad still extols these same principles:

As you can see, if a Gentile violates any one of the Noahide Laws, the punishment is decapitation. Note also that unlike "spiritually superior" Jews, our transgressing non-Jewish knave may be condemned on the testimony of a single witness, even a family member.

OK, now let's take a closer look at what Jesus said in the Olivet Discourse. Here is a line from Mark's version, and the parallel line from Luke's version:

While Matthew doesn't mention these details concerning specific family relationships, the Holy Spirit inspired both Mark and Luke to record the fact that certain family members will betray each other and cause other family members to be killed for His name's sake.

Mark has the following family members betraying other family members:

(a) Brothers betraying brothers.
(b) Fathers betraying sons.
(c) Children betraying parents.

Similarly, Luke has our future Tribulation believer being...

(a) Betrayed by parents.
(b) Betrayed by brothers.
(c) Betrayed by kinfolks.
(d) Betrayed by friends.

Did you catch it?

If you go back and re-read the quote from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, you'll notice that it says a Gentile can be "convicted on the testimony of one witness, even on that of relatives, but not on that of a woman."

OK, so...

Q. What is true in every single one of the above cases?

A. Never is anyone betrayed by a woman.

It says brothers, but not sisters. Fathers and parents, but not mothers. Children, but not daughters. Kinfolks, but not aunts, nieces, or sisters-in-law. Friends, but not girlfriends.

You never have a believer being condemned by a woman alone.

In other words, two thousand years ago the Holy Spirit inspired these Gospel writers to carefully avoid any specific mention of the possibility of a believer being condemned to death during the Tribulation on the testimony of one woman, precisely as stipulated by the rabbinical interpretation of the Noahide Laws that will be the legal basis for such convictions.

Cha-ching. Listen, never forget one thing about the Bible:

Every single word is there for a reason, and not there for a reason.

Finally, there is something in these passages in Mark and Luke that I have read a thousand times, but it never really penetrated my spirit until now.

First, let me ask you a question, and I want you to do your best to be as honest as possible in your answer.

Imagine that you have been arrested on charges of idolatry and blasphemy for being a believer who worships Jesus Christ, and the penalty is death by decapitation. Go ahead, really try to visualize it. See the courtroom, the judge, the bailiff. Before sentencing you, the judge gives you an opportunity to speak in your own defense, and let's assume that if you strenuously renounce your faith in Christ, there is a chance you might be released. Otherwise, you will be led out to a guillotine to have your head chopped off.

What would you do? What would you say?

Relax, I'm not trying to shame anyone, or come across like some kind of spiritual macho man. In reality, I can scarcely imagine what I'd do or say.

I have this fantasy where I leap up on the table and shake my fist in the judge's face and shout: "I have only one thing to say, your honor...EVERY KNEE WILL BOW AND EVERY TONGUE WILL CONFESS THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD...and that includes YOU!!" Then they lead me out of the courtroom, and with my head held high, I start belting out "Onward Christian Soldiers" to the raucous cheers and fist pumps of other believers who are awaiting the same fate.

And then I have this other fantasy where I cry and ask for my mommy.

What I want you to notice, however, is something Christ told His disciples that night on the Mount of Olives, when He spoke of the coming persecution. As I said, I've blown right by this countless times, but it finally struck me. He told them they would be betrayed, taken into custody, and killed; but He also told them not to worry about what they were going to say, because the Holy Spirit would give them the words. Here's Mark's version:

What an astounding statement! Millions of believers are going to be led to the guillotine during the Tribulation, and straight up—we can't even grasp the horror of that. In your darkest nightmare, can you even conceive of how you or some of the people in your church would handle that?

Jesus is telling His disciples and by extension those who will be affected by this during the Tribulation to not even worry about it. The Holy Spirit will give them the words at the moment of truth. Believers who are blessed to live during the Church Age, who enjoy the sealing and indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, are promised in God's Word to escape the horrors being spoken of via the blessed hope of the Rapture. But these people...

These believers will be given a special anointing of the Holy Spirit when it comes time for an earthly judge to convict them for their testimony, and I guaran-dog-tee you that they will go to their deaths in a way that glorifies the Righteous Judge.

Wow. Just wow. Glory to God! Our Heavenly Father is not slack in providing exactly what His children need, exactly when they need it. And I have no doubt that these verses of Scripture in Mark 13:11 and Luke 21:12–15 will be well-worn passages for believers during the Tribulation, and will bring them no small amount of comfort when they need it most.

Just the facts

When I was a kid, one television show I enjoyed was Dragnet, a popular police series starring Jack Webb as Sgt. Joe Friday. In many episodes, Sgt. Friday would interview some female eyewitness to a crime, and he would invariably deadpan "All we want are the facts, ma'am," or, as it is more commonly recalled, "Just the facts, ma'am."

A couple of months ago, one of my brothers in Christ and a fellow watchman named Jerry, who maintains an excellent Christian blog called A New Name, shared with me an article he had just posted. One of his goals in the piece was to basically scare spiritual fence-sitters down off the fence with sobering tales of how unlikely it will be that people who reject the gospel before the Rapture will be saved after the Rapture and on into the Tribulation. We kicked around a few of the ideas presented in the article via email, and I recall that at one point during our discussion I said something along the following lines:

Just tell them the facts—if that doesn't scare 'em, nothing will.

Just the facts...and the facts are these:

Generally speaking, those who come to faith in Christ at any point after the Rapture can ultimately be divided into two broad groups:

(a) Those who are killed for His name's sake—those who are arrested, convicted of idolatry and blasphemy because they worship Jesus Christ as Lord, and are sent to the guillotine to have their heads cut off.

(b) Those who are forced to desperately seek to do anything in their power to avoid that fate and survive to the end of the Tribulation.

There is another possibility, however, that neatly and permanently dispenses with both (a) and (b). If you have never done so, you can humble your heart before God right now—a holy, just, loving God that down deep you sense you are spiritually separated from because of your sin, and believe in faith that His Son's death purchased your forgiveness and His resurrection promises you eternal life...and simply ask and trust in Him to forgive you and save you.

He will—and that's a fact.

Greg Lauer — AUG '19

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