Can I Wait Until the "Great Tribulation" to Take God Seriously?

Can't I wait until the great tribulation. Before I take God seriously, that's just one of the questions will be answering on today's addition of core Christianity will handle Meyer along with Pastor Israel Sanchez. This is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day.

You can call us with your question. At 833 the core that's 1-833-843-2673 course you can always leave us a voicemail 24 hours a day on that number you can post your question on one of our social media sites and you can always email us your question at questions at core, Christianity.com first up today let's go to Eric who is calling and from St. Charles, Missouri Eric what your question for pastor atrial doing well. Eric are you doing great. Great. Well, I wanted to ask a question in regards to the rapture being a preacher.

I think it makes it predrilled his first if it was after the 70 tribulation course will be no surprise that we know exactly when it happened. Christians and status of the word.

We know when it would happen. It also sorry good man titled teaching all Revelation chapter 6 courses I teach, and you will like Matthew Henry Clark had a very different view of Whitehorse, they thought it was Jesus Christ course of the last great knowledge has increased and then also the real rain and natural bodies is pretty clear to me was the Scripture that no one devil going to the millennial rank will be like sample people Jesus Christ and a few other things.

Really, maybe go there be. I will absolutely give that kind when Jesus will come back and things of that nature. I believe that we read all that long. As long as course. All other books of the Bible. Matthew 24 and others I just think it just to more strongly to our pretrip culture. Hey Eric, thank you for that for that question and appreciate men appreciate it just all the thought that you put into that that digging into the Scriptures yeah and I got a save mesounds to me like this is something you spent quite a bit of time studying and and thinking through you brought up a lot of different things there related to the millennial reign of Christ related to that it seemed like one of the issues we write alike. Here's here's a reason why you think that the rapture has to be that there has to be a rapture rep prior to the second coming of Jesus Christ and one of the issues you seem to bring up was just in then and see of Christ return.

This idea that you know if if Jesus comes after a seven year tribulation. Then we'll know well you seven years. Rep. We know Jesus coming back so so that the idea of you not knowing the day or the hour busies it would make any sense, but part of. I would say that the issue with that approach is it assumes that when Scripture talks about this tribulation for seven years at this period of tribulation that it is talking about this. This set period of time and it's not speaking prophetically or symbolically in anything is throughout the book of Revelation specifically were talking about the millennial reign of Christ. Oftentimes John will use symbols even numbers symbolically. For example, in Revelation chapter 1, I believe it's in verse four he talks about the seven spirits of God and then later in chapter 4 verse five he talks about the seven torches the fire before the throne of God which are the seven spirits of God.

Probably there reference to the Holy Spirit.

We know that there are seven holy spirits. The number 70 in Scripture so often symbolizes fullness or wholeness. Why, because of the seven was that the culmination of God's creation Sabbath day finality fullness rest so on and so forth and so it's really important that we interpret these various passages ends up a similar thing about numbers and eschatology end times. According to the genre that were looking at in Scripture and so I understand the way I think about when looking at the book of Revelation, and it describes you to periods of suffering tribulation 3 1/2 years here and there various places, a time time in half at times. John says throughout the book of Revelation.

I think that he's sort of piggybacking off of her. Echoing this idea of Jesus's three-year earthly ministry. Of of suffering and trial that culminated in his crucifixion and death.

And in reality throughout the Gospels we see the church walking in the footsteps of Jesus were called as Christians to take up the cross and follow Jesus. We are in this world going to experience tribulation. Jesus made it absolutely clear in the sense I get a site I read the book of wrote Revelation is that that actually confirmed that the saints throughout the book of Revelation are victorious and conquering, but that there victorious and conquering in the exact same way that Jesus was victorious and conquered. It's through the word of their testimony, and through the blood of the Lamb through death through suffering and so you know those are a number of things I think you have to factor in it is worth thinking about these questions and and one of the other things you mentioned. As you know, as were setting the Scripture we do get more information over time.

We we we study and we meet up maybe have better interpretations. I would just say that I'm open to this.

But what I would say is look in this viscose are so much in the Bible as were approaching Scripture friends be weary of things that people discover no one else is ever discovered in the last 2000 years of church history if if somebody comes along and says look I got a new take on this passage of Scripture.

I got the special insight I guy I have the need of the special knowledge you know because I've studied this, that of the I would just say look, be cautious of that be be weary of that. We believe the spirit of God is been working with and through the word for the last 2000 years and that the Scriptures are clear. Sometimes the words that we use. There is, is the perspicuity of Scripture, the clarity of Scripture so that anyone comes along and says it, I got a new interpretation.

You take care that that really the church hasn't discovered yet.

I would, I would say be cautious there.

I'm not saying that's exactly what that the theology of the rapture is, I'm just saying it really you know in terms of church history is a something that is more novel and in many respects him historically, Christians believe there was one second coming of Jesus.

One final second coming of Jesus and he that is mean we can't disagree and search the Scriptures and in and and have charitable dialogue and that's what I love about this is, and I love their argument about your approach as you as you asked her question. We always want to go back to the word of God and appreciate that you've done with. I've given you some reasons why me to maybe a ticket a different view there and I just want to encourage you to continue to dig in the Scriptures, and I'll do the same as well bless the score Christianity with pastor Andrea Sanchez. We love hearing from you. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life. Our phone lines are open 24 hours a day. You can leave us a voicemail anytime at 833 the core that's 1-833-843-2673. By the way we like to invite you to consider joining something we call our inner core.

These are folks that support this program on a regular basis because they really believe strongly in what we do talking about the core doctrines of the Christian faith five days a week and helping people to understand their faith more clearly that you and Bill. I love the way that you put it there because look in the body of Christ we can have differences on a number of issues. Maybe that what we would say don't strike at the vitals of the Christian faith. We can talk about the rapture, the second coming different views of eschatology but were about here at court, Christianity more than anything else is those core doctrines that we know all of us agree on when it comes to the Christian faith and were talking about the Trinity, the deity of Jesus Christ. Salvation by grace through faith. That's what we want to partner together with want you to partner with us to get that word out because that's the word that people desperately need to hear. They need to hear about Jesus Christ and what he's done for them and what he calls them to do in in response to his wonderful gospel and so if you've been blessed by this program. If you don't even always agree with everything week we say, but you but you know you're going to get pointed to the Scriptures and encouraged in the gospel.

If you been blessed by this program. Would you consider partnering with us. Intercourse monthly donation of $25 or more and when you join will send you a copy of the book core Christianity by Dr. Michael Horton, which gets into those corded doctrines that we love to to share about it so thank you for your support for your prayers, and a please consider joining the inner core. One of the things we always caution people is not to get caught up in the minors majoring in the minors we want to major on the major things the big things of the Christian faith.

The core doctrines and that's what this book talks about core Christianity by Dr. Michael Horton will send that to you if you join our inner core.

To learn more, go to core Christianity.com/inner core just all one word core, Christianity.com/inner core. Would love to have you prayerfully consider joining that very special group of people go back to the phones. Margaret is on the line from Terre Haute, Indiana Margaret what your question for atrial marketing there no hello, I wanted nowhere in the Bible does it help… Jubilee and doesn't specify more on that subject. Yeah well in the book of Leviticus. It talks about the year of Jubilee which was which was really you know momentous occasion he was. This is huge thing, releasing captives, pardoning debts, as he read about in Leviticus chapter 25 in verse eight here's what Moses said you shall count seven weeks of years 7×7 years to the time of the seven weeks of year shall give you 49 years, then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the 10th day of the seventh month, on the day of atonement, you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land and you shall consecrate the 50th year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants, it shall be a Jubilee for you when each of you shall return to his property, and each of you shall return to his clan. That 50th year shall be a Jubilee for you in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows love itself, nor gather the grapes from the undressed vines, for it is a Jubilee. It shall be holy to you and you may eat the produce of the field. He continues in the year of Jubilee. Each of you shall return to his property, and if you make a sale to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor.

You shall not wrong when another you shall pay your neighbor according to the number of years after the Jubilee and he shall sell to you according to the number of years for crops if the years are many. You shall increase the price and if the years are few. You shall reduce the price for it is the number of the crops that he is selling you shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God, for I am the Lord did this this year. If you believe this is like a like a pinnacle Sabbath moment a time of rest for the land at time of restoration and again we often times you hear us on the program, Margaret talk about how these festivals release these times of celebration under the old covenant served as pictures for what God was going to do later in his son Jesus for for the world and in this idea of Jubilee of release from captivity is something that we do believe is central to the work of Jesus Christ. In fact, Daniel the prophet in Daniel chapter 9 seems to tie together this this idea of Jubilee and ultimate release with the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. And so if you want more information about that was a just look at that text that I that I ran a red most of it to their in Leviticus chapter 25 but but realizing you know, looking at that in its context and realizing that this is ultimately pointing us forward to greater reality through the work of Jesus Christ. Thank you Margaret for your question. Your listening to core Christianity with Pastor Israel Sanchez want to listen to a voicemail from one of our callers that came in earlier this week I have a friend Jesus Christ died for stanzas raised from the dead, that does not walk very good Christ like life to that now knowingly standing, not reading the Bible not doing most of anything that he used to do.

His mother and I have confronted hand and we have tried to tell him we don't know when Jesus Christ is coming back. We don't think you're really walking right now is God truly in your heart if you're doing the stands reply as well. I think I'm dead but if I don't make it to the rapture and I'll make sure I make it through the tribulation and make it to happen. And then he also said you know, maybe God wants me in the tribulation because my daughters are quite believe errors and they get left behind and I can help them through the tribulation. What are your thoughts about people who think this way, to be totally honest with you I think that that is a very foolish way to think it's very presumptuous to think in some ways it even mocks God.

Now let me just say this kind of thinking is not foreign to me because I remember before I I I came to Christ, really, and started walking with whatever I remember thinking I just wanted do my thing I want to have my fun live my life and then after I've done that.

Maybe when I'm on my deathbed or something like that or or you know after I arrived, I really have had my fill, then I'll have my come to Jesus moment and in turn to God. I remember asked that I do know how I heard it, but in Revelation chapter 1 it talks about Jesus coming with the clouds and it is so silly armor, thinking back then. If I go outside. It wasn't a cloudy day. I think of Jesus from his income today. I'm sick.

So of course didn't have really any skills in Bible interpretation of the time but but Jesus really foolish because you don't know what tomorrow holds. We don't know what today holds, and today is the day of repentance today is the day of salvation today. God calls you to turn from your sins, and to turn to Christ and to receive his grace is mercy is love, his forgiveness not to harden your heart because when it went when you turn away from them. When the spirit of God is convicting us about our sin were doing things. We know this is wrong. It was a I'm not a listener that I you what we're doing is were hardening our hearts were steering our conscience so that the voice of God calling us to repentance if you will, through the word through loving friends and family members becomes quieter and quieter and quieter until our ears are just clogged and we can't hear anything anymore and were were descending deeper and deeper into a pits if you will.

God is not mocked and hears that the beautiful thing is we believe that God is sovereign and able, even for an individual was in that position who after denying Christ and rejecting the gospel for years. For decades, can only by the grace of the Holy Spirit come to faith and receive forgiveness but but don't bank on that don't bank on a later on will come to Jesus because the reality is later mine. Later on, you might be so blinded by your sin and and drunk with iniquity that the last thing on your mind is Jesus, and you don't know what tomorrow holds. I think of what the author the Hebrew says in Hebrews chapter 3 verse seven. Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says Mrs. the other Hebrews wrote this means that he's he saying this is God's word to visit the Holy Spirit says today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion. On the day of testing in the wilderness where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for 40 years. Therefore, I was provoked with that generation, and said they always go astray in their heart they have not known my ways as I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest friends I'm speaking to someone right now in your listening to the broadcasts. And you know you've been hardening your heart against the Lord in your thinking. Later on tomorrow, next week, next month, next year on my deathbed. That's when all turn to Jesus know right now.

Jesus calls you to turn to him and and here's the beautiful thing.

We think, I wanted to do my own thing, because that's to be the most wanted to be the greatest net I can I can come to Jesus. Later on, but but we don't realize is there is nothing greater, more precious, more wonderful, more joyous than knowing the true and the living God does mean it's always an easy and certainly not it. In this world we will have tribulation. We still suffer as Christians, we still experience sickness, weakness, indwelling sin, and so on and so forth. But to know Jesus, to know the love of God to know that your sins as heavy as they are, can be forgiven that you don't have to bear that weight anymore because when you go to Jesus and you say Lord Jesus Christ, son of God have mercy upon me, a sinner. My faith in you cast yourself upon him, he forgives you to know that I don't wait to have that don't live your life loaded down by the weight of sin in continuing to add to that. You're just killing yourself nope go to Christ now and receive the grace that he has for you today. What a great challenge for all of us. Thank you for that and wrote a beautiful picture you painted of of God's redemption and the fact we can turn to him and should turn to him from our sins. This is core Christianity with Pastor Israel Sanchez and we do receive emails here. If you have a question for us you like to send us by email. Here's the address it's questions at core, Christianity.com and Israel. Here's a question from one of our listeners named Linda she says my pastor has now declared that he is going from pastor to end times profit.

I did not realize people could make themselves prophets.

This is really not sitting well with me. What do you think yeah you didn't realize that Linda because they can't.

People can't make themselves profit you just declare I am a prophet actually in the Bible God is the one thinking is specifically the Old Testament and the old Old Testament, God was the one who called the prophets who brought them up lifted them up into his presence into his very counsel if you will.

You see this and in Isaiah.

You see this in Jeremiah.

You see this in Ezekiel and he gave them a message a word and then he sent them out and typically what they were doing was prosecuting the terms of his covenant. The old covenant against the kings of Israel. The sinful kings of Israel prophets in the Old Testament were were were attached to annexed to the theocracy in Israel so people can arouse alien a prophet like Jeremiah or a prophet like as he judges say will that's not even possible. We don't live in the time of the theocracy are not prosecuting the terms of the old covenant.

Those prophets were pointing forward to Jesus and to his work of redemption, then maybe sometimes he will say wow.

I'm a prophet in the New Testament since first grade. In chapter 14, but even there were not the ones who decide who's a prophet and who isn't. Paul says in verse greatest well that the Holy Spirit distributes to each one individually as he wills. These these various gifts within the church and is also raise the other question of of whether or not ordinarily God is working through raising up prophets and healers today are or if that was something that was more for the first century church as the gospel was going out but but not getting into that I would. I would just say if someone a minister of the gospel says I've just been elevated or I'm elevating myself to the status of prophet or apostle or something like that I would. I would say that should set off alarm bells in your mind that should raise red flags because we don't even when it comes to the ministry of the word pastors you don't call yourself into the ministry. You don't get to decide I'm a pastor I'm called to shepherd the flock of God know God is the one who calls pastors and ordinarily he does it through the church to use the church as his internal call, a sense that an individual would have them called to be.

Pastor Paul talks about this in first Timothy three Titus one you desiring the office of an overseer. It's a good thing but there's also the call of the church.

The external call so that that internal call is confirmed by the body of Christ is not just an individual whose assuming to themselves this position of authority. This disposition of of ministry, whether it's as a pastor or a prophet met a limb to say one of the issues in the church today is you have people who are doing this, who were calling themselves to the ministry were saying. I I should be teaching the Bible and never really studied the Bible never study church history. Don't know much about theology but II just I think I should be a pastor and I should have a church and so I'm calling myself to the measured no don't sit under that kind of ministry did them that that that's dangerous. That's not how it works ordinarily and certainly with with somebody was saying.

I've called myself to be a prophet.

I'm now up a prophet and end times profit.

I would just say no brother that's that's not what you are and you don't get to call yourself that you know the ultimate prophet. His friends, the one we need to listen to the one who declares to us the will of God for our salvation from heaven is Jesus Christ. He is the ultimate prophet, priest and king. He's the one that we need to hear this is what the book of Hebrews is Hebrews chapter 1 verses one through three. Christ is the ultimate prophet go to him. Thanks for listening to core Christianity request your copy of today's special offer. Visit us at core, Christianity.com and click on offers in the menu or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833 when you contact us.

Please let us know how you been encouraged by this program and be sure to join us next time.

As we explore the truth of God's word together