“Watch
therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all
these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” --
NKJV
“But
stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these
things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” – ESV
““But
keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape
all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of
Man.” – NASB
“Watch
ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all
these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” --
KJV
--Luke 21:36
The following is the author's opinion. Prayed upon, researched and given in good faith.
Let’s talk about escaping
Escape
is one of those words that conjures different visual in different minds. For
the ‘dictionary’ definition please visit here: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/escape?s=t
We’ve
all had things we have wanted to escape from and many of them can be quite
scary. People have been creative in how they formulate their escape depending
on what they are escaping, and some are successful. Others? Not so much and
many of those become a fatal statistic. Not wishing to delve too far into this
topic merely wanted to make this one point: No matter what we are trying to
escape, except for one reality – self-annihilation -- most who try to escape may succeed at
distancing themselves from the threat but they still remain here on earth.
Sadly, Earth is figuratively growing ever smaller as technology via
surveillance even at a private and personal level encroaches upon us via our
phones, our computers, and other devices designed in part to monitor our every
moment. One company wants to have their surveillance product snoop on us in
every room, including the bedroom. Why? Oh, you know, in case you have a hard
time sleeping they can recommend solutions; of course, from their bevvy of
advertisers because? Making $’s is how they
bring in their profitable bottom line. So, you just want to escape it all. With
the right connections no matter your actions to remain incognito, anyone with
funds and familiarity with the internet can find you. There is only ONE who can
save you from this earth and the manifold woes that cause people to want to
escape it and 1 Thess 4:17 tells us the answer: “Then we who are
alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in
the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”
What
is different about Jesus’s statement in Luke 21:36? This: He tells us to pray
that we will have the strength to get away from all the things foretold by
Christ to come upon the earth, the very place we have no choice but to live.
Yet, if we succeed in escaping, according to Jesus we wind up, no longer on
earth but standing before Jesus, our High Priest [Hebrews 4:14]. This may come
as a shock to many people but some actually hold as their faith that Christians
will be ‘caught up’ prior to the troubles of Luke 21 [or Matt 24-25 and Mark
13] because Jesus and his apostles taught that we would be kept from the wrath
or time of wrath. [See Rev 3:10; 1 Thess 1:10; 1 Thess 4:17; 1 Thess 5:9 –
more. See table below] So who are those needing to have strength that they may
escape? It is thought by the same individuals who believe the Church will be
caught up – some of those who have been left behind on earth will respond to
the absence of those ‘caught up’ [or commonly referred to as ‘raptured’] and will
be able to quickly understand what happened. Knowledge or understanding of what
happened may be all they need to convert to Christianity, or to finally become
born again. Others will respond to the evangelism of that tribulation time and
others will simply deny deny deny despite the horrific evidence facing them via prophetic tough times upon them
[Rev chapters 6 through 19]. Primarily,
it is believed by those who hold to the Biblical event of the ‘catching away;
the caught up or the rapture, GOD’s plan for Israel will move into its last
phase and they will be the ‘chosen ones/elect ones’ referred to in Matt 24:22
[and of course Luke 21:36] for whom this great time of tribulation will be
terminated by GOD at HIS chosen point in time through his SON, King of Kings, upon
HIS second coming – or landing as it were, in Israel.
Now,
ask yourself, how can you escape this? Glad you asked. Let’s look at a few
relative scriptures. But before we do, let’s be clear; when we speak of escape
each person has their own understanding and perhaps even word association. However,
there are many forms of escape so narrowing it down to the escape from Earth –
alive, is the topic for this post. Please understand as a Christian your passport
out of the time of wrath is your faith/belief in Jesus as your Savior. Having
been born again as a Christian your passport is acceptable because it is the
blood of the risen Christ and the grace and mercy shown to you by GOD because CHRIST’s
innocent self-sacrificed blood has been applied to you that puts you on the Heaven
bound path whenever your ‘twinkling’ change happens.
Below,
is a table with verses that deal with substantiating 1]The Catching away, the
being ‘caught up’ or the ‘escaping’; 2]The Wrath of GOD is not for those who
are caught up; 3] Why some who consider themselves religious or spiritual may be
left behind. [See 2 Thess 2:1-12]
But,
may this be of great courage and comfort to your hope in Christ: “After these
things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven.
And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking
with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take
place after this.” – Rev 4:1 --The church is removed
Here
a few verses taken from the Bible that sort of sets the framework:
Bible
Verses
|
Text
|
1 Cor 15:51-53
|
Behold, I tell
you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—
in a moment, in
the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and
the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
For this
corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put
on immortality.
|
1 Thess 1:10
|
and to wait for
His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus
who delivers us from the wrath to come.
|
1 Thess 2:19
|
For what is our
hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in
the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?
|
1 Thess 3:13
|
so that He may
establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.
|
1 Thess 4:13-18
|
But I do not want
you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest
you sorrow as others who have no hope.
For if we believe
that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who
sleep in Jesus.
For this we say
to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain
until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
For the Lord
Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an
archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise
first.
Then we who are
alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in
the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the
Lord.
Therefore comfort
one another with these words.
|
I Thess 5:1-9
|
But concerning
the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to
you.
For you
yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the
night.
For when they
say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor
pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.
But you,
brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a
thief.
You are all sons
of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.
Therefore let us
not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.
For those who
sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.
But let us who
are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love,
and as a helmet the hope of salvation.
For God did not
appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
|
2 Thess 2:6-8
|
And now you know
what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.
For the mystery
of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will
do so until He is taken out of the way.
And then the
lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of
His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
|
2 Thess 2:11
|
And for this
reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,
|
Col 3:4
|
When Christ who
is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
|
Hebrews 9:28
|
so Christ was
offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He
will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
|
John 14:1-3
|
“Let not your
heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
“In My Father’s
house are many mansions; if it were not so, I
would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
“And if I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that
where I am, there you may be also.
|
Jude 1:24-25
|
Now to Him who is
able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our
Savior,
Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen. |
Phil 3:20-21
|
For our
citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the
Lord Jesus Christ,
who will
transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body,
according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to
Himself.
|
Titus 2:13
|
looking for the
blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
|
Rev 3:10
|
“Because you have
kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial
which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
|
Rev 3:7
|
“And to the angel
of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He
who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens
and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens” [Isa 22:22]
|
Rev 4:1
|
After these
things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven.
And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet
speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which
must take place after this.”
|
†
Bibles Designations
ASV
-- American Standard Version
ESV
– English Standard Version
KJV
– King James Version
NASB
– New American Standard Bible
NIV
– New International Version
NKJV
– New King James Version
NWT
– New World Translation
DISCLAIMER:
The thoughts published on this blog, in total, are the opinions, thoughts and
considerations of the writer/author of every post published. It is assumed that
research by the reader will lead the reader to their own conclusions. It is not
the writer’s intent to make a judgment of anyone but to allow GOD’s Word to do
what it does. “For the word of GOD is alive and active. Sharper
than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and
spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the
heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from GOD’s
sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to
whom we must give account.” – Hebrews 4:12 [NIV]
√
>>>>>>All artwork contained on this blog entry
as well as archived/historical entries belongs
to ©Lightwritingmatters 2015<<< permission must be requested and
approved by the author to reproduce in any format and for any reason.√† √
