A Fresh Word of the Lord Concerning Your Lost Loved Ones!

 I often drive by a high school near my house on my way to the store, and I always see teenagers crossing the street or hanging out around the school. So many of them dress oddly (at least to me!), so many of them are an unhealthy weight, many I can't tell what gender they are. Most of them look sad to me. So, I usually have this conversation with the Lord that goes something like this. 

 

"Father, what chance do these kids have to ever know you? What chance does this generation have to know the truth and make it heaven? With all the deception, lies, immorality, satanic media, tv shows, movies, and music, how will they ever know you? It's harder now than it's ever been, and if a child isn't raised in a very Godly, Holy-Spirit Home with Jesus-worshiping parents and a STRONG Godly father who monitors everything they watch and listen to, how will they make it? That kind of home is virtually non-existent in today's world." 

 

You see, it makes me sad for this generation. When I grew up, most people went to church. Granted, many of them weren't truly saved, but at least people heard the Gospel. Most mothers stayed home and divorce was not common. The generation before mine was even more moral. People never thought of living together. They knew that was a sin. Getting drunk, doing drugs, stealing, lying.. all those things were wrong and people knew it. Then, the further back you go, at least since the Reformation, the more people knew the Bible and right from wrong and how to get saved. Not so today. Many children have never heard the Gospel and grow up in broken families with no strong father. 

 

So, I asked the Lord about this cause it doesn't seem fair to these kids, you know? And I know God is a God of justice and fairness. After many months of asking the same question, God finally answered me. I will paraphrase what He said because I don't remember the exact words.  

"Many people think of the Tribulation as a horrible thing. Yet as much as I don't wish to pour my wrath on anyone, the Tribulation has a much greater purpose for my kingdom than anyone can know, for many many people who would not otherwise have known me, will give their lives to me and be saved."

My jaw dropped. I had not actually thought of it that way. I have read Revelation dozens of times and only saw the Tribulation as a time of judgement and wrath on an unrepentant world. 

 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying:
“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom,
Thanksgiving and honor and power and might,
Be to our God forever and ever.
Amen.”
Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”
And I said to him, "Sir, you know.”
So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."

Revelation 7:9-14

 

Notice "the great multitude which no one could number"  Wow. That's a lot of people getting saved during the Tribulation!  

 

Think of it. God knows this final generation is far from Him. He knows and cares for the people who grow up not ever having a chance to know Him and instead being swamped with immorality and satanic entertainment. He knows. He cares. So, He has provided a way for them to come to Him, to have their eyes opened, to finally give their lives to Him. It's called the Tribulation. 

 

As horrific as it will be, I got the sense from the Lord, that it is the ONLY way that some people could ever come to the knowledge of the truth.  I think about my own family members who are either lost or lukewarm and of all the times I've tried to talk to them and got nowhere. I'm sure you have your list of loved ones too. They simply won't listen. They won't give up their sin. They think you're nuts, etc.. etc...  It's like talking to a brick wall. 

Then the Rapture happens. You are gone, along with all those who truly followed Jesus. Across the globe, those left behind will be reading your notes, letters, and information you left for them. They will share it with their friends and other family members. They will see that everything you told them would happen is happening. I believe MANY of those people will fall to their knees and give their lives to the Lord. 

 

In other words, there will be a GREAT REVIVAL after the rapture. I believe that. The first half of the Tribulation will bring in a great harvest of all the people who finally woke up and either heard the Gospel for the first time and believed or because they were left behind, realized what happened. 

What else explains the huge number of people willing to die for Jesus in the Tribulation? Willing to die! Let that sink in for awhile. Not just die but no doubt be tortured as well. Now, that's a true Christian!  The Lord really impressed on me that, yet again, what the Devil means for harm, God will turn around for good. Satan will rule over this planet, yes, and he will get many to take his mark and be damned to hell. But right along side his evil plans, God has a good plan for the salvation of many who would not otherwise be saved if the Tribulation didn't happen in their life time. 

The Tribulation is a demonstration of God's EXTREME Mercy, love, Patience, and Grace!!  God is making one last ditch effort to save the Lost, including having 144,000 Jewish witnesses sharing the Gospel with the Jews and the World, the 2 Witnesses who do signs and wonders from Jerusalem, and angels flying through the heavens, announcing the Gospel to everyone (Rev 14:6). In addition, He left everyone with a play by play list of everything that will happen in the Tribulation (The Book of Revelation) as further proof of who He is! 

What an amazing God we serve!  So, if you are concerned about family and friends who are resistant to the truth, rest assured that if they don't come in before the rapture, they WILL come in after. I say WILL with great confidence because the Bible is FULL of Scriptures about God saving households, God blessing descendants, and examples of God rescuing families. (Noah, Lot, Rahab).  And if your loved one is just a friend and not family but you've been praying for them for a long while, God answers the prayers of the righteous!!  Lots of Scriptures about that too. 

 

If you don't know what Scriptures I'm talking about, please do a search on the Bible in various translations on the words "children, descendants, generation, offspring"  and read the stories of Noah, Lot, and Rahab. Do a deep dive into God's Word and ask Him to reveal to you His will concerning your loved ones.  

 

Then lift up your voice and give Him thanks for the Tribulation. Yes, I said thanks, because in His mercy, He will gather in all those you love eventually.  Praise His Holy Name!!

 

And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years
Revelation 20:4