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Article		February 18, 2017
Escaping the Tribulation

God says something very interesting in Isaiah 57:1-2.

The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.

One of the foundational tenets of Pre-trib Rapture theory is the idea that the righteous will be raptured away to escape the horrors of the tribulation. The idea that "escape" could mean something other than being raptured away is rejected by them.

But here is Isaiah saying death is the escape from evil for the righteous. He also says no one understands this and, hey, is that true.

Now look what Revelation says on that topic.

And they were victorious by the blood of The Lamb and by the word of his testimony and they did not love their lives unto death. (Revelation 12:11)

And here's Jesus speaking on that topic.

And you shall not be afraid of those who kill the body that are not able to kill the soul; rather be afraid of him who can destroy soul and body in Gehenna. (Matthew 10:28)

It seems to me that most Christians in ostensibly Christian countries are too in-love with their lives. We've become that way because we have great wealth and no real persecution. We've gotten used to desirable, comfortable lives and consider long lives our right.

Instead our attitude should be as described in Hebrews 11.

These died in faith, all of them, and they did not receive their promise, but they saw it from a distance and rejoiced in it and confessed that they were foreigners and nomads in the Earth. (Hebrews 11:13)

And

Persons of whom the world was not worthy; and they were as wanderers in desert places and in mountains and in caves and caverns of the Earth. (Hebrews 11:38)