“Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness” (Hebrews 3:8).
“Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the Living God” (Hebrews 3:12).
These passages of Scripture more than throw light into problems we face when we make many attempts at bringing people that matter to Christ in these closing moments before the trumpet sounds. We are cognizant of the brutally painful realities they would face in the coming Tribulation. This sometimes propels us into overdoing the necessary. Antagonism could flare up and thereby generate counterproductive results. It is this worrisome approach that could be a turn-off and simply land these individuals on the wrong path.
What is the best option in this instance? Leave it to the Lord to deal with them; it could be the case of tough love from our Loving Heavenly Father! Look at the chosen people; they rebelled despite the goodness of God – He then rained on them desolation because of their outright disobedience and rebellion. This was necessary because there was a fighting chance of repentance from wicked ways. It is certainly no different in this day and age. Many people are caught up with the opulence of this hyped-up material world. Moreover, the mesmerizing lure of the latest technologies knows no bounds. They either have totally forgotten God or have little time for their Creator. Rebellion and falling away from the Living God repackaged in 21st-century wrapping!
For many who are besieged with the inexorable charm of the world as we know it now, they are literally in a stupor that blocks out other alternatives. In this mindset, anything perceived as anathema is met with bouts of hostile outbursts, if not cynical indifference. They have no time for warnings but sheepishly continue to wallow in a false sense of security. With that, they will tell you not to waste their time that is devoted to transient pleasures!
Oftentimes a bitter pill is a far better option than no medicine at all. Browbeating amidst histrionics may breed an air of resistance that could be avoided. This is when the hardening of hearts reaches the flint stage, whereby the damage is irreversible. These people will have a greater propensity to follow the son of perdition when the Church is gone. They would be easy meat for the forces of deception that run rampant during the post-rapture period and thereby end up in a deluded state. The pathway they prefer is very obvious – sadly speaking!
What if the gentler approach where everything is an open book was resorted to. Here is where there is a huge hunk of hope! When there is a realization that familiar faces are as good as long gone forever, the truth, which might send chills down many spines, could hit home. The parent, sibling, spouse, colleague and friend could be almost instantly out of the planet without any bodily trace. Much like a real-life portrayal of Left Behind! It would be a sure shocker, but with a brief passage of time, there is that acknowledgment of Scriptural infallibility. This is primarily driven by the desire to be with those that were snatched away. Then over time, decisions about where one would spend eternity will creep in. All these are the ingredients that will shape a Tribulation Saint.
All this is not wishful thinking but solid Scriptural reality. Revelation 7:9 tells us about the multitude amongst the Tribulation Saints.
“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.”
Revelation 7:14 confirms the identity of this innumerable gathering. “And I said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’ So he said to me, ‘These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'”
Revelation 7:16 speaks of their reward. “They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat.”
While we are still here, we should not just win souls before the trumpet sounds, but our testimony with our lives for Christ would bring in yet a bigger harvest for His Kingdom and Glory.
“But you need to be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:5).
All work for His Glory is never in vain!
Maranatha
Edwin
Contact me at edwinuk13@gmail.com