The
“Gospel” During the Great
Tribulation
The Righteous Will Live by Faith
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Elementary
Teachings of the Gospel
My comments in the
previous paragraphs may have caused
some of you a great amount of
distress. You may want to ask:
“So, if this is true, then just
what is the everlasting gospel of
Jesus Christ?” I would respond
by saying, “The everlasting
gospel is the truth about the
relationship that exists between the
government of God, Jesus Christ,
Lucifer and fallen man.” The
following six statements explain this
relationship.
1)
Before there was anything in the
universe, there were three eternal
beings that we call God the Father,
God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
(1 Timothy 1:17; Colossians 1:17;
Hebrews 9:14; Matthew 28:19,20) The
laws of the Trinity are righteous,
supreme, eternal and nonnegotiable.
(James 1:17; Psalms 119:89, 160;
Daniel 4:34; Habakkuk 3:6; Romans
16:26-27) All violators of God’s
laws will receive the wrath of law
that requires death by execution.
(Genesis 2:17; Exodus 12:12,13;
Romans 6:23; Revelation 15:1;
Revelation 20:13-15)
Note:
God’s wrath is defined in this
presentation as the fair and unbiased
administration of a penalty as
required by law. When Adam and Eve
sinned, they were to be executed the
very day they committed their sin
because any violation of God’s
law is death by execution. (Genesis
2:17; 6:7; 13:10; 2 Thessalonians
1:8,9) Why is the consequence so
drastic? Here is the problem. When
sin occurs, the nature of the
violator is instantly changed –
the sinner becomes anti-God. (Adam
and Eve radically changed from having
a propensity toward righteousness to
having a propensity toward rebellion
against God. This happened the very
day they sinned. Remember how they
ran and hid from God? This behavior
shows the sudden change in their
nature. (Genesis 3:8; Romans 8:7)
From the beginning, God decreed that
the penalty for sin was death by
execution. To a liberal society, this
may seem a bit harsh. However, God
knew the ultimate result of sin
– He knew sinful beings would
eventually attempt to destroy Him and
all He had made if they had enough
power, time, and of course, if it
were possible. (See Revelation
12:7-9; 17; 12-14; 19:19,20.)
Violators of God’s law cannot
escape the moral changes that sin
brings. It is “natural” for
all sinners to be anti-God. The only
way to maintain a universe free from
the chaos and deadly infection of sin
is to totally eliminate sin and all
who choose to continue in
lawlessness. (2 Thessalonians 2:12)
Consequently, God executes the wicked
(including the devil and his angels)
at the end of the thousand years with
fire. (Notice that they are thrown
into the lake of fire! Revelation
20:15) Dying from the consequences of
sin (cancer, stroke, accident,
illness) is not to be equated with
paying the penalty of sin (death by
execution). If this was not the case,
all the Father would have to do was
wait for Jesus to grow old on earth
and die “a natural death.”
Please understand this point: The
penalty for sin is not natural death.
Now, follow this logic to its
conclusion: This is the very reason
why Jesus had to be executed at
Calvary.
2)
At a point in time (approximately
6,000 years ago), God the Son created
life on this planet, including man.
(Genesis 1:27; John 1:10; Colossians
1:16; Hebrews 1:2) At that time,
Jesus placed man under the obligation
of law with the promise of immediate
death by execution if man violated
the law. (Genesis 2:17)
Unfortunately, man disobeyed his
Maker. (Genesis 3:6)
3)
Just as Adam and Eve were about to be
executed, Jesus, the Creator of man,
stepped “in the way” and
offered to die in man’s
place.(Genesis 3:15; Hebrews 7:25; 1
John 2:1,2; 2 Thessalonians 2:7) The
law of God, which condemned Adam and
Eve to death, could not be changed.
After Adam and Eve sinned, the Father
had no option but to give the world
to Lucifer as the spoils of his
conquest. (Luke 4:6) However, when
Jesus made the gracious offer to
become man’s intercessor, the
Father accepted Jesus’ offer
based on certain conditions. From
that moment in time, Jesus became
man’s intercessor and will
continue to do so until the problem
with sin is fully resolved.
Jesus’ great love for Adam and
Eve and their offspring prompted His
decision to live on Earth and die the
second death (the penalty for sin).
During Jesus’ earthy life, He
would be tempted to sin, just as Adam
had been tested. (Hebrews 4:15) He
became an over comer and lived a
sinless life; therefore, He was
executed as Adam and Eve deserved-the
guilt of their sins would be
transferred to Himself. (1 John
2:2,3; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Revelation
1:5)
The Bible
indicates that any person’s
guilt can be transferred to Jesus if
they submit to the authority of Jesus
and live by faith in a hostile world.
This is good news of the everlasting
gospel-anyone who puts their faith in
Christ as their “atonement”
Lamb will receive eternal life at the
appointed time and escape the
execution awaiting the wicked at the
end of the 1,000 years. (Luke 8:1;
Acts 5:42; Ephesians 2:8,9; Malachi
4:1; Revelation 20:13-15) Remember,
the Father accepted Jesus’ blood
as atonement for sin because He too,
loved the human race as much as
Jesus. (John 3:16) Yes, Lucifer had
been successful in leading Adam and
Eve to sin, but the Father promised
that the world would be returned to
its rightful owner (and all of the
“faith” people who would
live on it) if Jesus were successful
in redeeming man from the
condemnation of eternal death. (The
spoils do go to the victor!) (Psalms
2:7-12; John 17:6; Hebrews 1:2, 8-13;
Daniel 7:13,14)
Note: Two
points need to be injected here.
First, Jesus created the human race
for the glory of the Father.
(Colossians 1:10-17) When Jesus
offered to become man’s
Redeemer, the Father promised to give
Jesus the world as a gift for the
price He would have to pay. (John
17:2-6) Jesus was found worthy to
receive His kingdom in 1798. (Daniel
7:9,10, 13,14; Revelation 5. For
those individuals who are alive
during the Great Tribulation, every
decision to belong or not belong to
the Kingdom of God will be made by
the time the seventh trumpet is
sounded. (Revelation 11:15)
Jesus’ first action after taking
possession of His kingdom will be to
avenge the suffering of His saints.
(This is the purpose of the seven
last plagues.) Ultimately, Jesus
destroys His enemies. (Revelation
6:10,11; 15:1; 16:4-7; 19:15-21;
Hebrews 10:13)
The second
point that needs to be made is that
although Jesus’ intercession
averted Adam’s and Eve’s
execution that day, they did die
years later due to the consequences
of sin. This is why the Bible often
speaks about the first death as a
temporary sleep (1 Corinthians 15:51;
John 11:11-13; John 6) and the second
death as the eternal or everlasting
death. (Revelation 2:11; 20:6; 21:8)
Many Bible students fail to
distinguish between the consequence
of sin and the penalty of sin.
The wicked will be resurrected at the
end of the 1,000 years to acknowledge
their guilt and receive the penalty
for their rebellion, which is death
by execution.
4)
Since all men have violated
God’s law (Romans 3:23; 1 John
1:10; Romans 3:10), then all men fall
under the penalty of law, death by
execution. For those who reject
Christ’s atonement, this
execution will occur at the end of
the 1,000 years. (John 5:28,29;
12:48; Revelation 20:6, 12-15;
Colossians 3:5,6)
5)
The good news from God is that no one
needs to perish! (2 Peter 3:9; John
3:16; 1 John 5:13) The righteousness
required for salvation has been
provided for all through the life
of Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:10; 1:17;
3:21) The penalty for sin has been
paid by the death Jesus
Christ. (Galatians 3:13,14; 1 Peter
3:18) Unfortunately, human
nature is naturally drawn to rebel
against God, His laws and Kingdom and
it is often hard for sinners to
accept the “good news.”
(Romans 8:7,8) Consequently, the only
way a person can wholeheartedly
submit to god’s laws is to be
born again. (John 3:3) The “born
again” experience cannot be
generated by human will. (We cannot
make ourselves born again.) This is
something alone that God creates in
our hearts and the transformation is
nothing less than a miracle. (John
3:6) The Bible also states that the
born again life requires constant
renewing. (2 Corinthians 13:5; Romans
12:2) However, the flip side of the
coin is this: If anyone knowingly
insists on remaining in a rebellious
state against God, they will be
considered a rebel who will be
resurrected at the end of the
thousand years. According to
God’s law, those who rebel must
pay the penalty for their rebellion
and they will be eternally destroyed
in the lake of fire. (Mark 3:29;
Hebrews 10:26,27; Revelation
20:11-15)
6)
How does a person put their faith in
Christ? To have faith in Christ means
that out of a heart full of love and
gratitude for what He has done, a
person willingly submits to his
authority. (1 John 5:2-4) Does
obedience merit salvation? No.
(Romans 1:17; 3:21,22; Hebrews 4:2-6)
Is obedience necessary for salvation?
Yes. (1 John 2:1-5) I know this
sounds contradictory, but actually,
the relationship is simple. Faith
demonstrates obedience to God because
the individual believes that
god is Sovereign and there is a
humble recognition that His commands
are to be obeyed above all others.
(Hebrews 11) Presumption, on the
other hand, excuses transgression
(rebellion), whereas obedience
reveals our faith in God. (Romans
1:5,6) Obedience is a definitive way
that faith can be refined and tested.
(James 1:3; 2:17-26; 1 Peter 4:17;
Hebrews 5:8,9; 2 Thessalonians 1:8;
John 14:15,23) Salvation is
guaranteed to all who are willing to
go, to be and do as God directs.
GO-BE-DO! (John 3:16; Romans
10:9; 1 Corinthians 10:13;
Philippians 4:19) Faith begins with a
willing and submissive attitude.
(Luke 23:42,43) Faith recognizes the
authority of God by producing
appropriate deeds. (James 2:17, 19)
The ultimate test of faith happens
when loyalty to God stands in direct
conflict with dire circumstances.
(Genesis 6; Daniel 3 & 6)
Note:
Many Christians today face a serious
problem without recognizing it. Most
Christians read and quote Bible texts
in their Nike tennis shoes, instead
of putting on the sandals of the
apostles. In other words, too many
Christians manipulate the
conversations in the Bible (based on
preconceptions) and glibly make them
say things that were never intended.
Here are two examples: “For
God so loved the world that he gave
his one and only Son, that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but
have eternal life.” (John
3:16) Individuals who read the Bible
often mistreat this verse “while
wearing Nikes!” Jesus uttered
these words to Nicodemus. To
understand the meaning of this verse,
you have to “put on the
sandals” of Nicodemus and
consider the frame of mind he had at
that time.
The words of
Jesus to Nicodemus could be
paraphrased like this:
“Nicodemus, the Father loves
everyone in the world, not just this
tiny nation of Jews. To restore all
humankind to Eden, the Father
provided the necessary atonement for
sin. You and your fellow citizens are
too parochial in your view of
God’s love. Everyone who submits
to My teaching will have eternal
life. I have only spoken the words
the Father gave Me. If you accept Me
as the Son of God, you must recognize
that your religion and your religious
acts cannot save you. They are
worthless in terms of salvation,
because man is saved by faith alone.
If you believe that I am the Lamb of
God, sent here to fulfill all that
the ceremonial system points to, then
you need not take a lamb to the
temple alter ever again. If you
believe that I am the Son of God and
my teaching is from God, you will not
be able to conform to the religious
customs of your people. I have come
to set you free of that obligation.
If you confess that you believe that
I am the Messiah, the Holy One
predicted by the prophets of Israel,
you will be cut off from your family,
friends and this nation-but, be
assured of this, you will receive
eternal life.”
Another
example of a verse (and many others
exist) that is often misrepresented
is this: “That if you confess
with your mouth, ‘Jesus is
Lord,’ and believe in your heart
that god raised him from the dead,
you will be saved. For it is with
your heart that you believe and are
justified, and it is with your mouth
that you confess and are saved.”(Romans
10:9,10) Many Christians quote the
preceding two verses as though the
words contain a magical statement, as
if merely to quote this verse before
other people and believe that Jesus
rose from the dead will be enough to
save them eternally! Paul had no such
thought in mind when he wrote these
words. Again, let us take off the
Nikes and put on the sandals of the
roman converts and consider what Paul
was actually saying to the Romans who
had suffered so much torment at
Caesar’s hand. Paul’s words
could be paraphrased as follows:
“If, when you are standing
before the authorities for your
faith, and all your possessions are
being confiscated from your house
because your name was placed on the
proscription list, and when you are
being beaten with 39 lashes because
you refused to bow down before Caesar
as a god – when this happens, if
you still confess with your mouth
that Jesus is your Lord and Master
and not Caesar, and if you can still
believe in your heart that god raised
Jesus from the dead and He will raise
you also-this is faith. Your faith in
God will save you, although you may,
like me, lose your life in Rome for
serving Christ! However, keep this in
mind: Neither giving away your
possessions nor standing in defiance
of Caesar will save you. Remember
that we are saved by faith alone in
Christ. Therefore, submit to the
teaching of Christ, confess that
Jesus is Lord of you life,
acknowledge your faults, but stand
firm in your loyalty to the
commandments of Jesus and your faith
will save you!”
To understand
the Bible writers and the intended
meaning of their words, we need to be
sure we understand the culture and
customs of people and the period in
which the words were written. To do
less is to make nonsense of the
Bible. The point here is that anyone
can enjoy a fellowship with the
writers of the Bible (even across the
passage of time), if he or she
strives to understand the issues and
circumstances surrounding the writer
and the time in which he lived.
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