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The Daily Word of Righteousness
After the Tribulation of Those Days, #5
He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God. (II Thessalonians 2:4—NIV)
This action on the part of Antichrist will set in motion the great tribulation, or great distress, as the New International Version refers to it.
Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. (Matthew 24:16-22—NIV)
We see in the above that even in times of tremendous calamity God will hear the prayer of the Jewish elect that the distress will not take place on the Sabbath (an enormous problem for devout Jews) or during the winter. God always hears and answers prayer during a time of tribulation. The ninety-first Psalm will still protect those who are abiding in the secret place of the Most High—even during the great tribulation.
We see also that this great distress, or great tribulation, is unprecedented as to its scope. It is not that the suffering will be greater than in the past, because every kind of torture and murder imaginable has already been perpetrated on people, including Christians. It is that it will be more widespread. There may be believers reading this essay who already are suffering as much as it is possible for a human to suffer.
We see also that God will cut it short for the sake of His elect.
We see also that God's elect will be on the earth during the great distress.
To those who would protest that God's elect are only Jewish people and not Gentile Christians, let us point out that several verses in the New Testament refer to the Christians as God's elect.
What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, (Romans 11:7—NIV)
We can see from the above verse that the Jews who did not receive Christ were not God's elect, His called. So when Jesus said God would cut short the great tribulation for the sake of His elect, Jesus means those whom God called to Himself, both Jews and Gentiles.
It appears there will be a considerable amount of deception during the great distress.
At that time if anyone says to you, "Look, here is the Christ! or, There he is!" do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time. So if anyone tells you, There he is, out in the desert, do not go out; or, Here he is, in the inner rooms, do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. (Matthew 24:23-28—NIV)
To be continued.