God's Glorious Purposes for the Tribulation

The Olivet Discourse (Matt 24–25; Mk 13; Lk 21), John's Revelation (esp. 6–19), and Daniel's visions (esp. Dan 9:24–27) along with several other biblical references mark some of the hardest passages in Scripture to interpret. Do we apply them to the persecution of the early church? Do we apply them to the tribulations that the church is experiencing now? Or is there a more literal sense in these prophetic passages that applies to the future events immediately preceding Christ's coming and the end of the age (Matt 24:3)?

The "futurist" position, which this writer holds, takes these prophetic passages to be still future in their fulfillment rather than past or present. Despite all the persecutions and tribulations that the church has ever experienced from governments, other hostile peoples and religions, and false christs, there is a time coming when God will pour out His judgment on an unbelieving world (church removed) for rejecting Christ's sacrifice and authority in their lives. And His judgment will be far worse.

"For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be" (Mk 13:19). "And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book" (Dan 12:1). And the reason for this most unique "time of trouble" is because John saw that it was "the Lamb [who] opened one of the seven seals" (Rev 6:1a). God's judgment is far worse than persecution from men or even the schemes of Satan.

God says to the church that has kept his word about patient endurance: "I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world" (Rev 3:10). We believe that God will rapture ("snatch up") the living saints on the earth prior to His return to be with all those who have believed (1 Thess 4:17). "For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ" (5:9). It is "Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come" (1 Thess 1:10).

At the rapture Jesus will return for His saints, whereas at the Second Coming Jesus will return with His saints (Rev 19:14). At the rapture we will meet Him in the clouds (1 Thess 4:17), whereas at the Second Coming Jesus will return to the earth (Rev 19:11ff).

Before Christ returns, God has specific purposes and plans for the Tribulation Period before Christ unites all things in Him, things on heaven and things on earth (Eph 1:10) in the Millennial Kingdom and into the Eternal State:

Purpose #1: Judgment for an unbelieving world

1. Revelation 3:10 refers to the Tribulation period as "the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth." The first major purpose of the Tribulation, then, is to test the unbelieving world. “Those who dwell upon the earth” refers to those who are unbelievers on earth during the period described in Revelation 4-19. (Thomas Edgar, "An Exegesis of Rapture Passages," in Issues in Dispensationalism, p. 216)
2. As the three series of judgments (seals, trumpets and bowls) are being poured out on the earth during the period of the Tribulation, every creature will be held responsible to the Creator for resisting Him and breaking His laws.
3. God will deal violently yet justly with all the pagan nations during this time. He will prove that though “the nations rage and the peoples plot” against Him, their rebellion is “in vain” (Psalm 2:1). “The rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against his anointed” (2:2) but “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision” (2:4).
4. Paul Benware adds, “These judgments are another step in dealing with sin in preparation for the Messiah’s reign of righteousness on earth. But it is clear that God could judge sinners completely in a matter of moments and does not need seven years. This suggests that judgment, though important in the plan of God, is not the main reason for the seven-year period of tribulation.”

Purpose #2: Preparation of a future generation of Israel

1. “The Bible teaches that the Tribulation is a time of preparation for Israel's restoration and conversion (Deut 4:29, 30; Jer 30:3-11; Zech 12:10)." (Ice and Demy, p. 36)
2. Ezekiel 20:37 says, “I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.”
3. Daniel 12:1 says, “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.”
4. Zechariah 13:8 says, “In the whole land, declares the LORD, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive. 9 And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”
5. A great number of Jews will be saved in the Tribulation. They will flee into the wilderness (Rev 12:6, 13–14). And final salvation will come to believing Jews at the end of the Tribulation period (Zech 12:10ff).
6. Romans 11:26 says, “And so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, ‘The deliverer will come from Zion, he will remove ungodliness from Jacob.’” So all Israel, that will inherit the Kingdom, will be saved.

Purpose #3: Salvation of an unnumbered amount of Gentiles

1. This purpose is more of a bi-product or an result of God’s intentions in the Tribulation. They are referred to as martyrs (Rev 6:9; 7:9–10) because believing in Christ during this time will cost their life. Nevertheless, one cry will come out from every nation and tribe and people and language: "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb" (Rev 7:10).
2. Either the two witnesses (Rev 11:3), the 144,000 sealed saints of Israel (Rev 7:4), the angels (Rev 14:6, 7) or the appearance of Christ at the end of the tribulation (Rev 19) will be used to bring about the salvation of these Gentiles.

It seems that a literal, grammatical, historical interpretation of certain prophetic passages of Scripture leads us "to wait for his Son from heaven" (1 Thess 1:10a) who will come with judgment, power and glory (Matt 24:30) to establish His heavenly kingdom on the earth (Rev 20:1–6). "For God has put all things in subjection under his feet" (1 Cor 15:27a; Eph 1:22).

"Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt 6:10).

A Prayer of Moses, the Man of God

Most of the time we think of the Psalms as being written by King David, the Sons of Korah, or Asaph--which most of them are--but what about Moses? Book 4 (Pss 90–106) of the Psalms begins with: "A prayer of Moses, the man of God" (note: the superscriptions in the Psalms ARE inspired Scripture so don't read over them lightly!). So when you come across biblical insight like this, it is significant to keep in mind the life and other writings of Moses as you read Psalm 90.

A couple of examples illustrate this point:

Psalm 90:1 "Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations."

Moses was God's chosen servant-leader during Israel's captivity, exodus, and flight from Egypt and their wandering in the wilderness. Most notably, Moses was given the Law of God to help Israel live according to God's holy standards. Also during their wandering from Egypt to the Promised Land as they departed from Mount Sinai, "Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp" (Ex 33:7).

The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament says, of the word "dwelling place":

NwøoDm (maœ{o®n) dwelling, habitation.
NwøoDm. Dwelling. (ASV, RSV similar except 1 Sam 2:29, 32 and Zeph 3:17 where RSV emends to read “eye”.) It is used eighteen times. This word is used to depict the ruins of desolate cities now the dwelling place of wild animals. Most frequently it designates the Lord’s dwelling place, i.e. heaven (always qualified with the word “holy”) and the temple (Ps 26:8). Finally it portrays the Lord as a refuge for his people (71:3; 90:1; 91:9).

Derek Kidner, in his Psalms 73–150 Commentary, says, " 'Dwelling place' is specially relevant to this psalm's emphasis on human rootlessness, and is a metaphor found also in the Blessing of Moses: 'the eternal God is your dwelling place' " (Deut 33:27).

"Moses, the man of God," had a unique role and privilege among the people of Israel because he sought the glory of God. "The LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend" (33:11). The God who appeared to Moses in the burning bush and on the fiery mountain top at Sinai met with Moses regularly in the tent of meeting in order that Moses might lead the people of God in holy service and humble obedience to Him.

So for Moses to pray to God: "Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations" in Ps 90:1, you can see what he means. God has always been a refuge for His people, in captivity, wilderness, and on their way to the Promised Land as they trust in His promises.

Psalm 90:3 "You return man to dust and say, 'Return, O children of man!'"

The text Moses was probably meditating on was Genesis 1–3 (which He wrote through God's superintendence). A number of observations in his prayer prove this point: 

1. In verse 2, Moses references God being God even before He brought forth mountains and formed the earth and the world. This is obviously reminiscent of the Creation account in Genesis 1 (especially Gen 1:1).
2. Although in verse 3 the Hebrew word for 'dust' is different than in Genesis 3:19 ("for you are dust, and to dust you shall return"), it is the same verb 'return' which ties back to the curse on mankind for Adam's sin. This reference to the Fall and death as our sentence serves as the setting for the rest of the Psalm.
3. Each verse referring to God's anger and wrath toward man's iniquity serves to remind man that under the curse we all are brought to an end (v. 7), dismayed (v. 7), and in severe affliction (15). And if God is not our dwelling place (v. 1), our all-satisfying steadfast love (v. 14), and the Granter of divine favor (v. 17) then we will remain under His wrath.
4. In verses 4 and 10, it may be that Moses is intentionally contrasting the long lives of the patriarchs in Genesis (Adam=930; Seth=912; Methuselah=969) with the lives of those in Israel at the time of his writing (70 or 80 years). Regardless, it is true that "our years are soon gone, and we fly away" (90:10).

It must be kept in mind that Genesis and Psalms are different literary genres (narrative and poetry), even though there are poetic elements in Genesis. The Psalms function as heart-felt reflections on and exaltations of the eternal character and covenant relationship of God to His people.

Psalm 90:12 "So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom."

This prayer is similar to Isaiah 40 for its presentation of God's greatness and eternality over frail humanity, but while Isaiah is encouraging his readers in a positive tone, Moses has a more sober tone of correction for the iniquities of God's people. 

In Deuteronomy 34:5, 7 and 9, it says, "So Moses the servant of the LORD died there... 7 Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated... 9 And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses."

So even though Moses did not physically lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land, "there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face" (Deut 34:10). He heeded his own advice. He lived his own prayer in Psalm 90:12. 

Our days are numbered, what will they be spent doing? A "heart of wisdom" will stir within our hearts a hunger to find satisfaction in the steadfast love of God (v. 14) and the favor of the Lord (v. 17).

The End For Which God Created The World

The End For Which God Created the World is a short book written by Jonathan Edwards that John Piper says is the most important book that he as ever read outside of the Bible. Within this book, a certain paragraph is found that catches one of the most profound thoughts that could ever be communicated and felt in the human mind and heart.

You would do well to weigh these words carefully to see exactly what God the Son desired from God the Father for His children (see John 17:1–5 AND vv. 24–26). Let the truth found in these statements pour like pure, cool water through dry, parched lips to reach your thirsty soul.

God glorifies Himself toward the creature also in two ways: 1. By appearing to...their understanding; 2. In communicating Himself to their hearts, and in their rejoicing and delighting in, and enjoying the manifestations which He makes of Himself...God is glorified not only by His glory's being seen, but by its being rejoiced in. When those that see it delight in it, God is more glorified than if they only see it. His glory is then received by the soul both by the understanding and the heart. God made the world that He might communicate, and the creature receive, the glory; and that it might be received both by the mind and the heart. He that testifies his idea of God's glory does not glorify God so much as he that testifies also his approbation of it and his delight in it.

Read the last lines carefully, for from them come one of Desiring God's most profound and repeatable thoughts, that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.

The Journal of David Brainerd

The Diary and Journal of David Brainerd (Banner of Truth Trust, 2007) is a record of David Brainerd's missionary work among the American Indians from 1742–1747. Brainerd's Diary reveals his innermost life during his childhood, preparation for ministry, beginning of his mission, his instruction to the Indians, his most remarkable successes in ministry, and his return, followed by the circumstances that led to his death. However, the narrative in Brainerd's Journal of his missionary work among the Red Indians is the principal attraction.

Brainerd is a feeling man. He writes from day to day of his prayers, reservations about ministry, the texts he preached, his ambition for the Gospel effectiveness, the pain in the hardships, the joys in seeing people responding to God's Word, the turmoil, and the successes that God provided in his work with the Gospel. His diary and journal read much like the psalmist who continually dialogues honestly and openly and dependently on God.

Below are excerpts from the missionary work and heart of Brainerd from his journal:

The design of this publication is to give God the glory of His distinguishing grace, and gratify the pious curiosity of those who are waiting and praying for that blessed time, when the Son of God, in a more extensive sense that has yet been accomplished, shall receive the heathen for His inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession.

As these poor ignorant pagans stood in need of having line upon line and precept upon precept, in order to their being instructed and grounded in the principles of Christianity; so I preached publicly, and taught from house to house, almost every day for whole weeks together, when I was with them. And my public discourses did not then make up one half of my work, while so many were constantly coming up to me with that important inquiry, What must we do to be saved? and opening to me the various exercises of their minds.

November 26--I discoursed publicly among them from John 5:1–9. I was favoured with some special freedom and fervency in my discourse, and a powerful energy accompanied the Word. Many wept, and scarcely any appeared unconcerned in the whole assembly.

The persons lately awakened were deeply distressed for their souls, and appeared earnestly solicitous to obtain an interest in Christ; and some of them, after public worship was over, in anguish of spirit said, "They knew not what to do, nor how to get their wicked hearts changed."

Lord's Day, December 8--Such have been the doings of the Lord here in awakening sinners, and affecting the hearts of those who are brought to solid comfort with a fresh sense of divine things from time to time, that it is now strange to see the assembly sit with dry eyes, and without sobs and groans.

Lord's Day, December 22--Several of the Indians newly come here had frequently lived among Quakers...they had imbibed some of the Quakers' errors, especially this fundamental one, That if men will but live soberly and honestly, according to the dictates of their own consciences, or the light within, there is then no danger or doubt of their salvation. I found these persons much worse to deal with than those who are wholly under pagan darkness, who make no pretences to knowledge in Christianity at all, nor have any self-righteous foundation to stand on.

May we too desire for God to be glorified above all things. May we too labor in the harvest that the Lord has called us to. May we too find joy when sinners repent and find their soul's ultimate joy in Christ. May we too proclaim God's Word boldly with great expectancy of the Spirit's work in our hearer's lives.

Arguments for the Existence of God

Below are eleven arguments supporting the existence of God, simply stated, and a brief response from the atheist's point of view. The goal for you, the reader, is 1) to determine which arguments are strongest from the Scriptures, and 2) to respond to the atheist's response with Biblical discernment. And 3) to comment if you have questions that I can try to answer for you.

All text below is drawn from the manuscript of the Great Debate over the existence of God between Dr. Banhsen and Dr. Stein. These are Dr. Stein's words (holding the atheist world view):

1. The First Cause (Cosmological) Argument. Everything must have a cause, therefore the universe must have a cause, and that cause was God. God was the first or uncaused cause.

Response: This leads to a real logical bind for the theist, because, if everything must have a cause, then God must have a cause. If God had a cause, he cannot be the first or uncaused cause. If God did not have a cause, then not everything must have a cause. If not everything needs a cause, then perhaps the universe doesn't need a cause. Thus, there is a logical bind and the proof fails.

2. The Design (Teleological) Argument. The universe is wonderful and exhibits evidence of design and order. These things must have had a designer that was even more wonderful, and that designer was God.

Response: Surely if the world is wonderfully designed, and God, the designer, is more wonderfully designed, then God must have a designer even more wonderful than He is. If God didn't need a designer, than neither should the relatively less wonderful thing such as the universe have needed one. Again, there is a logical self-contradiction.

3. The Argument from Life. Life cannot originate from the random movement of atoms, and yet life exists. Therefore the existence of a God was necessary to create life.

Response: Basically, life didn't originate from the random movement of atoms, and no scientists would say so. Because there are limits of a chemical composition and physics of atoms, and they do not move in any possible way, chemicals do not combine in any possible way. That's why when you see these one billion to one kind of odds that people have set for life originating. They're all wet. They haven't considered the possibility that not every reaction can occur. So, it's possible to explain the origins of life without a god and using the principle of parsimony or Occam's Razor, I think we are left with the simpler explanation [which is] the one without the God. I'll go into more detail on that later.

4. The Argument from Revealed Theology. The Bible says that God exists, and the Bible is the inspired word of God, therefore what it says must be true. Therefore God exists.

Response: Well this is obviously a circular argument. It begs the question. We are trying to show whether God exists; therefore, calling the Bible the word of God is not permitted, because it assumes the existence of the very thing we are trying to prove. So, if the Bible is not the Word of God, then we cannot give any real weight to the fact that it mentions that God exists. Thus, it does not become a proof. In fact, to prove God from the Bible is standing things on its head. First you must prove God, then you may say whether God dictated it or inspired it. But you can't really use the Bible as Dr. Bahnsen seems to want to do as evidence for existence of God, per se.

5. The Argument from Miracles. The existence of miracles requires the presence of a supernatural force, or a God. Miracles do occur, and therefore there is a supernatural force or God.

Response: Again, this is begging the question; it requires that you must believe in a God first, beforehand. Then you say there are such things as miracles, which are acting of a God who creates violations of his own laws. So, it is not evidence, per se, it can serve as supplementary evidence, once you have good evidence in another kind of way for the existence of a God - you can use miracles as a additional argument, but in and of itself it doesn't show the existence of a God, because it assumes that which needs to be proven.

A quote from Thomas Paine about miracles: "When you see an account is given about such a miracle, by a person who says he saw it, it raises a question in the mind that is very easily decided. Is it more probable that nature should go out of her course, or that a man could tell a lie? We have never seen in our time Nature go out of her course, but we have good reason to believe that millions of lies have been told in this same time. It is therefore at least millions to one that the reporter of a miracle tells a lie" I think those are good odds.

6. The Ontological Argument. God is, by definition, perfect. A necessary quality of any perfect object is that it exists. If it did not exist it would not be perfect. If perfection requires existence, then God exists.

Response: There is a problem with the word exists. In order for something to be perfect, it must first exist. If something didn't exist, the word perfect wouldn't mean anything. First you must have existence, then possibly you may have perfection. So, this again is going backwards; you must first have an existing God, and then you can decide whether He's perfect, if perfection is a quality of a God, then He may be perfect, but He first must exist.

7. The Moral Argument. All people have moral values. The existence of these values cannot be explained unless they were implanted in people by a God. Therefore, God exists.

An atheist's problem: There are simpler ways to explain the origin of moral values without requiring the existence of a God to implant them into people. Besides, if moral values did come from a God, then all people should have the same moral values. They don't. People's moral values are a result of an accommodation they have made with their particular environment and have taught to their children as a survival mechanism.

8. The Wish Argument. Without the existence of a God people wouldn't have any reason to live or be good, therefore there has to be a God. Most people believe in a God, therefore there is a God.

Response: This really isn't a proof, it is just a wish. It's like saying that it would be nice to have a God (which it would), but that doesn't have anything to do with whether there is one or not.

9. The Argument from Faith. The existence of God cannot be proven by the use of reason, but only by the use of faith. The use of faith shows that there is a God, therefore God exists.

Response: Reason is a proven way to obtain factual information about the universe. Faith has not been shown to produce true information about the universe because faith is believing something is so because you want it to be so, without adequate evidence. Therefore, faith cannot be used to prove the existence of anything.

In addition, there is the fact that faith often gives you the opposite answer to what is given by reason to the same problem. This also shows that faith does not provide valid answers.

10. The Argument from Religious Experience. Many people have claimed to have a personal experience or encounter with God, therefore God must exist.

Response: This is a difficult one to handle, because, first of all, I've never had such an experience, but I'm sure that people have absolutely honestly thought they've had such experiences. But, the feeling of having met God cannot be confused with the fact of having met God. There is a semantic confusion; and also, we cannot use our own feelings as if they were valid ways to obtain information about the world. They are feelings that we have inside of us, but we cannot demonstrate them to another person. They cannot be used as an evidence. If everyone had that same experience; like if we all looked around the room and we all agreed that there is a clock over there, then we might say that the vision of a clock is a consensual one, if everyone agreed on it. Other than that, if you saw a clock and no one else did, or if only two or three people did in the room, then you have a bit of a problem.

11. Pascal's Wager. We have no way of knowing if a God exists or not, and we have no way of finding out, but you have nothing to lose by believing in a God, but on the other hand, you do have a lot to lose by not believing in a God, and it turns out later on that there is one after we're dead.

Response: This is only true if 1) You are right about a God, and 2) you have picked the right religion, because you might wind up on the Judgment Day and be right about a God, but He says, "What religion were you?" and you say, "I was a believer in Islam." And He says, "Sorry, Catholicism is the right religion. Down you go." So, in addition, you might have a God Who punishes people who have lived virtuous lives, say an atheist who has lived a virtuous life, did wonderful deeds in the world, but just does not believe in a God, if the God punishes him, you have an irrational God who is just as likely to punish the believer as the unbeliever.

The Great Debate: Does God Exist?

I came across this quote in a theological debate from 1985 at the University of California, Irvine entitled, "The Great Debate: Does God Exist?" The third point to the opening case for the existence of God, Dr. Greg Bahnsen (Christian theist) argues with Dr. Gordon Stein (atheist) the "Transcendental Argument" (transcendental--something is comparatively beyond other things):

When we go to look at the different world views that atheists and theists have, I suggest we can prove the existence of God from the impossibility of the contrary. The transcendental proof for God's existence is that without Him it is impossible to prove anything. The atheist world view is irrational and cannot consistently provide the preconditions of intelligible experience, science, logic, or morality. The atheist world view cannot allow for laws of logic, the uniformity of nature, the ability for the mind to understand the world, and moral absolutes. In that sense the atheist world view cannot account for our debate tonight.

What Dr. Bahnsen is saying is that it is impossible for God not to exist even in an atheist's world view. The atheist is dependent on the "laws of logic, the uniformity of nature, the ability for the mind to understand the world, and moral absolutes," each of which God is responsible for. No God? Then no debate.

The Newness of the New Earth

Randy Alcorn, in his book Heaven, comments on the “newness” of heaven:

When we open our eyes for the first time on the New Earth, will it be unfamiliar? Or will we recognize it as home? As human beings, we long for home, even as we step out to explore undiscovered new frontiers. We long for the familiarity of the old, even as we crave the innovation of the new. Think of all the things we love that are new: moving into a new house; the smell of a new car; the feel of a new book; a new movie; a new song; the pleasure of a new friend; the enjoyment of a new pet; new presents on Christmas; staying in a nice new hotel room; arriving at a new school or a new workplace; welcoming a new child or grandchild; eating new foods that suit our tastes. We love newness--yet in each case, what is new is attached to something familiar...So when we hear that in Heaven we will have new bodies and live on a New Earth, that’s how we should understand the word new--a restored and perfected version of our familiar bodies and our familiar Earth and our familiar relationships.

Upon reading texts like Romans 8:19–23; Acts 3:21; 2 Peter 3:6–10; and Revelation 21 and 22, I couldn't agree more with Alcorn's line of thinking. What a comfort! What a blessed hope! What endless joy!

"Behold, I am making all things new" (Rev 21:5)!