Miss Nan

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Last week we looked at a praise and worship service that we will participate in when we get to heaven. Another worship service will take place and John describes it:

*We will see God’s hand holding a sealed scroll, the title deed to the earth (Rev 5:1) Until this day, Satan has been allowed to have dominion over the earth.
*An angel will ask if anyone is worthy to open the book (Rev. 5:2). This question will be followed by silence because no man is able to open it (Rev. 5:3).
*Only Jesus is worthy to open the book (Rev. 5:5). He has the right to the title deed of the earth because he paid for it with His blood.
*Next we will see Jesus take the title deed into His hands (Rev. 5:7) and another praise service will start.
*The 24 elders and four beasts will fall down before Jesus singing a new song (Rev. 5:8-9) a song of redemption.
*Then so many angels that John could not count joined the chorus singing “Worthy is the Lamb!” (Rev. 5:11-12)

We will praise and worship during these 7 years but we will also prepare for the wedding of Jesus Christ and His bride, the Church. (Rev. 19:7) More specifically, we will prepare our wedding gowns:
*We will already be wearing plain white linen robes, but something will need to be added to them.
*No two wedding gowns will be alike (Rev. 9:8) “Righteousness of saints” means “righteous deeds.” This means we will decorate our gowns with the gold, silver and precious stone deeds we take with us into heaven.
*Will your wedding gown look like the one worn by the penitent thief or the one worn by Paul?

While we are in heaven for these 7 years, people on earth will be enduring the Tribulation. The last 3 1/2 years are called the Great Tribulation because it will be so terrible.

FAQ’s regarding this period:
1. Will the church go through the Tribulation? No and here are the reasons:
a. This 7 year period is also called “The Time of Jacob’s Trouble” (Jer. 30:7). Jacob is Israel. The Tribulation is the time of Israel’s trouble, not the church’s.
b. This period is also called “Daniel’s Seventieth Week.” The first 69 weeks involved Israel, so why wouldn’t the seventieth?
c. In the book of Revelation, after the messages to the 7 churches and the Rapture, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is not mentioned again until she returns with Christ following the Great Tribulation.
d. At the beginning of the Tribulation God will again focus His attention on Israel. Today we are responsible for getting the message of Christ to the world. During the Tribulation, that task will be given to Israel.
e. If we were still here and we know the plans of the Anti-Christ, we would try to convince the Jews that he was not their Messiah.

2. Can we know when the Tribulation will begin?
Paul says that 2 things must happen before the Tribulation (2 Thess. 2:3)
a. There must be a falling away first
b. The Antichrist must be made known

Next week we will look at these 2 things in depth.