When Is The End? Written on 7-4-1996. Where Were You On This Date?

When Is The End?
Pastor G. Reckart

Achievement and endurance are two divine attributes that work in alliance within a soul that has been saved. The greater the goal and the harder the difficulty, more glory and honor comes to those who achieve and endure. Perhaps we might think of these qualities along this thought, that if a person has no goals and no vigor of endurance, they have very little or no encentive. A Minister I know well said, “if you take away from people the idea of a Pre-Tribulation secret rapture, they will think they can wait until the wrath of God falls to get saved and have no incentive to live for God and be ready for the rapture. The Minister confessed he didn’t like the Post-Trib doctrine because he felt it would lead people to think that they have plenty of time to get right with God and could afford to wait until they see the tribulation events before considering salvation. When people loose fear of missing the secret rapture, they won’t fear God he said. This friend perfectly demonstrates my points. Those who are looking and hoping for the secret snatch, are willing to achieve and to endure ONLY if they are not required to suffer persecution. Their idea of achievement is to be counted worthy of the quick air ride, the secret escape. Any idea of having a last day testimony, what ever the endurance, is considered silly. They who think in this manner, are not prepared or willing to suffer or endure for the Gospel’s sake, if it means going to the end of the tribulation for their faith.

The real argument about when the end of the Church age happens, is rooted in how a person measures themselves in light of achievement and endurance as Christians in the endtime. In short, those of little love for Christ, cannot bear to envision themselves being tested for their faith. The secret escape is their way of confessing they do not have either the courage or the faith to be tested. They see the tribulation as being asked to do what is beyond the requirments of salvation. These believe that if they are tested by beatings, prison, loss of property, humiliation before the public, or even bloodshed, that this is tantamount to God beating his bride. Hello! The Pre-Tribs have hurled this innundo into our faces more than once. GOD BEAT HIS BRIDE? Were not the Apostles in the Bride? Were not the tens of thousands of Saints killed by theJews, Greeks, Romans, Barbarians, Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, Hindus, in the Bride? If it is not considered God beating his Bride, if these suffered and were persecuted for their faith, is it not a bit stupid to suggest that if the endtime Church suffers as these, that God IS BEATING his Bride? This Pre-Trib candy-stick has but one purpose, and that is to lull the ignorant and unlearned into believing the lie that God will not tolerate or permit Christians to suffer for their faith. The endtime Christians should not forget the bloody history of the first four centuries of the Christian Church. They should not forget the bloody reformation period when millions suffered and perished. God beating his bride? How could such a perposteous accusation be laid upon God, for allowing the persecution, suffering, and bloodshed of these faithful martyers of the Apostolic faith? The truth of when is the end of the Church age, is accepted or rejected based upon how a person’s faith is judged by themselves. If they are weak they will want a quick escape. If they love Truth and Christ, they are willing to suffer, and this means if necessary facaing the antichrist with bravery and faith. If we accept that persecution and even death was often inflicted upon the Saints, beginning with Abel, then we wonder what the point is, in trying to deceive people that they can escape this: all because God does not want to be accused of beating his Bride. Let me say that those who propose this falsehood are advocating sheer fallacy and are utterly bereft of scriptural sanction. This posture is retalitory behavior by Pre-Tribs against Post-Trib believers, and is an open rebuke of our faith and that of those martyres who have suffered and died for this Gospel.

When is the end? Those weak in faith, and who accordingly interpret scripture, move the end from the end of the tribulation to a time period prior to the beginning of the tribulation. They say the end is before persecution and the antichrist comes on the scene. Is this true? Would God spare the endtime Church when he did not spare the early Church from persecution and death? Is the endtime Church to be exempted from the tests of overcoming and endurance the early Church experienced at the hands of antichrist?

Matthew 10:22 reports that the Apostolic Church will be hated of all nations for the name sake of Jesus Christ in Acts 2:38 baptism. Jesus promised however, that if the Apostolic believers would not cave in or give up,but endure unto the end of the Church age or their alotted time on earth, they SHALL BE SAVED. There is no escapism taught here. Or the idea that if a person suffers it would be tantamount toGod beating his Bride.

Matthew 24:13 is a tribulation setting and the persecution is against the Saints who are preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom. There is only one Gospel according to the Apostle Paul, and it is the everlasting Gospel in Revelation 14:6. It is to be preachaed to all nations according to Matthew 24:14, thus rulling out the novice idea this Gospel is only for one nation, the Jews. In Matthew 24:13 the word “end” is in reference to the tribulation and persecution of antichrist against the Saints. This happens at the end of the tribulation, that is why the tribulation Saints are given precise times and events to monitor so they can recognize not only the identity of antichrist, but the soon appearance of their deliverence. The word, “end” here certainly means that tribulation time period. I have always thought it amusing that the Pre-Tribs will say that Matthew 24 is for Israel only, and then turn and quote this verse in the Church as if it applies to their endurance until the coming of Christ.

1Cor. 1:8 Paul speaks of being confirmed unto the end, and then points to the day of the Lord, or the resurrection and second coming as THE TIME OF THE END! Even Pre-Tribs confess that the Day of the Lord is the second coming. Paul said the day of the Lord shall not come until the man of sin is revealed [2Thes. 2:3]. Yet the Pre-Tribs say the day of the Lord comes BEFORE the man of sin is revealed. Who is right, the Pre-Tribs or the Bible. Paul says in 1Thes 5:2 that the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night. Apostle Peter in 2Pet. 3:10 reports the same coming as a thief. In Acts 2:20, in Peter’s preaching, he reports that the sun would be darkened and the moon turned to blood before the great and noteable day of the Lord comes. This heavenly sign is found in the tribulation time period in the sixth seal at Revelation 6:12. Those who know the chronological order of the Tribulation events,know that the Seals, Trumpets, and vials all have the same ending point. So that the sixth seal preceeds the actual day of God’s judgement on the antichist for persecuting the Apostoilic Church and the Saints. The sign of the Lord’s immenent appearing is not BEFORE the sun turns dark and the moon turns to blood, but AFTER these things happen. The end therefore can not be until AFTER these events occur. We know from Scripture that the end comes at the blast of the last trump. This last trump is the seventh trumpet as found in Revelation 10:7. This signals the end of all that the Prophets had predicted would happen. We know this is in reference to the Church, because Luke 18:31; 24:27, 44; John 1:45; Acts 3:25; 10:43; Rom 16:26 point to this conclusion. Christ produces the Church and the Church was foretold by the Prophets. It was not a secret or a mystery as some report. What was a secret or hidden according to Paul was only that the Gentiles would be join heirs and fellowcitizens of the same body [Eph. 3:5-6]. The last Trump signals the end and thus the resurrection. There can be no end unti the first resurreection. I find it also amusing that the Pre-Tribs would say the book of Revelation is written in chronological order and then try to finigle until they have the first resurrection before the tribulation. This is accomplished withe false doctrine of a split-phase rapture theory, and multiple resurrections and comings in the one ressurrection. These have to last trumps, one before the tribulation and one at the end of the tribulation. The fact is, there is one RESURRECTION and it takes place at the last or seventh trumpet at the end of the tribulation period.

To teach otherwise is false doctrine.

Pastor Reckart