Daily WATCH! Volume 3 Issue 10 Wednesday, August 6, 2003

Survival During the Desolation (Tribulation)

To an unbeliever the above title to this series of articles would suggest lunatic nut cases at the very least and militant religious radicals in the extreme. But to a true believer in Jesus Christ, who understands what is about to come upon the world, it is a signal to prepare for what will become hell on earth!

Jesus Christ gave his believers a command to watch for his coming.
As we see the storm of the desolation period approach should we prepare for it or just wait and trust God? What can we expect to happen? Who will be affected? Can I expect to survive and does it really matter if I die or not? How should I prepare?

The article below is the third installment of a series of articles addressing the exploration of the topic of surviving tribulation as a Christian. If you missed the first two articles you can find it by using the Daily WATCH Archives.

Who will be affected by the desolation?

By Randy Loudenslager

"Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth.
Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."Luke 21:34-36

The Bible makes clear that everyone alive at that time will experience the effects of the desolation. How you experience the desolation depends upon whether you are of the true believers in Jesus Christ, one of the faithful Jews or of this world and its system.

Christians will be primarily the subject of persecution at the hands of men while the rest of the world will experience not only the brutality of man but also the judgments of God and the desolation.

On the last day of the age the true believers will be removed (via the resurrection) from battlefield earth. The rest of the inhabitants of earth who have survived the desolation judgments up to this point will then be subjected to the wrath of God.

Can I expect to survive the desolation and does it really matter if I do or not?

The question here is not really whether you can expect to survive the desolation but do you have the resolve to do your best to survive, believing that whatever the outcome our LORD will redeem you on the last day?

The LORD never instructed us to become martyrs. Martyrs are revered not because they die, but because when they could not escape death without compromising their faith in Jesus they died without fear, knowing they had fought the good fight to the end. Jesus tells us that by standing firm to the end we will be saved.

We may look at it as the Christian soldiers that we are. The US military survival manuals tell soldiers of the United States that it is their duty to evade capture and if captured then it is their duty to try to escape. The Christian soldier is under very similar orders. We must do our best in all we do, including survival. When persecuted in one place we are to flee to another. If captured we are to love our captors, but if opportunity is presented by God then we are to escape. An example of this can be seen in Acts 5:17-20.
Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation, And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison. But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.

Just as it is a saint's responsibility to evade capture when possible or escape when imprisoned for righteousness so it is our responsibility to find sustenance. We don't lay up food just for ourselves, but for others. Through this God will provide for many in his care. Doing this we love our neighbors when we share of our precious larder!

Will you survive? I couldn't tell you. Does it matter? All that matters is that you do your best to prepare and survive. Do your best for others, even if that means laying your life down for their sake. Take refuge in the Rock, our LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ! Do these things and then, whatever your end, you will hear "well done good and faithful servant."