The Rain is Coming
You know, recently I was driving my work truck. It was about week ago. (A week and two days by the time you're reading this.) And it was raining. It was raining HARD. It was deafening. The sound from the rain completely drowned out the sound coming from the radio. But after a few minutes, the rain died down and I could hear the music again.
And this made me think of what is coming in the near future. God's people are going to go through the HARDEST trial any humans, aside from Jesus, have ever had to go through. And it will take some serious faith. Daniel says this about that time that is not far distant.
Daniel 12:1 (KJV) And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
The book Last Day Events, says this:
The season of distress and anguish before us will require a faith that can endure weariness, delay, and hunger—a faith that will not faint, though severely tried.... (page 254.2)
Jeremiah calls this the time of Jacob's trouble. Notice:
Jeremiah 30:7 (KJV) Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.
Why is it called the time of Jacob's trouble? To answer that, we have to examine the time of trouble that Jacob experienced in Genesis 32:24-30. You can read his prayer in verses 9-12 of the same chapter.
In this chapter, Jacob is absolutely terrified, because he knows Esau is coming to meet him. He remembers that somewhere around 20+ years before, he had cheated his twin brother out of the birthright, and the coveted first born blessing from their father.
Jacob remembers the promises that God made to him and his father and grandfather many years before. He knows he is the promised son through whom God would make known His Gospel to others. And, Jacob's fear is not based around self anymore. He is concerned for his family.
True, Jacob's anxiety regarding his own salvation is high, but he's not selfishly focused on self like he was many years before. He is also focused on what God can do for him.
You see, he wants so badly to be forgiven, to have that assurance of forgiveness. If he can just have this, he would not fear to face Esau. And, that is exactly what happened.
God comes to Jacob in the form of another man. Jacob thinks it's an enemy, and puts forth almost superhuman effort to fight him. But, Jacob eventually realizes who he's fighting. God touches Jacob's hip. Instant pain, as it goes out of socket. Now, Jacob realizes who he's wrestling.
And it changes from a fight for his life, to a fight for his salvation. He begs for the assurance of forgiveness. At this point, he isn't even concerned about Esau anymore. He just wants to know he's right with the One with Whom he is wrestling.
And God grants him his request, and gives him the evidence of this by changing his name. Where before his name was a reminder of his sin, now God gives him a new name that commemorates his victory.
So what does this have to do with us today? How does this translate to what Jeremiah calls, the Time of Jacob's Trouble?
Like Jacob, during the great tribulation, or what Daniel calls the Time of Trouble, the focus of God's people will not be on their own safety, at least not directly. Their focus will be on forgiveness and salvation. They will not be focused on these things due to selfish ambition or sinful egotism.
No, they will be focused on these things because they are mainly focused on God's reputation. If they could just have the assurance of complete forgiveness, and know for a certainty that they have confessed and repented of all sin in their lives, they would not shrink from death or torture.
See, they won't want God's reputation to take damage because of them. They know this is the final battle between Christ and Satan. They know that should they fail, should they have forgotten to repent and forsake all sin, they would bring a stain on God's reputation. And they would rather die than allow that to happen.
Think, for a minute, about the kind of relationship we need to have with God for that to be our mindset, even in the worst time period of human history. I know I'm not where I used to be, but I also know I'm not where I want to be with God either. But, I also know we serve the almighty, all-powerful God, and He can get me and us there. So do not fear to trust Him to get you there.
Consider this from the Great Controversy, pages 118-119:
As Satan influenced Esau to march against Jacob, so he will stir up the wicked to destroy God's people in the time of trouble. And as he accused Jacob, he will urge his accusations against the people of God. He numbers the world as his subjects; but the little company who keep the commandments of God are resisting his supremacy. If he could blot them from the earth, his triumph would be complete. He sees that holy angels are guarding them, and he infers that their sins have been pardoned; but he does not know that their cases have been decided in the sanctuary above. He has an accurate knowledge of the sins which he has tempted them to commit, and he presents these before God in the most exaggerated light, representing this people to be just as deserving as himself of exclusion from the favor of God. He declares that the Lord cannot in justice forgive their sins and yet destroy him and his angels. He claims them as his prey and demands that they be given into his hands to destroy.
As Satan accuses the people of God on account of their sins, the Lord permits him to try them to the uttermost. Their confidence in God, their faith and firmness, will be severely tested. As they review the past, their hopes sink; for in their whole lives they can see little good. They are fully conscious of their weakness and unworthiness. Satan endeavors to terrify them with the thought that their cases are hopeless, that the stain of their defilement will never be washed away. He hopes so to destroy their faith that they will yield to his temptations and turn from their allegiance to God.
Though God's people will be surrounded by enemies who are bent upon their destruction, yet the anguish which they suffer is not a dread of persecution for the truth's sake; they fear that every sin has not been repented of, and that through some fault in themselves they will fail to realize the fulfillment of the Saviour's promise: I "will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world.” Revelation 3:10. If they could have the assurance of pardon they would not shrink from torture or death; but should they prove unworthy, and lose their lives because of their own defects of character, then God's holy name would be reproached.
They afflict their souls before God, pointing to their past repentance of their many sins, and pleading the Saviour's promise: "Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me.” Isaiah 27:5. Their faith does not fail because their prayers are not immediately answered. Though suffering the keenest anxiety, terror, and distress, they do not cease their intercessions. They lay hold of the strength of God as Jacob laid hold of the Angel; and the language of their souls is: "I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me.”
Had not Jacob previously repented of his sin in obtaining the birthright by fraud, God would not have heard his prayer and mercifully preserved his life. So, in the time of trouble, if the people of God had unconfessed sins to appear before them while tortured with fear and anguish, they would be overwhelmed; despair would cut off their faith, and they could not have confidence to plead with God for deliverance. But while they have a deep sense of their unworthiness, they have no concealed wrongs to reveal. Their sins have gone beforehand to judgment and have been blotted out, and they cannot bring them to remembrance.
I've always loved that last line. God's people will not be able to remember their sins, because they have been blotted out. Judgment is over, they have been deemed worthy of eternal life in Heaven and the New Earth. They just have one final trial to pass through.
They will be tested, sure. They will suffer, sure. But, most importantly, they will be loved, by the Omnipotent God who died and rose again to redeem them.
Friends, just as the story I told at the beginning, of how I could not hear the music till the rain stopped, God's people similarly will not be hearing God's voice, much, if at all, during this time. However, they will not yield up their faith.
They, like Jesus during His trial on Calvary, will rely 100% on God's Word, and 0% on their feelings. Gather the Word of God in your memory and hearth will we have the freedom to do so. That way, when many have their Bibles taken from them, they will still have the Word of God in their minds and hearts.
And as we near that time, please be sure to continue to seek Jesus more than ever before. He loves you. He wants to save you. And He will, if you let Him.
