Sorry No Rapture, but Persecution is Coming!
Nathan Leal - June 5, 2008

6 "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.

8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

9 Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.

10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another."
Matthew 24:6-10

Today's western church is asleep and deceived under a false sense of security.

It is amazing that a deception that is clearly unbiblical has taken such a strong hold of western theology.

If you were to ask the average Christian, "What is the Rapture?" You will most likely hear, "Well, that is when God takes all the Christians off of the earth before the horrible tribulation starts!"

To seek the truth from God, we must be totally honest with ourselves.

In reading the above verse from Matthew 24, we see Jesus mentioning "the beginning of sorrows".

This period in the end times includes:
1. Wars and rumors of war
2. Famines
3. Pestilence
4. Earthquakes in various places

Popular TV preachers will recite these verses to convince their listeners that we are indeed in the end times. They will then say, " ...Therefore the Rapture is about to happen! It could happen, right now, while we are sitting here!"

But let us again examine the words of Jesus:

"All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you..."

The part that they do NOT mention is what we see in verse 9 of Matthew 24; "...Then they will deliver you up "

Now where do we find the "Rapture" happening between verse 8 and verse 9? We don't! What we do find is the "beginning of sorrows" going right into Christian persecution (..delivered up..). In addition to persecution, we read Jesus saying, "...they will deliver you up to TRIBULATION!"

In other words, according to the words of Jesus, Christians are going to be persecuted in tribulation! Or in the "Tribulation"!

Jesus said, "I am the Way, the TRUTH and the Life." He also said that when the Holy Spirit came, He would lead us into all Truth. If we are truly Disciples of Christ, we must accept ALL truth, no matter where it leads.

Someday, in the future, Christians are going to begin facing persecution, arrest and death. According to Jesus, "Then they will deliver you up...And then many will be offended, will betray one another,..." the coming persecution will occur because people in the church will begin "turning in" the true Saints of God to government authorities!

Imagine this! Christians, or actually "lukewarm hypocrites" will become Judas Iscariots to the true saints of God. How could this be?

How it will Happen

The Bible says, "And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie." 2 Thess. 2:11

A lie! What kind of lie would possibly make people believe that it is a good thing to "tattle" on fellow Christians and have them incarcerated into prison?

Are you ready? Four Words. Four simple words that will convince ignorant people to do the inconceivable. The four words are "The War on Terror!"

In our post 911 world, the U.S. Government has legislated new laws that have essentially erased the constitutional rights to the citizenry.

The "War on Terror", on paper sounds like a good thing. In a perfect world, these laws would be used to catch members of radical groups who would do us harm.

Unfortunately, the way that these laws have been written leaves a very broad definition of "terrorists" and "enemy combatants". And these laws in the hands of a self-serving leader, give the American Government the latitude for abuse to U.S. citizens and Christians.

Would our dear "Christian" President use these laws against God's people? Hopefully not. But we do not know who our future president will be.

Coming to America!

Many Christian falsely believe that dictatorial rule could never come to the land of the "free", the United States. But friends, all of the laws are already in place to do just that!

Are these laws going to be abused in the near future? In the future, yes! In the NEAR future, I do not know!

Many Christians have also stated, "Well, I have nothing to hide. I am good. Those laws would not be used against me!" Again, friends, in a perfect world that is true, they would not. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world.

Thus the heart of this message, "To all, that will hear these words, in the future, God is going to allow His people to be sifted as wheat! He is going to use the agency of human government to accomplish this!"

Please be forewarned, God wants His children to prepare. It is time to strengthen your relationship and walk with God. This includes not only you but your family.

"For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape."
1 Thes 5:3

To him that has the ears to hear, hear these words.

God Bless You

Nathan Leal - A Watchman
June 5, 2008