"Will the saints of God go through the first half of the tribulation?"

Will the saints of God go through the first half of the tribulation?

Hello and welcome to Jeshurun Ministry GB in the Bahamas. I want to make this crystal clear. The Father never intended for us to be able to predict the return of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we must always be ready. And while I now believe scripture seem to be saying the saints of God will go through the first half of the tribulation, we must be ready every single day for His return because no one really knows. We neither know for sure when He will call any of us nor when He will return for the body of Christ.

I will discuss three deceptions here in this message. Number one, during the days of the Apostle Paul, a false report that Jesus Christ had already begun to come began circulating among the disciples and followers of Christ. The news of this spread like wildfire. And the perpetrators of this fake news, saying that the day of the Lord had already begun to come, went about claiming that they heard this from the Apostle Paul himself. This false report caused much anxiety among some members of Christ's newly established church, and some people quit their jobs. This was happening in a way similar to the way many resigned from their jobs this past September 23rd because of a prophecy by a South African false prophet who said that Christ would come on September 23rd, 2025. In Paul's day, those who quit their jobs became a burden to the church because the church now needed to take care of them.

Paul responded to these lies in a stern letter to the Thessalonian church, telling them not to be so easily discouraged and urged them to go back to work. Here's what he told them. Do not be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Do not believe them even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or even a letter from Paul himself. Second Thessalonians 2 and 2. There were other early Christian communities that were struggling with other evil reports. One such report was that worshiping angels and other spiritual beings was okay. And some of the Colossians began this trend of worshiping spiritual beings other than Jesus Christ.

Father, we thank You for this word today and we pray a blessing on Your holy and precious name and we are grateful for Your Son Jesus Christ who died for us to set us free from the bondage of sin and we patiently await His return. We pray that You will send this message forth with the anointing of Your Holy Spirit to open the eyes of Your faithful Father so that they will never ever be deceived. Protect them, Father, from every deceiver and bless every listener to this message in the holy and the wonderful name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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Be assured we need not be fearful of Christ coming and leaving us behind or coming without the born again believer knowing. This is not possible. According to Revelation 1:7, John says, "Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him." Even so. Amen. The reference to clouds may have come from Daniel 7:13 in which Daniel saw the coming of Christ in a vision and said, "As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a Son of man coming with the clouds of heaven."

The first coming of Jesus Christ was only revealed to the Jews and those visiting Jerusalem at that time. But on the day of Pentecost, many more from all around the world would learn about it. And these were responsible for taking the gospel out to the world. However, His second coming will be completely open for all to see and all will see Christ when He returns.

But what is meant by the phrase, "The tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him." And who are these tribes? Well friend, this refers to all the unbelievers in every nation across the face of the entire globe. All those who have refused to accept that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Deception number two. Another deception will be that quite a number of personalities will come claiming to be Jesus Christ. And this has happened hundreds or even more than a thousand times over these many years. According to Matthew 24:5, Jesus Christ said, "Many will come in my name, saying, "I am the Christ and will deceive many." There are many times throughout history when men have claimed to be Jesus Christ or said that they were the Messiah and history talks about John Nicholas Thom in the early 19th century and also about a man called Arnold Potter. He was a 19th century Church of the Latter-day Saints leader who claimed to be Christ. And we've also met people on the street who had lost their mind and went about claiming to be Jesus Christ.

But the Antichrist will be the most convincing one to make this claim. He will say he is the Messiah. He will claim to be God Almighty and he will exalt himself above God offering salvation and demanding that people worship him. What will make him even more convincing is the fact that he will operate with signs and wonders. Of course, this would be false signs and wonders. However, by the very definitions of his name, the beast, the son of perdition, the son of destruction, the antichrist. We know that he will defy Jesus Christ and all that Christ stands for. He will be the ultimate arch enemy of Christ.

Here's a profile of the Antichrist. The Antichrist will be a strong dictator, a blasphemer, denier of Christ, a persecutor, and what will be most convincing will be his alliance with the false prophet and the signs and wonders they will perform to deceive those on the earth. The Word of God tells us not to believe every spirit, but we are to test or to try or to prove the spirits to see whether they are truly of the Lord. And this is a painstaking process that takes patience and discernment. We do not get in trouble for not immediately accepting that a prophet is from God. However, there can be great danger if they are not of God and we are too quick to place our confidence in them. So friend, do not be so swift to decide whether someone is of the Lord or whether a spiritual move is of God. Always take your time.

One telltale sign is that those who are not of the Lord will speak about worldly things and the world will love them. Often times we hear religious people on the TV or online who are talking in exciting fashion about all the wonderful things that are happening in their ministry and there's no mention of Jesus Christ. They're talking of worldly things and are often not of the Lord. We on the other hand are of God and the world hates us. Those who are of the Lord, however, will hear us. And this is the way we will be able to discern between the spirit of error and the Spirit of Truth.

But here's the key spiritual test. The Word of God says, "Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God." 1 John 4:3. This seems to be such a simple test that we may doubt its effectiveness.

This means that we're not to accept every spiritual person that comes to us with a plan, with an invitation or a doctrine. We're not to study with them. And we are to reject any teachings that do not confirm and affirm this basic truth about the nature of Christ. Yes, that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. There are many who struggle with this. Yet it is basic truth. The reason we are told this in first John is to put us on our guard against the many false prophets that have gone out into the world and are continuing even now.

And all those to whom we speak on the streets that have this antichrist spirit refuse to fully acknowledge that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. They're always hesitant. In other words, they do not believe He was fully God and fully man. And all those who deny this have the spirit of the antichrist according to the Word of God.

And there are a number of denominations including Judaism that deny this. They reject the teaching that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. Muslims consider Him a great prophet but not the divine Son of God. So the spirit of antichrist-ism has preceded the returning of Christ by almost 2,000 years! It has been here that long and in every century thereafter we've had antichrist in the world but the antichrist himself has not yet been revealed.

Deception number three. A third deception will be that many will predict that Christ will come at a certain time or that He is here somewhere. However, we are told, "Then if anyone says to you, look, here's the Christ," or there, "Do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be." Matthew 24 and 23.

Now, as to the coming of Christ, you may recall that I said earlier that on September 23rd, there were many on earth who expected that Christ would come on the 23rd or the 24th of September based on a prophecy by Joshua Mhlakela of South Africa, which turned out to be another false prophecy. Well, scripture tells us in 2 Thessalonians, "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." The falling away has begun, friend, but has not yet fully come, and the antichrist has not been revealed.

Other deceivers were the Millers of the 1840s. A Baptist preacher named William Miller gave March 1843 to March 1844. And so the world was on edge for a year. It was called the great disappointment and led to the formation of several new religious movements including the 7th Day Adventist Church.

The falling away and revelation of the Antichrist must come first. According to 2 Thessalonians 2: 3 and 4, the Antichrist will not come until the rebellion occurs. The text says, "Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first and that man of sin be revealed." So the falling away must come first. It is also called the great rebellion, but most Bible verses call it the apostasy. And I saw one version call it the revolt.

Secondly, the man of sin must be revealed. He is called the son of perdition, the man of lawlessness, the one who is doomed, son of destruction, man of sin, the wicked one.

And thirdly, he will exalt himself above all that is called God or all that is worshiped. So that he sits as God in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God scripture says.

This rebellion that will come is a falling away from God, a rejection of God, and it will be massive. The man of lawlessness will appear on the scene. He will appeal to many who have grown discouraged and tired of waiting for the return of Christ. We are nearing those times today. People are hungry to see the fulfillment of God's promises and many are ready to give up and some will fall for anything that looks good.

Antichrist will rule the saints of God three and a half years. Well, Daniel 7:25 speaks of this man, saying, "He shall speak pompous words against The Most High. He shall persecute the saints of The Most High and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and a half time, but the court shall be seated, and they shall take away his dominion to consume and destroy it forever." This means that the saints of God will be under his rule for three and a half years of tribulation in the earth, which is only the first half of the tribulation. And you will recall that the second half of the tribulation is worse than the first half.

This is backed up in Revelation 13:5 to 8 which says, "And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies and he was given authority to continue for 42 months, three and a half years. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Finally, according to Matthew 24:29, immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. The stars will fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven. And then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. This is the time that He will send His angels with the sound of a trumpet to gather His elect, all the faithful from the four winds or from one end of heaven to the other. God bless His holy and wonderful Word.

You've been listening to this message and perhaps you do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Well friend, we want to give you an opportunity to make that commitment today. Please engage your heart and say this prayer after me.

• Father, I am a sinner.

• I am sorry for all my sins.

• Dear Lord, I crave Your forgiveness.

• Thank You Lord for forgiving me my sins.

• I have decided to accept Jesus Christ as

  my Lord and Savior.

• Dear Lord Jesus, welcome to my heart.

• I give You the key to my heart today because I want to belong to You forever.

• Please keep the key.

• Please give me the Holy Spirit to lead me into all truth.

• Thank You Lord for saving my soul. Amen.

God bless and keep you in Jesus mighty name. But before you go, make sure you let your pastor know that you've committed your life to Jesus Christ and you want to be baptized the way Christ was baptized.

Begin reading the Word of God every day. It is your daily food. It is necessary to keep you strong. Begin in the book of John then go to Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Pray daily. Attend at your local church. And one glad morning, the Savior will come and receive us all unto Himself.

And we shall forever be with the Lord. God bless and keep you in Jesus mighty name. Amen.