RemnantInWilderness

God’s Judgment During the Tribulation: From Theology Or Scripture?

Bernard Pyron

“I want to call attention to several New Testament Scriptures:

I Peter 4: 17 says .”For the time is come that judgment must begin at
the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be
of them that obey not the gospel of God?”

Judgment is a key word in I Peter 4: 17, because some commentaries
suggest this may this may be only God’s chastisement on his people.

Judgment is Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance number 2917 which means,
“a decision, for or against crime - avenge, condemed, condemnation,
damnation…”

Number 2917 is translated as damnation in Matthew 23: 15. “Woe unto
you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses,
and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the
greater damnation (2917),”

In Romans 2: 2 number 2917 is translated as judgment.” But we are
sure that the judgment (2917) of God is according to truth
against them which commit such things.”

“Having damnation (2917), because they have cast off their first
faith.” I Timothy 5: 12

“Of the doctrine of baptisms , and of laying of hands , and of
resurrection of the dead , and of eternal judgment (2917). Hebrews
6: 2

Revelation 17: 1 says “And there came one of the seven angels
which had the seven vials , and talked with me , saying unto me
, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment (2917) of the
great whore that sitteth upon many waters :” The Great Whore is
false religion.

The next scripture is Matthew 24: 9-11 “Then shall they deliver you up
to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all
nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and
shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.”

Luke 10: 19 is the next text I want to call attention to. “Behold, I
give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all
the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

Taken literally, why would Christ give us, or some of us, the power
to tread on literal snakes and scorpions? Serpents and vipers are
used as metaphors in Scripture (Matthew 3: 7; Matthew 23: 33, Luke
3:7). Scorpions appear figuratively in Ezekiel 2: 6, where God says
about the scorpions, briers and thorns “be not afraid of their
words..” Did you ever hear a scorpion or a thorn speak? People are
being called scorpions. Scorpions appear figuratively in Revelation
9: 3, 10 - and serpents are found figuratively in Revelation 9: 19.
And who is given power to tread on figurative serpents and scorpions -
in the Tribulation?

Next look at Luke 21: 16 “And ye shall be betrayed both by parents,
and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they
cause to be put to death.”

“Some” has been added to the King James English in Luke 21: 16,
because the Greek word “tis”, or “men”, meaning some is not in the
Greek Textus Receptus, from which the KJV is translated.

The Textus Receptus says “paradoqhsesqe de {BUT YE WILL BE DELIVERED
UP} kai {EVEN} upo {BY} gonewn < {PARENTS} kai {AND} adelfwn
{BRETHREN} kai {AND} suggenwn {RELATIONS} kai {AND} filwn
{FRIENDS,} kai {AND} qanatwsousin {THEY WILL PUT TO DEATH [SOME]
ex {FROM AMONG} umwn {YOU,}
In the Greek it reads “…and they will put to death from among you.”

The Westcott-Hort 1881 Greek text, which is the basis for most modern
New Testament translations, has no “tis” in the Greek. It says
“paradoqhsesqe de kai upo gonewn kai adelfwn kai suggenwn kai filwn
kai qanatwsousin ex umwn” It says exactly the same thing in Greek as
the Textus Receptions - for this verse. No basis for adding “some.”
They will put to death not “some” but from among you. You implies
Christians, those who profess to be Christians, not from among the entire world.

“And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates,
and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or
what ye shall say:” Luke 12: 11

The reference to synagogues might be seen as Jewish synagogues.
Synagogues is Strong’s number 4864, meaning “an assemblage of persons,
a Jewish synagogue, by analogy, a Christian church, assembly,
congregation, synagogue.” Sunagoge in the Greek, or synagogue, can
mean a Christian church. Magistrates probably refers to judges, to
whom Christians are brought on some kind of charge, such as blasphemy
under the Noahide laws or hate speech laws.

John 16: 2 adds that “They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea,
the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth
God service,” Synagogues here is from Strong’s number 656, meaning,
“excommunicated.” The so called protestant churches will kick
Christians out of their churches because these Christians no longer
conform to the theologies of the churches.

The last part of John 16:2 is significant, “…yea, the time cometh,
that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.” The
serpents in Revelation 9: 18-19 are responsible for the killing of the
one third of the people of God in Zechariah 13: 8-9 who come through a
fire (tribulation) call on the Lord and he accepts them. The group of
the Sixth Trumpet Judgment who cause the Christians to be killed think
they are doing God a service by heir actions against the saints, who
they consider to be their enemies.

Revelation 9: 18 says “By these three was the third part of men
killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone which
issued out of their mouths.” In verse 15 it says “And the four angels
were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month,
and a year, for to slay the third part of men.” The fire, the smoke,
the brimstone and the four angels are figuratively telling us that the
group identified as the serpents are demon possessed. The third part
of men who are killed in verse 15 are not one third of all people on
earth at the time of the Sixth Trumpet Judgment. To be consistent
with Zechariah 13: 8-9, Luke 21: 16, Luke 12: 11 and John 16: 2 the
one third who are caused to be killed by the serpents are from those
who are the people of God. Christ called the Pharisees of his time “Ye
serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of
hell?” The serpents in Revelation 9: 18-19 are the Pharisees of the
Church when this comes to fulfillment.

There is another verse in Luke 21 I want to emphasize. This is Luke
21: 36 “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted
worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to
stand before the Son of man.”

This says that some Christians during the period of the Tribulation
will be found worthy by the Lord to escape these things which are
coming on God’s people, and to some extent also on the earth. And
these people who are found worthy to escape the judgments during the
Tribulation are not followers of Hal Lindsey or Tim LaHeye who think
they will be raptured off the earth before the Tribulation judgments
begin.

There is another text I want to throw in. This is Daniel 11: 33.
“And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet
they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by
spoil, many days.”

Both parts of this text are important. First, those who understand,
that is, who have the truth of Jesus Christ, will teach some other
group who before did not have that truth. Second, the group that
receives this instruction in the truth are to fall by the sword,
meaning they will be killed, by captivity, meaning they will be put in
prison, and by spoil, meaning their money and possessions will be
taken from them. Flame may mean some kinds of severe trials these
people undergo.

A Christian who believes that the Tribulation period will involve
God’s judgment upon the wicked world and not on the Church has very
likely learned this from man made theology, from the traditions of
men. Scripture teaches that the Tribulation is about God’s judgment on
the apostate Church. II Thessalonians 2: 10-12, on the importance of
having a love for the truth, would help us understand why God’s
judgment is upon the Church during the Tribulation. For want of a
better word, the teaching that the Tribulation will be about God’s
judgment on the Church for false doctrines comes out of “Remnant
Theology.”

Ezekiel 5: 1-12, Zechariah 13: 8-9 and Revelation 16: 19 teach
that the people of God are to be divided into three groups. Zechariah
13: 8-9 says two thirds are to be cut off and will die, but one third
will come through a fire (Tribulation) will call on the Lord and he
will accept them. Look again at the players of the Trumpet Judgments
in Revelation 9, the scorpions and the serpents. There are two groups
in Revelation 9 who persecute a third group. The scorpions can also be
called the locusts. The grasshoppers in Amos 7: 1, Strong’s number
1462, can be translated also as locusts, and in this text the locusts
are used figuratively as part of God’s judgment. Bernard

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