A woman from the Netherlands proposed we address a
troubling thought she lives with as a Christian. It is a paradox I
believe many Christians who look for Christ to come for believers in the
rapture have considered, at least to some extent.
The writer sent an article about the growing Islamic population in
Europe and the threat Islam represents not only to Israel, but to the
rest of the world that is not Islamic. She recognizes that Israel being
at the center of world controversy indicates the lateness of the hour,
prophetically speaking. She puts it this way in her email:
Every time I see these articles, I am on one hand horrified at the
treatment of the Jewish people but on the other hand full of
anticipation as I know that with each event that pushes the Jewish
people back to their homeland of Israel, the closer the rapture is for
Christians. I do feel badly that I am excited for the rapture though as
I know what that means for those that will be left behind... Should we
be as excited as I am to know that we can (I believe "will") be raptured
any second? I know this gives me an urgency to share the gospel with
friends and neighbors, but I still always feel guilty for the
anticipation and excitement I get when I see the current events played
out daily.
This dichotomy within the believer's thinking is, I believe, not unusual
for those who truly look for Christ's any-moment call as prophesied by
Paul the apostle:
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in
Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:
and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thess. 4: 16-17)
Christians who believe the pre-tribulation rapture is truth from God's
Word, yearn--without need to apologize--for the blessed hope that is
found in Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13). At the same time, they know that
when that call from their Lord comes, those left behind will soon endure
a time of horror, about which the Lord Himself foretold: "For then shall
be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world
to this time, no, nor ever shall be" (Matt. 24:21).
Those left behind will, the Christian knows, include perhaps close
friends and beloved family members. So, the paradox of wanting the
rapture to take place, and at the same time dreading it for those who
will stay on this planet that will endure God's judgment and wrath is,
to some, troubling.
The article this writer sent with her email encapsulates just a small
part of the building evil that the Lord of heaven will judge with His
righteous wrath. The matters the article involve point to the satanic
rage represented within Islam, the number-one Israel-hating entity on
the planet. Hatred for Israel, and the desire of the international
community to force the Jewish state to divide the tiny portion of its
God-given land in order to come up with a formula for peace with its
Islamic neighbors will lead to Armageddon, God's Word says:
For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again
the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations,
and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead
with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have
scattered among the nations, and parted my land. (Joel 3:2)
The article the emailer sent contained a speech by Geert Wilders, a
Dutch Member of Parliament for the Netherlands. He synopsized with
stunning description how Israel's Islamic enemy is systematically
infecting Europe, thus threatening world stability--or what little of it
that remains.
Wilders, who is chairman of the Party for Freedom, the Netherlands,
spoke at the Four Seasons, New York, introducing an Alliance of Patriots
and announcing the Facing Jihad Conference in Jerusalem. He announced
that Europe is in dire straits as it undergoes Islamization. America and
the world, he warned, face the same fate as Europe if the threat isn't
confronted and defeated everywhere it exists.
Wilders said that entire city sections throughout Europe are taken over
by Islamics one street at a time. Local governments and police forces
are often so intimidated that they dare not go into those areas to
govern. Women, treated no better than slaves, according to the speaker,
are covered from head to toe in tent-like attire, sharia law takes
precedence, and women in sections of the cities not part of the Islamic
communities more and more hear hate-filled shouts of "Whore!" from those
of the Islamic populations.
Wilders said in his speech ..
here
Jews are fleeing France in record numbers, on the run from the worst
wave of anti-Semitism since World War II...Many in Europe argue in favor
of abandoning Israel in order to address the grievances of our Muslim
minorities. But if Israel were, God forbid, to go down, it would not
bring any solace to the West It would not mean our Muslim minorities
would all of a sudden change their behavior, and accept our values. On
the contrary, the end of Israel would give enormous encouragement to the
forces of Islam. They would, and rightly so, see the demise of Israel as
proof that the West is weak, and doomed. The end of Israel would not
mean the end of our problems with Islam, but only the beginning. It
would mean the start of the final battle for world domination. If they
can get Israel, they can get everything.
Israel and its being targeted for extinction is the sure sign that the
tribulation is in view. The rapture of the church is, therefore, an
event that must be very near to occurring indeed. That being the obvious
case, what should be the Christian's foremost priority? The answer is
that it should not be considered a paradox for the believer, but an
exhortation, a call to duty.
There is nothing anyone can do to hurry or delay the coming of Christ
for His saints in the rapture. The timing of that great event is out of
our hands. Therefore, longing for the blessed hope (Titus 2:13) to
rescue us from the terrible time to come (Revelation 3:10) doesn't
conflict with our concern and compassion for those who will be left
behind if they don't come to Christ for salvation.
It is time for those
who name the name of Christ to recognize the lateness of the prophetic
hour; witness to those around us of the truth that Jesus Christ is the
one and only Way to salvation; and live in such a way that we can earn
our Lord's commendation, "Well done, good and faithful servant."