Christian Controversies - End Times

The end times are a fascinating subject for many people, including those outside of faith of the God of the bible, and rightly so. Who wouldn't want to know how life as we know it will end? The entertainment industry has profited much on the subject with movies like Armageddon and 2012, which show that the population at large has the end times on their mind. Now the purpose of this study isn't to go into all of that detail, but to look at what the bible says will happen in the future. As part of the body of Christ, believers in God giving us His only Son to save us from sin and death should be aligned on what God says will happen. I will explore views on the timing of events, concerns about when the Tribulation will be, who is the Antichrist, who are the 144,000 witnesses, and more. The goal of this again is to get us thinking not on what our presuppositions are, but letting God speak for Himself in the bible and opening our minds and hearts to what He has to say.

In order to understand the timing, we need to come to an understanding of history as the bible presents it. Understanding the two most recent programs God has with mankind is critical to understanding the end times. What two programs are those? Please see my study which I've called the Two Gospels at this link: Two Gospels.

Knowing the difference then, that Paul's gospel is the one for today, will essentially erase all doubt as to when the Tribulation will take place. There are three major viewpoints for those that believe there will be a rapture event. The rapture is the event as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
16 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:
17 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.

The word there for "caught up" is from the Latin verb rapire (literally rapiemur in verse 17) and is where we get the term rapture from. However, I choose to go back to the Greek for the purposes of study since the New Testament was originally written in that language. It is my belief that the Greek is the inspired Word of God and not the Latin. However if we call it "The Harpazo," or really "The Harpagesometha" it just doesn't have the same ring to it. So if I say rapture, or rapture event, please know that I'm referring to this time of being snatched away and brought together with all the dead in Christ to meet the Lord in the air as written in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.

Those three major viewpoints I alluded to are Pre-Trib, Mid-Trib, and Post-Trib. Those words might look silly to some of us, but they refer to the occurrence of the rapture in relation to the Tribulation period. The words were coined by those who believe that there will be a rapture, but are in disagreement on when it will take place. Pre-Trib proponents believe the rapture will happen before the Tribulation. Mid-Trib proponents believe it will happen 3.5 years into the Tribulation, which is the middle of the 7-year Tribulation period. Post-Trib proponents believe that the rapture will happen after the Tribulation. Before jumping straight to the answer to which of these is correct according to scripture, I want to show the verses cited that proponents of each viewpoint use in support of their claim. I'll work backwards from my list and start with the Post-Trib viewpoint.

I have seen it said that if events described in different passages of scripture can be identified as the same event, then it will prove that the event is one and the same. This approach is good, that is, using scripture to interpret scripture, but there is one element that is missing which would be the key to knowing if the interpretation is good. The answer can be summed up in one word: context. If passages are taken out of their context to support a claim, the interpretation will be false. For the purposes of this study, the argument, or proofs as they are cited, for the Post-Trib view is as taken from a website entitled The Berean Christian Bible Study Resources:

Proof #1:
Mt 24:43,44 associates "Thief in the Night" with the post-trib coming of the Lord
1Thess chapters 4 and 5 associate the "Thief in the night" coming with the Day of the Lord and with the Rapture which Paul anticipated for himself and the Thessalonians, were they to live that long.
Now unless there are two "thief in the night" days of the Lord, this proves not only that there will be a post-trib rapture, but also proves that there can be no pre-trib rapture, unless we believe Paul and the Thessalonians are excluded from that resurrection and rapture.
Besides there being no scriptural evidence of two "thief in the night" days of the Lord, both taking people by surprise, if there were two then the first would have already alerted people to the circumstances. Thus it seems reasonable that there could only be one such coming of the Lord. Thus since there is such a day associated with his post-trib coming in Mt 24, this disproves a pre-trib rapture.

Now this looks like a good point, doesn't it? If the "Thief in the Night" concept is the same between Matthew 24 and 1 Thessalonians 4 and 5 the argument would be sound, but let's look at these scriptures a bit closer and in their context.

Matthew 24:43-44
43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

Taking these two verses out of their context can certainly lead to the conclusion that the Tribulation period will happen before any rapture event were to occur. But what is the context of Matthew 24:43-44? To answer that we need to ask the questions, why was Jesus talking about the hour that the Son of man was coming? And who was Jesus talking to? Take a look back at Matthew 24:1-4a

Matthew 24:1-4a
1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
4 And Jesus answered and said unto them...

Jesus had led into a discussion on the end of the existence of the temple building. This triggered His disciples to seek Him out privately to ask three questions as shown in verse 3. When will the temple be destroyed? What will be the sign that Jesus will come again? What is the sign of the end of the world? The rest of Matthew 24 is Jesus answering those questions. Now remember, Jesus Himself said that "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel," in Matthew 15:24. Let me reiterate. He was sent to the house of Israel. His disciples at the time of Matthew 24 were all Israelites who believed God and followed the rules God gave them at that time, which was called the Law of Moses. They knew of the coming promised kingdom from 2 Samuel 7. They knew that Messiah would restore Israel to prominence because of the promise in Exodus 19:6. Everything here has to do with Israel and they knew that the Tribulation needs to happen before the kingdom is established. For more on that, prayerfully study Daniel 9:20-27 and all of chapter 12.

Now having said that, let's look at the other scripture cited in "Proof #1" These would be the rapture verses of 1 Thessalonians 4, but also includes some verses in chapter 5.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-5:2
16 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:
17 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.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

Everyone get ready for a language lesson. See the first word of 1 Thessalonians 5:1? It's the word but. What does that word mean? It means there's a contrast coming up. Everything stated in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 is about to be contrasted with something. "Comfort one another with these words, BUT of the times and seasons..." The chapter break may be doing some injustice to what's going on there but I think that argument is superfluous. This should be quite obvious when stopping to look at the words on the page. Paul just got done saying how Jesus Christ Himself will descend from Heaven and snatch away all believers at that time. Why would he say to comfort with these words? Because they were concerned that their brothers and sisters who died in Christ may not be with them right away.

1 Thessalonians 4:13
13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

Paul was correcting them in that they didn't have to be sorrowful for those they love who have died in faith, and certainly not to think as those who don't believe in Christ since unbelievers do not have such a hope. Believers of the message given to Paul have a blessed hope, which is a heavenly hope. That word hope there does not indicate any chance, as if something may or may not happen. It is an expectation; just an unknown time. I could cite other scripture, but let's take a look back in the same epistle to chapter 1. I'll leave off a few verses of introduction, but know that the subject are the believers in the gospel of grace at Thessalonica and Paul is the author:

1 Thessalonians 1:6-10
6 And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:
7 So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.
8 For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.
9 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;
10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

Verse 6 indicates that they followed Paul and his message, which is the gospel of grace. Verse 9 is proof from those outside that these people in Thessalonica are true believers in Christ. Now look at verse 10. Believers are to wait for his Son from Heaven, Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. Wrath to come? What's that? What are the saints of the gospel of grace delivered from?

First, an interesting fact about that word wait in verse 10. It is the Greek anamenó, which means I await (one whose coming is expected) according to Strong's concordance. Are you starting to see the correlation? Believers in the gospel of grace have an expectation, or hope, of God's Son from heaven, as verse 10 is very clear. This hope is that Jesus delivered us from the wrath to come. So what does this heavenly hope look like? It's described in chapter 4:16-17. Take some time to look back at those verses, and then let's ask the question what is this wrath to come? That brings us back to the "but" in 5:1.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-2
1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

Contrasting the heavenly hope of Jesus snatching away believers, Paul now is talking about something different. This something different is entitled the "times and the seasons" and that apparently the Thessalonian believers know all about it already. I can't see any other interpretation of the "ye have no need that I write unto you" Paul adds to the "times and seasons." So what are these times and seasons? Paul begins to write about it in verse 2. This is the day of the Lord. What is that? I'll leave that up to the reader to research, but that phrase the day of the Lord is spoken throughout the Old Testament and always refers to the day of God's wrath, which is the Tribulation period. If it's not clear enough, go back and prayfully study Matthew 24 and see that Jesus is very plainly talking about Daniel's 70th week, also called the Tribulation (see especially verse 15).

Now that we see that 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2 are talking about 2 different events, let's go back to those statements entitled "Proof #1" of the Post Tribulational Rapture.

*Mt 24:43,44 associates "Thief in the Night" with the post-trib coming of the Lord - This is a true statement, as we know Jesus would return to the Mount of Olives where He ascended from (Acts 1:11).

*1Thess chapters 4 and 5 associate the "Thief in the night" coming with the Day of the Lord and with the Rapture which Paul anticipated for himself and the Thessalonians, were they to live that long. - This is not true, as we've seen that there is a clear difference of the rapture event in chapter 4 and the Day of the Lord in chapter 5. Little words are very important, and in this case is the word "but," which is "de" in the Greek. We'd have to agree with this proof if the Greek was "kai" which would mean "and," but that's just not what's written there.

*Now unless there are two "thief in the night" days of the Lord, this proves not only that there will be a post-trib rapture, but also proves that there can be no pre-trib rapture, unless we believe Paul and the Thessalonians are excluded from that resurrection and rapture. - There are no two "thief in the night" days of the Lord. There is the heavenly hope of those saved under Paul's gospel and an earthly hope of those saved under Peter's gospel. Both hopes are expectations of Jesus. Those under Paul's gospel will go to heaven to be with Jesus and to be saved from the wrath to come. Those under Peter's gospel may endure the wrath, but will be delivered from it at the end of the Tribulation (Matt 24:13, etc).

*Besides there being no scriptural evidence of two "thief in the night" days of the Lord, both taking people by surprise, if there were two then the first would have already alerted people to the circumstances. Thus it seems reasonable that there could only be one such coming of the Lord. Thus since there is such a day associated with his post-trib coming in Mt 24, this disproves a pre-trib rapture. - Again, Matthew 24 and 1 Thessalonians 4 are talking about two different events. From the explanation above, this proof falls apart quickly.

Let's take a look at another Proof cited at this website.

Proof #2:
1Cor 15:51,52 Indicates that there will be a resurrection and a rapture at the last trumpet.
Paul uses the word "we" indicating that resurrection and rapture will be that which he and the Corinthians would partake.
The last trumpet in Revelation is the 7th trumpet of Rev 11:15, which is post-trib.
This disproves the pre-trib rapture, unless we are to believe that the resurrection corresponding to that rapture would not include the early church.

This one is answered simply. Who was the book of the Revelation written to and about? How can we be sure to associate the trumpet stated by Paul with the 7th trumpet in Revelation? There is no proof whatsoever in these statements that a pre-trib rapture can't exist since the compared verses are not the same in context. The problem is that statements like this look good at first and can be deceiving if they are just taken as fact. But when they are looked at more closely and in prayer, the truth becomes obvious. Remember that Paul spoke of the heavenly hope of the believer in his gospel? In 1 Thessalonians 4:16 we have the verbiage that there will be a trumpet to sound at the time of the rapture event. This is consistent with Paul's message on the resurrection of the believer mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52. Paul would have carried a consistent message, and we would expect there to be differences between Paul's message and the book of the Revelation, since the apostle John wrote the book of the Revelation wrote it to those under the gospel of the kingdom. Let's move on.

Proof #3:
2Thess 2 refers to the coming of the Lord in which Paul believed he and the early Church would be "gathered to him". Notice the phrase "our being gathered to him".He indicates that their being gathered to the Lord would not occur until after the antiChrist is revealed and after the apostacy (Yes it's literally "apostasia" in the Greek) Jesus alluded to the apostacy in Mt 24:10 "At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other." And consistent with 2Thess, Jesus continues in Mt 24 by speaking about the antiChrist, all of which constitute elements of the great tribulation. Then Jesus speaks of the gathering in Mt 24:31  "And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other." But if Paul was talking about a different gathering which occurred prior to these events then he would have simply told the Thessalonians that the reason why they should know that gathering hadn't occur is because they had not been raptured. This proves that the rapture/resurrection of which Paul anticipated for himself and the early church would occur after the tribulation had started, and as such disproves a pre-trib rapture.

Right in the first sentence we have an error in translation of the English. I need to show 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 in the English, then the Greek to fully understand what Paul is talking about here.

1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

The translators took the liberty to put the word "Christ" in verse 2 when in the Greek it is really translated "Lord". Observe in verse 2 that the phrase is hemera tou Kyriou, which is literally "Day of the Lord" and not "day of Christ." Let these verses say what it says. Verses 1 and 2 says that Paul doesn't want his Thessalonian brothers and sisters in faith to be alarmed that Jesus Christ had already raptured them away and that now was the Day of the Lord. Do you see why that would be alarming? Paul had just preached in 1 Thessalonians 1:10 and 4:16-17 that they would not endure the wrath, and now they're thinking they missed the rapture and will endure the Tribulation. Paul reassures them in verse 3, which is where this Proof #3 is in error.

2 Thessalonians 2:3
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

That word for "falling away" there in the Greek is apostasia. Literally translated, this means a departure as shown in this definition from HELPS Word Studies - "leave, depart," which is derived from 575 /apó, "away from" and 2476 /histémi, "stand") – properly, departure (implying desertion); apostasy – literally, "a leaving, from a previous standing." Think about that. What leaving from a previous standing does Paul consistently talk about, especially to the Thessalonians? Wouldn't that be the rapture event? Paul is saying that until that rapture happens, the Day of Lord shall not come. I'm jumping ahead of myself here in dispelling all other views of when the rapture takes place, but I have to point out simply what scripture says. It's almost painful in how clear scripture is that the church, the body of Christ, will absolutely not go through the Tribulation. Otherwise Paul wasn't very nice to say "comfort one another" since he first said they were delivered from the wrath to come (1;10) and then turn around and say they had to endure the wrath of God. I wouldn't exactly consider that comforting. And we have several testimonies from Paul that his messages were from Jesus Christ Himself (Romans 9:1, Gal 1:12, 1 Thessalonians 2:13, etc) except when he would deliberately say that it was from him (1 Corinthians 7:6, 10, 25).

Back to the Proof #3, we cannot associate the apostasy of 2 Thessalonians 2 with Matthew 24:10 because there is no apostasy or departure mentioned in Matthew 24:10. The verbs in Matthew 24:10 are skandalisthēsontai, paradōsousin, and misēsousin, which if you visit those definitions are much different than apostasia. It's almost funny in that the Proof #3 alludes to the gathering Jesus mentions and the gathering Paul mentions as proof for a post-trib rapture, but Paul is speaking that the apostasy hadn't happened as proof that the Day of the Lord was not here yet and the rapture (same event as the apostasy in 2 Thess 2) had not occurred. Interesting that the same verse is cited to try and prove both points, but of course only one can be true. As I've shown, scripture is on the side of a rapture before any Tribulation. There's one more Proof on the website, and then we can take a look at those in favor of a mid-trib point of view.

Proof #4:
The Rapture is associated with "the day of the Lord". (1Thess 5:2 "for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night." for example which corresponds to the rapture mentioned in 1Thess 4:16,17.) But while I agree that the day referred to may extend over a period of time, there are verses which indicate certain events to preceed the start of that day. Notice Joel 2:31 says, "The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD." (And Peter quotes this in Acts 2 as applying to the church) And 2Thess 2:2,3 "not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed." Since the raptures occurs on the day of the Lord, and since the day of the Lord doesn't start until after events associated with the great tribulation occur - the rebellion/apostacy, the revealing of the antiChrist, the sun turned to darkness - this disproves the idea of a pre-trib rapture.

I hope by now the reader can see that there are several verses taken out of their context to try and prove a point. Please, please, please, just let scripture say what it says. The kingdom program was put on hold when God concluded Israel in unbelief (Romans 11). The church at Jerusalem in Acts 2 was under the kingdom program and is not the same as the church, the body of Christ under the grace program. God is not fulfilling prophecy as yet, but it will all be fulfilled in the right time (Matthew 5:18). It comes from understanding history as scripture records it, that the departure, or rapture happens first, then the Antichrist is revealed and the Tribulation takes place. Peter did allude to the prophecy of Joel coming true, but Israel didn't believe in God sending Jesus as the Messiah as a nation, so they were set aside until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in (Roman 11:25). Rebellion is another unfortunate translation error in the English. Apostasia should mean standing away from in it's most literal form, but understand that to stand away would be to stand in another place. Believers in the gospel of grace as given to Paul will no longer be standing on earth when Jesus descends with a shout, we will all be in Heaven with our Lord and Savior forever.

By examining just these four statements that favor a post-trib view, it should be clear that scripture doesn't support it. In fact, scripture overwhelmingly supports the pre-trib concept. In any case, let's take a look at some things that are cited to prove a mid-tribulation rapture.

I found a website that does a pretty good job up front in trying to have scripture interpret scripture. It is that website that I will investigate the reasoning given for a mid-trib rapture viewpoint. The website can be found here.

I have a serious problem with point number 2 in the outline on the basis of scripture. This sentence here...

The signs of the end will inaugurate the tribulation, described in Revelation as the seven seals and the seven trumpets (Rev. 5-9). The tribulation will involve suffering and difficulty for believers and unbelievers alike, although Christians will be spared the wrath of God (Rom. 5:9)

...is not understanding the scripture. Romans 5:9 does in fact say that believers in Paul's gospel will be spared from God's wrath. But take a few minutes to read through Revelation 5-9. It is very clear that only Jesus Christ is able to open those seals, but what happens when they are opened? It could be argued that the riders in chapter 6 aren't specifically God's wrath since there have been conquerors in the past, different nations have killed one another, and famines and economic crises have happened before. Even so, look at the end of chapter 6

Revelation 6:12-17
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

How can this not be part of God's wrath that the body of Christ is not saved from? We have looked at the promise several times that the church which is the Body of Christ is saved from the Tribulation period because the Tribulation period is exclusive to the nation of Israel and the program of the coming kingdom. How can we draw the line saying that stars falling from heaven and every mountain and island were moved out of their places is not God's wrath? How is this kind of tribulation okay for the Body of Christ to go through? And this is just chapter 6. Even if we pretend that these verses are for the Body of Christ, then why is there mention of the tribes of Israel in chapter 7 when we know there is no difference between Jew and Gentile in the Body of Christ? If there is no difference, shouldn't God include Gentiles in that list of 144,000 sealed? At least the writer on this website is true in that the first half of the Tribulation is 3 and a half years long. The second paragraph in point number 2 of the outline errs in that scripture we have already looked at is very clear on what the start of the Tribulation is: the rapture of the church, the Body of Christ. Then the Antichrist is revealed and so forth. Determining how far into the Tribulation may indeed be hard to say, but we know what the midpoint is, the abomination of desolation (Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15).

I think a good question to ask someone who believes in the mid-trib viewpoint is if you're using prophecy to show when this rapture of the Body of Christ will take place, why is the rapture never prophesied? Wouldn't Daniel have been shown this? Wouldn't it be clear in the Revelation? The reason you don't find it there is because the message given to Paul was hidden from all mankind until it was given to Paul. Please prayfully study Ephesians 3:1-9 to understand this.

Mid-trib rapture proponents have to wrestle with bending prophecy to fit Paul's message of grace or bending Paul's message of grace to fit prophecy. Either way, this is not rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). Paul is quite clear in Ephesians 3:1-9 that his message was not known before his time. It was hid, it is unsearchable, and it was not made known unto the sons of men in other ages. Therefore, if we believe in the inerrancy of scripture, we must take to heart that Paul's message is different, although God is the same throughout all ages. For a quick lesson in right division, observe what Jesus says in Luke 4:17-21.

17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

The scripture He quotes is Isaiah 61:1-2. There are minor discrepancies since Isaiah was written in Hebrew and Luke was written in Greek.

Isaiah 61:1-2
1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

Do you see that Jesus stopped at the comma in verse 2 during His quote in Luke 4? He stopped in mid sentence of the prophet. Why? Because "the day of vengeance of our God" was not yet proclaimed. He first came to get Israel ready for that day, but we have hindsight to see that they didn't believe as a nation and were set aside in unbelief. Jesus rightly divides the word of truth and so should we since we are commanded to in 2 Timothy 2:15.

I hope I have shown that scripture clearly points out that every member of the church, the Body of Christ, will not go through the Tribulation period. As such, we should not concern ourselves with who the Antichrist may be and when the events of the Revelation will take place, because that will happen after we're in Heaven. We don't know how long God's grace will remain, so we should focus on redeeming the time, for the days are evil, and knowing what the will of the Lord is (Ephesians 5:16-17). His will is that every man be saved, come to the knowledge of the truth, and our sanctification (1 Timothy 2:4,1 Thessalonians 4:3). So I encourage every believer in Christ with these words:

2 Timothy 4:2-5
2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

Keep on keeping on for our Lord Jesus Christ!

Christian Controversies - Salvation

Salvation is one of those things that we would think Christians would all understand and agree on. However, there are many divisions in the church today on what is true about salvation. First, can salvation be lost? I've met many Christians who live in fear thinking they need to be perfect in works in order to maintain their salvation. They constantly think they need to "get right with God" every day or every time they're aware of a sin in order to escape condemnation to the lake of fire. That may mean confessing the sin to another person or doing some kind act of repentance like coming to an altar. Another train of thought is that there are only a select few that are going to be saved from sin and death and the rest are condemned to the lake of fire already. This is something Calvanism teaches and emphasizes predestination. In other words, only a few were predestined for everlasting life and all others were predestined for everlasting torment and we have no say in the matter. Another viewpoint is that everyone is saved because Jesus Christ did everything on the cross and all sin is gone. This is also called Universalism. So how do we answer all these isms? Like always, let's just see what the bible says.

First, we need to recognize a couple of things. The word of God is true and is the one source of truth (Rom 3:4). Second, that God says what He means and doesn't leave us with ambiguous words. Third, that salvation in the bible is referring to being saved from the consequences of sin, which is death and  eternal separation from God in the lake of fire (Rom 6:23a, Mark 9:42-48, etc.). And finally, God's ways of dealing with mankind has changed throughout history and we need to recognize those differences (Phil 1:10, 2 Tim 2:15). Knowing these things will help us in our study on what God says is salvation for today's age.

Considering the third point, what age are we in? How does God deal with mankind today? It is called the dispensation of the grace of God, Paul's gospel, the revelation of the mystery, the gospel of Christ,  the gospel of the uncircumcision, etc. (Rom 16:25, 1 Cor 1:17 cf with 1 Cor 4:15, 1 Cor 9:18, 2 Cor 9:13, 10:14, Gal 1:6-9, 2:7, Eph 3:1-9, Phil 1:27, Col 1:23, etc.). For those that don't believe me, prayerfully consider Galatians 2:7 and ask God what is meant by the two different gospels mentioned there. I always encourage not to just trust me and my words, but see what God says since He's the one that cannot lie (Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18).

Knowing that we are in the dispensation of the grace of God, we need to turn to the apostle that was given this dispensation to understand the doctrine of it. That would be Paul as it is clear in Romans 11:13 and Ephesians 3:1-7 as well as a few other places.

Romans 11:13

For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office

Ephesians 3:1-7

1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,

2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:

3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,

4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)

5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;

6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.

So what does God say through Paul about salvation from sin? I'm going to start by looking historically in Paul's first recorded message as an apostle, eventually covering Acts 13:16-41. Here are the first few verses:

Acts 13:16-18

16 Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience.

17 The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it.

18 And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness.

Note well Paul's audience. He addresses "men of Israel" and "ye that fear God." According to Acts 13:14 they were in a synagogue, so we ought to expect that the audience would be Israelites and Gentiles of Jewish faith. The men of Israel are just that: men born in Israel from Israelite parents. The "ye that fear God" would be any Gentile that has proselytized to the Jewish faith. Remember the Jews, or Israelites, were the chosen people whom God revealed His word through (Rom 3:1-2). Paul begins his address by reminding these faithful of God's Word what happened in their history. The ensuing verses is simply to lay the groundwork for his point at the end.

Acts 13:19-23

19 And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot.

20 And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.

21 And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years.

22 And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.

23 Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:

No doubt that these faithful men would know about the promise God made to David their king. I think it's interesting that Paul cuts right to the point and says that that prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus. Remember, this is a time in history where the little flock led by Peter were trying to preach the good news of the Messiah and coming kingdom that was promised through the seed of David, but not all had believed. In fact, we can see the determination that God had concluded them in unbelief (Rom 11:25,32) in Acts 13:2 where He says "Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them." The English doesn't do enough to convey the original message from the Greek in that verse. There is a particle in the Greek, de, which provides emphasis. The verse should really say something like "Separate me now Barnabas and Saul..." or "Separate me indeed..." or "Separate me truly." This was a big deal and should be noted as such. We will see the change in dispensations (house rules) later in this address.

Acts 13:24-26

24 When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

25 And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose.

26 Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.

Again I just want to point out that Paul was addressing all who "feareth God." These are Jews and Gentiles. Anyone that fears God is sent this message that Jesus is the Messiah. Paul even uses the word for salvation there in verse 26. What salvation is he talking about? It's the salvation through the Savior Jesus as mentioned in verse 23. But first Paul is going to prove that Jesus is the Messiah in the upcoming verses and then let on what salvation in Jesus looks like.

Acts 13:27-37

27 For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.

28 And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain.

29 And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre.

30 But God raised him from the dead:

31 And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people.

32 And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,

33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.

34 And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.

35 Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

36 For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:

37 But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.

Paul is declaring all the prophecy that was fulfilled to prove Jesus as the Messiah. Remember Paul's audience did "fear God" yet they had not seen that Jesus was their Messiah. He was reminding them that all of this was available to be known in the scriptures they had. See those two words in verse 32, "glad tidings?" That word is also translate gospel in other places. The exact word is euangelizometha, but the root is euaggelizó. Paul is going to give them some really good news in these next verses now that He is showing Jesus as the promised one from God.

Acts 13:38-41

38 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:

39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

40 Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets;

41 Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.

In short, we have the gospel in verses 38-39. Through Jesus Christ is forgiveness of sins. Verse 39 is very clear that it is by Jesus that we are justified and the Law of Moses could not justify anyone of their sins by itself. Faith is required and not adherence to the Law of Moses for justification.

Think of how radical this message must have sounded at that time! Ever since the Law was given to Israel through Moses, they were taught to follow it and carry out all the works in it for the remission of sins. Now Paul says that they can't have sins remitted through the Law at this time and that it is by faith alone that they can obtain forgiveness of sins. Compare this message even to a couple of chapters back in Acts 10:35 where Peter gives the terms of salvation at that time.

Acts 10:35

But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

See the difference? He that feareth him, or he that has faith in God, AND worketh righteousness, or keeps the Law. Faith plus works was the gospel since the Law was given to Moses up until Paul's address in Acts 13:38-39.

So I looked at Acts to show the terms of salvation today. All of Paul's epistles show that salvation is through faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross of Calvary and that the works of the Law have no part in salvation from sin and death any more. Knowing this, we should dive deeper into some of the controversy surrounding salvation. The first of which was the question as to whether or not salvation could be lost. We have several passages to look at which show that through Paul's gospel salvation can never be lost. I will then show some verses that people cite to show that it can. These are only a few, so I would encourage everyone to look for similar truths in the epistles of Paul.

Romans 8:35-39

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

How can nothing separate us from the love of God which is in Jesus Christ our Lord? Because we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. I will discuss what that seal means after showing these verses.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22

21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;

22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

2 Corinthians 5:4-5

4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.

5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.

The "earnest" there in verse 5 has this definition: arrhabṓn – properly, an installment; a deposit ("down-payment") which guarantees the balance (the full purchase-price). There is another  popular passage to consider:

Ephesians 1:12-14

12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Again, I encourage the reader to look for more such verses in Paul's letters, but I want to point out that we have both the seal (Greek sphragizó) and the earnest (arrhabon) in Ephesians 1:12-14. In the ancient days, people would put a seal on things, usually done by a ring in melted wax. This seal signifies ownership and the full security carried by the backing (full authority) of the owner. "Sealing" in the ancient world served as a "legal signature" which guaranteed the promise (contents) of what was sealed (HELPS Word-studies description). Another key aspect of this is that no one but the one who made the seal could break the seal. Also note that in each of the passages above where "sealed" is, that that word is in the Aorist tense. The Aorist tense of a verb has the idea of something occurring in the past and continuing through the present. In short, the seal was done at the moment of putting faith in Jesus Christ and the seal will continue to be there "until the redemption of the purchased possession." That would be the calling home to be with Jesus, whether by physical death or rapture (1 Thess 4:16-18).

Now some will cite these verses and claim that salvation CAN be lost. So let's look at those and see what the Word of God really says there.

1 Timothy 1:5-6

5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:

6 From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling

It is said that verse 6 here says that some have turned from a sincere faith and are now lost again. And quite honestly it looks like that at first glance. Can this be so? I encourage everyone to take a look at the Greek there whether you know the language or not. Here it is literally with links to Strong's concordance for your convenience:

1 Timothy 1:6 (Greek)

hōn tines astochēsantes exetrapēsan eis mataiologian

Quite literally, this says, "which some have been missing the mark have been going out of the way to idle talk." The Greek in no way indicates that these people that are engaging in that idle talk, or "vain jangling" as the KJV puts it, have readily received the faith in sincerity at any time. Take note that the words astochesantes and exetrapesan are both in the Aorist tense, which is why I translated as I did. The "have turned" isn't quite right as the KJV puts it as it is not a done deal in the past when the Greek is considered.

Another verse to try and dispute the concept of eternal security is later in 1 Timothy:

1 Timothy 1:18-20

18 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;

19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:

20 Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

Some will say that in verses 19 and 20 Hymenaeus and Alexander had the good conscience and were holding faith, as Timothy was charged with starting in verse 18, and now have lost it. Again I have to say, look at the original inspired text there. Here is the Greek for verse 19

1 Timothy 19 (Greek)

echōn pistin kai agathēn syneidēsin hēn tines apōsamenoi peri tēn pistin enauagēsan

The two verbs there, aposamenoi and enauagesan are in the Aorist tense. So taking a very literal approach to this sentence we would have, "Holding faith and good conscience, which some have been thrusting away concerning the faith have been making shipwreck." Do you see the difference there again? Paul isn't saying that they had a good conscience and faith and then thrust it away. They did thrust it away and continue to the present in thrusting it away, bringing their faith to nothing. The shipwreck again was not just something done in the past, but something they did and continue to do.

Also cited as proof that salvation can be lost is Ephesians 5:5-7

5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.

It is said that Paul is referring to those who were sealed by the Holy Spirit that choose to engage in one of those unclean behaviors will not receive any inheritance. To that I would say to look at the context. What do the first four words of verse 5 say? This you all know. Paul wasn't saying "This you all could be." He is just stating a fact. Those that are fleshly and not spiritual have no inheritance in the kingdom of God. That makes sense right? Whoever doesn't receive the Holy Spirit is still dead in  trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1-2). But for those who have received the Holy Spirit, we are encouraged to put off that old man and put on the new (Eph 4:22-24, Col 3:9-10). Note also similar language in Colossians 3.

Colossians 3:5-8

5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

6 For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:

7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.

8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

See the command to put away those fleshly things in verse 5? The reason being in verse 6. But look at verse 7 and 8 where it says "In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these..." Paul is saying that before truly coming to the faith, everyone is a child of disobedience and fit for wrath. BUT NOW. What else could that mean but the change that took place the moment of salvation occurred and the seal of the Spirit put on the believer? BUT NOW put off all these. Now that you are saved, don't do those things anymore and grieve the Spirit. Also look at 1 Cor 6:9-11 for a similar argument from Paul.

I hope that it has been clear that when the Word of God is left to say what it says, that through the gospel given to the apostle Paul, there absolutely IS eternal security. This is different than those under the gospel of the kingdom, but I would encourage the reader to study that in more detail. Rest assured, once anyone comes to trust that Jesus took care of all their sins on the cross of Calvary that they are saved from that point forward into eternity.

Now let's take a look at the next point on the list, which is predestination. Thinking at a high level, what kind of God would we have if He didn't leave any choice up to His creation? In that sense, He created robots to do His bidding and we're all some twisted cosmic game to Him. This is certainly NOT the God of the bible. Back in Genesis, did God not give Adam and Eve a choice whether or not to eat the fruit? Did God make them eat the fruit? No, of course not. After being deceived by the lie that came from Satan, Adam and Eve both made the personal choice to eat it. This should almost be sufficient proof already, but let's take a look at a couple of problematic verses for those in favor of predestination.

The idea here is that God already predetermined those that would be saved and everyone else was predetermined to go to Hell. Here are verses cited for that:

Romans 8:29-30

29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

Now take a look at these verse slowly and let them say what they say. If we do that, all will be clear once again. "For whom he did foreknow." First think, would God have already known beforehand those that would trust in Him? A characteristic of God is that He is outside of time. He's the only one that knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10). The text says that God KNOWS, not that God made the choice for those people, but that He already knew what the choice would be. God created  the unbelievers anyway knowing that all things would work out for good for those that would choose to trust in Him (See the previous verse in Rom 8:28 and further talk on that in chapter 9).

Of those that God knew would make the choice to trust him, God "also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son." Stop for a minute and think on this too. Did God predestine the people? No, that's not what the text says. God predestined those He foreknew that would trust Him to be conformed to the image of His Son. In other words, God set up this time before the foundation of the world that those who would trust in the gospel of His grace would be conformed to the image of His Son. What image is that? Phil 3 is pretty clear.

Phil 3:21

Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

Those who trust that Jesus took care of sins on the cross will inherit a glorious body like Jesus has. I don't know about you, but I'm sure looking forward to the day where my body will be super shiny and live with my God in Heaven. Anyway, back to the verses in Romans 8.

Verse 29 ends with "that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." From our previous discussion on the first part of that verse, this is saying that Jesus would be first to have that kind of body, but that many others would also get it. Nothing here in this verse talks of God predetermining eternity for each person. So let's turn our attention to verse 30.

"Moreover, whom He did predestinate." This again is referring to those who would trust in Him to be conformed to the image of His Son. It is a summation of verse 29 and nothing more. Look at the rest of it and see the progression here: "them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." What does it mean for those whom He called? God makes reference to that in verse 28. The called are those that love God according to that verse, but there's more to it than that. They are the called according to His purpose. What is His purpose? Why does He call on people? Because His will is that ALL men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4). God calls on us to be reconciled to Him because He reconciled the world to Himself through Jesus Christ on the cross (2 Cor 5:19-21). Does that make it clear for those who are called? What's interesting to note is that all of the verbs in verse 30 are in the Aorist tense. This is an ongoing thing and absolutely not a done deal. People are being saved every day from the past through the present and all the way to whenever God decides to end His grace and pour out His wrath during the Tribulation period. If this isn't enough proof, let's look at another.

Ephesians 1:4-6

4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

I could go back over all my previous statements on these verses again as the argument is the same. Let the text speak for itself. The first part of verse 4 says that God chose those that would trust Him to be in Him before He made the world. What does that mean? The rest of the verse explains "that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love." How do we get there? Verse 5 says that God determined before the foundation of the world that those who trust in Him would be adopted as children through Jesus Christ to God the Father, according to His good pleasure. Verse 6 confirms that we are accepted in Jesus Christ (Greek Ēgapēmenō = Beloved One = Jesus Christ). This is the same consistent gospel that was given to Paul. Once a person trusts that Jesus Christ did all the work necessary for redemption from sin, they are placed into Christ and adopted as a child of God. The sacrifice of Christ makes that person accepted of God and no longer a child of disobedience and wrath.

Predestination in the sense that God handpicked Heaven or Hell for each individual is completely contrary to the character of God and what the bible says. Please be assured that it is an individual choice to be saved from sin or not. God has made it clear that He wants EVERYONE saved and not just a select few (1 Tim 2:4).

Lastly, let's tackle universalism. I'll first show a few verses that are cited in support of it and then show scripture that say it can't possibly be so anyway.

Acts 17:26

And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

This one is a quick rebuke. Look at the context. Paul is addressing pagans on Mars Hill here and has to start with the beginning of history in order to share the gospel with them. This one blood of all nations (ethnos) of men is referring to the fact that we all have Adam as our fleshly father. All humans are one race. This verse has nothing to do with all being saved since as in Adam all die (1 Cor 15:22).

Malachi 2:10

Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?

The point of this verse is to show that we are all of God. That is true, but this verse doesn't say anything that God has saved all from sins. The argument is empty.

Ezekiel 18:4

4Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine:

The statement I saw was that all things belong to God and He won't let sin and Satan have them forever. What I have up there is the verse cited in defense of universalism, except there's one giant problem. This isn't the entire verse. It ends with "the soul that sinneth, it shall die." I think it's pretty clear that there is division there between the sinner and the one with God, just like it was with Adam and Eve. If they ate the fruit they would die. God was gracious and merciful to provide a way back to Him, but the choice was still theirs. A similar argument can be made for Psalm 24:1.

Psalm 2:7-8

7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

John 3:35

35The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.

Psalm 2 in verses 7 and 8 clearly show that all people were given to God's Son, whom we now know as Jesus. John 3:35 reiterates this from Jesus Himself. But those that would say this is in support of Universalism fail to see John 3:36, which says "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." Again the choice to believe has consequences. I don't think it can get clearer than "he that believeth not the Son shall NOT SEE LIFE." He doesn't say they shall not see life until they decide to believe. It's just that the unbeliever shall not see life. Period.

1 Tim. 2:4 is even used in support of universalism, in that it is God's will that all be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Just because it is God's desire that all are saved doesn't automatically mean they will be. We see the plead for men to be reconciled to God in 2 Cor 5:20. We see several times throughout Jesus' earthly ministry that those who will not have faith are going to be thrown in the lake of fire (Matt 3:12, Mark 9:44, 48, etc.) We have the Great White Throne judgment in the book of the Revelation that clearly shows some will go into the lake of fire which was made for Satan and his angels (Rev 20:11-15). Not one of those verses give any indication that this judgment can be reversed.

The purpose of this study was to examine some of the different views on what salvation means to the Christian. In examining them and holding them up against scripture, it was to be clarified what the bible was saying so we can all be unified in that. I hope this has proved helpful in solidifying what the bible says on salvation for this day and age and the believer in God. Anyone who puts their faith in what Jesus Christ did for them, that He paid for their sins in full by shedding His blood on the cross of Calvary, they are saved from sin and death. Not only so, they are saved from the wrath of God, which will come in the Tribulation period (1 Thess 4:16-18). Believers today have a Heavenly hope, meaning they look expectantly to Heaven for Jesus to call us to be with Him and snatch us out of the way before the Tribulation takes place (Titus 2:13). As soon as faith is put in the finished work of Christ on the cross, the believer is sealed with the Holy Spirit and absolutely cannot lose that salvation. No one is predestined for Heaven or Hell, but the choice is left to each individual. So in light of that, I beseech you, be reconciled to God, for He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Search the scriptures to see if these things are so and ask yourself, "What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?"