Indicator Light

As the world stumbles and careens down the rocky road toward the Tribulation, there is something that the people of the world increasingly ache for. And to an ever increasing degree, fail to find:

Comfort.

Sadly, born-again believers are not immune to such feelings. We all know how it feels to be in need of comfort and encouragement—of something to assuage the feelings of pain, grief, disappointment, frustration, uncertainty, and despair that we all grapple with from time to time, especially over the course of the last two turbulent years.

As I discussed in an article about two years ago, I am convinced that around the beginning of 2020, when the coronavirus first became a global issue, something in the world fundamentally changed. It's as if there was a distinct click—a slight jerk—and ever since then nothing has been the same. I wrote at the time that I believed the world had begun its ascent up the lift hill, just like a roller coaster at the very beginning of the ride. There is a slight jerk as the train begins to be pulled up a long, straight hill; and as soon as it is deposited over that first crest, the wild ride begins.

That "wild ride" is the Tribulation, and we're not quite there yet.

But just like a roller coaster, we are being pulled relentlessly up the lift hill and that first crest is coming into view.

I don't need to tell you that over the last two years, there are a number of believers who have begun to experience their first taste of persecution—and I have no doubt whatsoever that it's going to get ramped up in the future. Christians in America are generally being lumped together with right-wing, Trump-supporting conservatives (which is a crime in and of itself in the minds of many in the liberal left); and as I have discussed before, I am convinced this is by design.

Satan is busily crafting a society in which a large group of people (which includes most believers) is being set up to be singled out and persecuted in preparation for the Antichrist's kingdom in which such people won't merely be persecuted—they will be executed. Just for different reasons.

What prompted me to write this article, however, is a little something the Holy Spirit brought to my attention in a well-known passage of Scripture, and it made me realize something fundamentally important that I had never consciously considered before.

I believe the trials and tribulations that many of us began experiencing two years ago, especially in regard to the current plandemic, are a type of indicator light. The lockdowns, the mask mandates, the vaccine mandates, and the entire morass of boldface lies, calculated disinformation, denial and denigration of real science, and useless, draconian restrictions that have done nothing but damage, destroy, and endanger lives and divide society—along with the growing need for comfort that they are producing in the hearts of believers are a bit like an indicator light, such as you might see on the dashboard of your car, or in the cockpit of an aircraft.

I think what it reminds me of the most is the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS). The EGPWS is a system used in aircraft that was developed in the 1990s and has been required by the FAA since 2001, and it gives the flight crew a warning if the aircraft is approaching the terrain in an unanticipated manner. This would be the case in a rapid, unexpected descent, a dangerously close approach to a mountain, etc. I believe this sudden increasing need for comfort in the hearts of many believers is a bit like an EGPWS indicator light that has started flashing—only instead of indicating that the side of a mountain is dead ahead, this indicator light is telling us something quite different:

This indicator light is telling us the Rapture is dead ahead.

First, a word about hope

Although it is clear that much of what the New Testament authors wrote applied to the people of the day, it is equally clear that the bulk of it also applies to the entire Church throughout the entire Church Age.

The New Testament is filled with teaching that not only spoke to the fledgling Church of the first century, but that reverberates through the corridors of time to the Church of the twenty-first century. God's Word has proven itself to be brimming with timeless spiritual wisdom and instruction that is in no danger of going out of style or becoming outdated.

One such verse that did handsprings off the pages of my Bible recently is tacked onto the end of one of the most well-known passages of Scripture in the entire New Testament, and one that is near and dear to the hearts of those who look forward to the catching away of the body of Christ:

We're going to circle back for verse 18 in a moment, but the first thing I want you to notice in that verse is that "these words" Paul is referring to comprise more than just the promise of the event of the Rapture itself (as if that weren't enough). The Thessalonian believers were in a state of distress not only due to the persecution they were suffering, but because they were worried that their loved ones who had recently died would somehow miss out on this harpazo event that Paul had taught them about. So, Paul wastes no time in assuring them that their departed loved ones will be with Christ when He returns to catch them away.

But notice in verse 13 Paul's stated reason for telling them what he's about to tell them:

"...so that you don't grieve like the rest, who have no hope."

Please don't miss this. Paul is telling the Thessalonians in no uncertain terms that unbelievers have no hope—no hope of ever seeing their departed loved ones again. No hope of eternal life in heaven. No hope of being received by a loving God to dwell with Him forever.

No hope—no nothing.

But we do have this hope. That's what we have in Christ—and to be honest, that's pretty much the long and the short of it:

Eternal life in heaven.

That's the whole enchilada right there. The fact that we have eternal life in heaven to look forward to overshadows everything. A number of passages highlight this, and here's one that I particularly like:

Everything else (including the event of the Rapture) is window dressing to this fundamental reality. Our source of hope is the simple fact that—thanks to our faith in Christ's finished work of atonement and that alone—we will spend an unspeakably joy-filled eternity in heaven with a God who loves us more than we can comprehend.

That's our hope, and it is a hope that
transcends everything else in existence.

So when the clouds roll in and the darkness begins to fall all around us, that is a hope that we can grab hold of and embrace long and hard, and that can sustain us through the worst of times—times when we need to read Romans 8:28 about 828 times:

Of course, hope and comfort are two somewhat different things. Your hope of eternal life in heaven may be rock solid, but that's future. But today you learned that you will lose your job unless you get a vaccine—but getting one troubles your conscience (which according to 1 Cor. 8 makes it a sin for you personally, not to put too fine a point on it). Today you learned you were going to have to homeschool your kids because of idiotic COVID restrictions. Today you discovered that your bank account is frozen because you donated money to those who are peacefully protesting government tyranny (if you live in Canada, that is—and I sure hope my fellow Yanks are paying attention). That's a different kettle of fish, and illustrates the fundamental difference between the two:

Hope is the belief that things
will work out well in the future.

Comfort is what you need when things
aren't working out so well right now.

Hope is more of a someday thing—comfort is more of a today thing. But I wanted to briefly touch on this idea of hope because Paul says those who don't have Christ have no hope. So...what do they have?

Just like you, I talk to unbelievers every day. And also like you, presumably, I can honestly say that the great majority of those people certainly don't strike me as being utterly without hope. So what's the deal? Are they without hope, or aren't they?

When it comes to the type of hope that pertains to one's eternal destiny, we have Satan to thank for the fact that most of the unbelievers we meet don't openly display that lack of hope that God's Word says characterizes them because they have rejected His stunning offer of grace and mercy.

For starters, Satan blinds men's minds to the truth of the gospel (2 Cor. 4:4). That's his forte, but that's not all he's got in his bag of tricks.

By churning out literally thousands of gods, religions, and belief systems that are based on man's wisdom (ignorance?), he offers people a veritable smorgasbord of tantalizing possibilities to pick and choose from, the great majority of which find various ways to turn the holy, just, loving God of the Bible into a cosmic Santa Claus, the Force, or something in between that is just as palatable to people who are navigating via their sin nature.

And a politically correct society is keen to mock and eviscerate anyone who dares question the validity of such vain imaginings, or meekly suggest that a ragtag collection of error-riddled myths and legends scrawled on parchment by ancient Bedouins is the absolute truth that trumps these towering edifices of man's greatest wisdom.

We are immersed in a world that offers an endless array of glittering trinkets that do nothing but lure people away from God and that people can appropriate as substitutes for the eternal spiritual truth that He has given us in His Word. John summarizes the problem thusly:

The world overwhelms people with things that do nothing but draw them away from the Father and the truth of His Word, and cloud their vision of their need for Him and what lies ahead in eternity. And every one of us was once part of that world—every one of us is all too familiar with the pull of what the world has to offer.

People find things in the world to quench their thirst for hope, and the search never ends. When those things begin to fade and fail to satisfy, they simply search for something more appealing—something that promises to fill the gaping hole at the core of their spirit. And they keep right on searching because they never find what they lack: a spiritual relationship with the God who created them and loves them and provided the means for them to be reconciled and at peace with Him.

As a result, their lives become an endless search for things that do nothing but give them an ultimately false sense of hope—but that's the best the world can give them because that's all it has to offer. And as I wrote this passage, I confess that the following thought struck me:

What a miracle it is that any of us are saved!

But miracles are right up God's alley, and He certainly performed one on me—and I trust He has done the same for you. I pray you possess the same hope of eternal life in heaven that permeates my being—and if you do, I know you understand that we only have that because we have Christ.

That's essentially what Paul is telling us in verse 13.

Comforting those who need comfort

But back to verse 18, which is actually what I came to discuss. At the tail end of what is arguably Paul's premier teaching on the Rapture, he ends with an admonition to "comfort one another with these words." I'm sure a lot of people blow right by this final verse (as did I until I wrote this article), and regard it as little more than a quaint way to tie a bow on the passage and close out the thought, much as if Paul had written something along the following lines:

"And that's the Rapture in a nutshell, gang. Now, on to other things..."

After all, verse 18 certainly doesn't add anything to the doctrinal mechanics of the Rapture—it gives us no additional information about how it works or its timing. But you know what I always say about Scripture:

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

In reality, the believers in Thessalonica Paul was writing to were deeply in need of comfort. In 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Paul is writing to a congregation that was suffering severe persecution. These were believers who were being prevented from practicing their trades and otherwise being excluded from local commerce; they were being ostracized from society; they were being cheated, harassed, and discriminated against in various ways; they were being beaten and physically intimidated—and some had been killed.

So, Paul is clearly admonishing the Thessalonians to use what he has just told them to give comfort to their fellow believers at a time when they were truly in need of such comfort.

The Greek verb Paul uses that is translated "comfort" above is a form of parakaleo, which can actually have a variety of meanings, including:

— to admonish or exhort
— to summon
— to beg, entreat, or beseech
— to instruct or teach
— to encourage
— to console or comfort...

...and a few others. In 1 Thessalonians 4:18, the great majority of English translations render it as either "comfort" or "encourage."

Paul wanted the believers in Thessalonica to comfort and encourage each other by reminding one another that their departed loved ones would certainly meet them in the air at the Rapture—that they wouldn't miss a thing. He wanted them to comfort each other in their suffering and various persecutions with the fact that someday the Lord would descend from heaven with a shout, and they would be caught up to be with the Lord and their departed loved ones in the clouds, and that they would all be with the Lord forever.

And I have little doubt that the Thessalonians did just that.

Pass it on: Of course, even though Paul admonishes the Thessalonians to comfort each other, it is God from whom that comfort actually flows so that we can both be comforted ourselves and comfort others. After all, they don't call His Spirit "the Comforter" for nothing:

But the thought that struck me recently was this:

I know the Holy Spirit added verse 18 about
"comforting one another" because He knew the
Thessalonian believers were in need of comfort.

But were the Thessalonians the only group
of believers that verse 18 was directed at?

No, obviously not—I'm not trying to be coy. As I said, the bulk of New Testament teaching applies to the entire Church for the entire Church Age, and there is no reason to believe 1 Thessalonians 4:18 is any exception. After all, Paul's seminal teaching about the Rapture in the preceding few verses obviously applies to the entire Church up until the final moment of the Church Age!

It's just that I had never stopped to consciously consider the relationship between verse 18 and today's modern Church. If I thought anything at all, I just thought "Oh, those poor Thessalonians!" and went on my way. I never had any compelling reason to connect it to believers today in America, who had never tasted any real persecution.

But the times, they are a changin'... So, with that thought in mind, let's fast forward a little over 17 centuries...W-H-O-O-S-H!!

A little over 17 centuries later...

If you're a hardcore U.S. history buff, you might be aware of the fact that in New York City on April 30, 1789, George Washington was inaugurated as America's first president. What most people don't know, however, was that it had been decided three days earlier that following the ceremony, all of Congress would walk over to nearby St. Paul's Chapel to "hear divine service."

So after Washington was officially inaugurated as our first president, the entire Senate and House of Representatives dutifully marched over to St. Paul's Chapel and spent (by some accounts) three to four hours praying and seeking God's blessing and guidance for our newborn nation.

Of course, God had plans for America. We would become a home for the gospel and a base for the promulgation thereof like no other nation in history, and we would become the primary benefactor of the nation of Israel 159 years later when God regathered His people as a nation in fulfillment of His Word.

The one and only: Don't make the same mistake that I see some make by assuming that the United States is in covenant with God. It ain't, plain and simple. Nothing I just described constitutes America's being in a covenant relationship with God. There is, has been, and will forever be only one such nation on earth, and that's Israel (Gen. 15). And America is not Israel. Yes, we dedicated our nation to God. Yes, our Founding Fathers were godly men who sought God's blessing and guidance from day one. Yes, God has used our nation mightily and blessed it like few other nations in history. But this does not translate to America's being in a covenant relationship with God, and anyone who thinks otherwise is confused about the biblical meaning of the words "covenant relationship" and needs to go back and reread Genesis 15 carefully. End of conversation.

As home to the gospel and the de facto headquarters of the real Church (no, not Rome...good grief, don't even get me started), born-again believers in America as a group have never been the victims of organized, widespread persecution. There have been certain groups here and there that have had some problems over the years, but nothing that even approaches the kind of persecution the Church has experienced and is currently experiencing in some countries, such as in China and various Islamic countries.

As a result, one of the focused efforts of the Church in America has long been to provide comfort and support to believers in other countries. After all, we don't need such comfort—this is America, by gosh. We're Christian nation numero uno—a beacon for the world. The U.S. is Gospel Central.

But I don't have to remind you how things have changed in this country over the last generation or so. It has reached the point where America is knocking itself out to erase any trace of God and His Word from our society, and a dismissive loathing for all things godly has replaced anything resembling biblical morality at the highest (and deepest) levels of our government. And one thing is painfully clear:

We are paying the price for it.

And just like everything in stores these days, the price is going up.

And now—in just the past two years, with the advent of all the COVID lunacy, a stolen election and the fraudulent puppet government that was installed in its wake, a liberal left that mocks Christians as mindless, Trump-supporting, anti-vax zombies that need to be placed in re-education camps, vaccine mandates that force people to get vaccinated against the dictates of their conscience, ad infinitum, ad nauseam, believers in America are beginning to face the specter of real persecution for the first time.

As a result, the Church in America is just beginning to move into the purview of what Paul wrote to the Thessalonians two thousand years ago about "comforting one another with these words."

Like the Thessalonians, we are becoming more in need of such comfort with each passing day—and that is likely to continue and intensify.

I believe that when the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write "comfort one another with these words," He clearly had other groups of believers in mind, including the end-time Church in the United States.

A disturbingly large portion of the Church in America has sat fat, dumb, and happy in their fancy megachurches listening to politically correct, pop-psychology sermonettes and dabbling in a slew of trendy social causes for too long, and some within that group are in the process of being shaken awake by the reality that the world hates believers because it hated Christ. This is the bunch the Lord saved for last in His seven letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2–3, and notice that this is the only one of the seven that received no commendation whatsoever from the Lord:

They "have need of nothing"—and that would include comfort in the midst of persecution. However, verse 19 tells us that in the last days prior to the Rapture (which forms the backdrop of verse 21), that is going to change. I won't be dogmatic about it, but I believe the "rebuking" and "chastening" Jesus mentions in verse 19 may well be connected with the persecution that is beginning to come into view for the end-time Church in America.

One interesting thing I noticed while working on this article is the fact that just as Paul's Rapture passage in 1 Thessalonians 4 invokes the idea of comforting believers, Jesus basically does the exact same thing in His veiled reference to the Rapture in the Last Supper Discourse:

"Let not your heart be troubled..." In other words:

"Take comfort in what I am about to tell you—which is the fact that I am going to prepare a place for you and that one day I am returning to receive you to myself and take you to be where I am."

Jesus has just informed His disciples that He would be departing (John 13:33–37), and they were troubled and confused by this. So, the comfort Jesus mentions in verse 1 is appropriate for the moment. But in the years to follow, the disciples would arguably find themselves in greater need of such comfort than anyone in the history of the Church.

By the way, some try to make verse 3 out to be the Second Coming and not the Rapture, but that's a fail. At the Second Coming, we are already with Christ where He is—which is heaven, and He is bringing us with Him back to earth to rule and reign with Him in the kingdom. Forgive me for pointing out the obvious, but this simply doesn't jive with verse 3. It is only at the Rapture that Jesus comes to receive us to Himself to be where He is—which is heaven. Well...the clouds first, then heaven.

Hey, it's either that or you're stuck trying to squeeze the Great Trampoline Jump into a post-trib Rapture scenario. Good luck with that.

Pull up!

The bottom line is that the Church in America is finally beginning to enter into a period where many believers will know firsthand some degree of genuine persecution—and as it does so, more and more believers will surely be in need of comfort.

And our comfort lies not just in the hope of heaven, but in the blessed hope of how we're gonna get there.

I mean, that is a primary source of comfort for you, isn't it?

If not that, then what? If the blessed hope that one day soon the Lord will descend from heaven with a shout and we will be snatched up to join Him with our departed loved ones to be escorted to our new eternal abode in heaven is not a major source of comfort for you in dark times, then pray tell, what is? What comforts you in this earthly life, exactly? The prospect of finding a better job? Of getting a raise? Of settling in for a cozy retirement? Of achieving greater success and recognition in your field?

I'm just asking, OK? Now, there is nothing wrong with these and many other things that God often blesses us with. But are those the kinds of things that bring you comfort in troubled times, when things are looking bleak and it feels as if the book of Revelation is unfolding before your very eyes?

I pray they are not, because we've got something so much better to look forward to that it beggars description. This is one reason why I won't budge a nanometer with those who mishandle God's Word in regard to the Rapture and fail to see that the pre-tribulation scenario is the only one that makes a lick of scriptural sense. Forget all that "agree to disagree" stuff. I'm as serious as a blip on a CT scan...my heart aches for believers who have allowed themselves to be robbed of the blessed hope of the Rapture by errant Bible teaching. And note that the pre-trib Rapture is the only one that offers a glimmer of said hope (mid-trib would be a distant second if it were scripturally viable).

And before God—if I get to heaven and discover that something I wrote delivered even one single person from the hopeless mess that are the other views of the timing of the Rapture, it will make my eternity.

To the extent that the Church in America begins to enter into the arena of persecution, to that extent we are coming into line with Paul's admonition to the Thessalonians to comfort one another with the precious promises regarding the Rapture and the fact that we are going to be caught up to be with the Lord and our departed loved ones for a mind-blowing eternity in God's presence.

Now, I'm certainly not trying to present this as some kind of prophetic fulfillment, but I might call it an example of "prophetic resonance," for lack of a better term. The reason I say that is because up until just a couple of years ago, 1 Thessalonians 4:18 didn't "resonate" with the Church in America. We had no experience with persecution to speak of, and as a result we had correspondingly little need to comfort one another with the promise of His return to catch us away to be with Him at the Rapture. Many would read that verse and blithely assume that it was just those poor Thessalonians and perhaps other first-century congregations who needed such comfort.

But now, for the first time, it's starting to look
as if 1 Thessalonians 4:18 has the end-time
American Church's name written all over it.

I don't know about you, but I think that's significant. I am inclined to believe that means something—and unless I miss my guess, you know as well as I do exactly what it means.

When the EGPWS indicator light begins flashing in an aircraft, the flight crew is liable to hear an urgent-sounding warning:

WHOOP-WHOOP...PULL UP!

I believe this suddenly increasing exposure to persecution the Church in America is beginning to experience and the resultant need for the comfort provided by the blessed hope and promise of the Rapture is a flashing indicator light that resonates with 1 Thessalonians 4:18.

Only instead of telling us to pull up, it's telling us...

WHOOP-WHOOP...YOU'RE ABOUT TO BE PULLED UP!

Greg Lauer — FEB '22

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