Free Republic

You don’t have to wait...SonOfDarkSkies told us on another thread about Amazon having a free “Kindle for PC”..it’s super for those of us whose eye sight isn’t that great anymore, and the book was only $6.13. The book was wonderful!!!

Thanks again SonOfDarkSkies :)

Thanks so much for the info about the Kindle for PC
SonOfDarkSkies...I downloaded it & got to read the book.
It was a wonderful, uplifting, read. Thanks again. God Bless

I think the Doctor’s name you’re talking about is: Maurice Rawlings M.D. he wrote “Beyond Death’s Door” and “To Hell and Back”

Another one today:

http://www.wtov9.com/news/23815397/detail.html

Munz said: “disgusting, Reid should be investigated now.
Tossed out on his keester and his pension should be taken away.”

Amen!!

Folks wasn’t Arizona getting a “recall petition” on John McCain right before 911 happened?

Couldn’t we do the same with all the corrupt critters we have now in every state...instead of waiting until the next election (if there is a next election)?

I don’t know...just asking.

Uncle Ike said: “This is much bigger than the Powers-that-Be want us to believe”....

Hmmmmm...Anyone remember the date of Dear Leader saying “All fired up...ready to GO”?

His eyes had a very evil dark look in them.

Stepan12 said: “I think we should go back to the days when only property owners could vote”.

Amen!!!

In our NEW smaller government we should:

1. Seal our borders
2. Kick out all non-citizens
3. Stop all funds to other countries
4. No grants to any groups for any reasons
5. Only land owners, & veterans allowed to vote with picture ID & fingerprint at the voting place
6. TERM limts
7. A simple flat tax
8. A on-line monthly statement of tax monies received & spent...EVERY month.

Maybe by finding like minded folks on-line & joining together as a start?

Like here: http://oathkeepers.org/oath/

.

Read this:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281436/posts

“The only way to spread true virulence is to do it intentionally, by human intervention. I will let you fill in the blanks.”

Reading this might help them too.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281436/posts

You might want to read this:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281436/posts

Fox is going to play it!!

I won’t watch by choice either, but last night I accidently bumped my remote & the tv channel jumped to “The Obama channel” & there was no way that 73 number was pushed.

Everyone try it at home...press just one number & it takes you to 73. It doesn’t matter what mistake you make.

What better way to brainwash folks that fall asleep watching TV?

I believe there’s a very simple action that would stop voter fraud...the same as what they did in Iraq.

A surprise bottle of permanant ink on the desk when you go to vote. Your vote...your fingerprint.

Just don’t announce it ahead of time.

I believe there’s a very simple action that would stop voter fraud...the same as what they did in Iraq.

A surprise bottle of permanant ink on the desk when you go to vote. Your vote...your fingerprint.

Just don’t announce it ahead of time.

Howdy there stuartcr;

Yes...God knew what I was going to do long before I did!

It’s all about that free will thingie He gave it to all of us...it was my own decision to accept Jesus as my Personal Lord & Savior.

The Holy Spirit will gently tug you to come to God, but He won’t force you.

Amen HKMk23

Thanks for the link.

ACTS 2

17 ‘In the last days,’ God says,
‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your young men will see visions,
and your old men will dream dreams.
18 In those days I will pour out my Spirit
even on my servants—men and women alike—
and they will prophesy.
19 And I will cause wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below—
blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
20 The sun will become dark,
and the moon will turn blood red
before that great and glorious day of the Lord
arrives.
21 But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved.’

dmz said:
Endtimers, as a whole, are a group I don’t understand at all. The cynical me believes that it is the only way to rub the unbelievers face in the dirt. “See, I told you so!”

Howdy dmz; Endtimers aren’t trying “to rub unbelievers faces in the dirt”, but instead are trying to make sure all the lost are saved. We don’t want anyone spending eternity in Hell.

In these last days folks have been so brainwashed with the idea that they evolved...that they don’t give any thought to God at all...in fact they scoff & laugh at the idea of eternal life, and a Heaven to win & a Hell to shun.

God put “His Church” (every single person that has accepted Jesus as their Lord & Savior) on earth to warn the lost for the past 2000+ years about how to make Heaven their home, and what unbelievers are about to face when the Church is taken “Home”.

Sadly there are even some in man-made churches that will find themselves left-behind too, because they’re clinging to mans ideas instead of what God told us in the Bible. They need to read the warnings to the 7 churches in Revelation.

It’s going to take “The Rapture” happening to wake folks up to the fact that God is there and everyone will be giving Him a accounting of their lives.

Our duty as Christians is to tell the lost how to get saved and spend their eternity in Heaven and not Hell.

It’s not to rub anyone’s face in the dirt.

Just read the daily news & compare the times to what Jesus said for us to watch for.

Signs of the Times

When Jesus’ disciples asked Him about the signs that would be a precursor to His coming and the end of the age His response, recorded in Matthew 24, was:

Wars and rumors of wars

Nation will rise against nation. It is very interesting to note that the Greek word that is translated as nation is “ethnos” which deals with ethnic background and race. Most of the wars and conflicts in the 1980’s and 1990’s are wars among ethnic groups and tribes.

Kingdom will rise against kingdom

Famines

Earthquakes are “like the early pangs of childbirth.”As the time grows nearer and nearer to His coming, the frequency and intensity of these five signs will increase.

The followers of Jesus will be handed over to be persecuted and killed. This is happening with more frequency in the Moslem controlled nations in the Middle East, and in Africa where Black Moslems are enslaving Black Christians.

Christians will be hated by all nations on account of His name. In many parts of the world, Christians are jailed and killed for their beliefs; in the United States those who are Christians are hated by the media and liberals, and are known by the code words “religious right.”

Many will fall away...that is, many who claimed to be Christians will recant their faith, and betray and hate Christians.

Many false prophets will arise and deceive many.

Due to excessive lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold.

The Rapture

This is an event that will not be hidden. The concept of the rapture has already been made known to the masses. It will be treated with ridicule, contempt and mockery by the world’s media, but God will see to it that it will be highly publicized before it occurs just so that those left behind might still come to their senses. It will occur in the open, and everybody left behind will know someone who was raptured.

It will happen suddenly, unexpectedly, and lightning fast—”in the twinkling of an eye,” as the Bible puts it. And there will be evidence all over the world that this event occurred.

Some national leaders will disappear, celebrities in entertainment and professional sports will disappear, entire families will disappear, disbelieving spouses will see their mates vanish, children will disappear. Bank accounts, homes, cars, businesses and relationships will be left behind.

The problem for the world’s leaders will be trying to convince people that it didn’t happen. Because if the world’s leaders admit that it did happen then, logically, everything Christians preached about Jesus Christ being the Son of God, the Savior, the Messiah, the Prince of Peace, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings and everything that Jesus preached and taught must be true.

And if all of this is true, then the only logical response would be to fall on one’s knees before God in confession and repentance and absolute submission to every word of God (as revealed in the Bible). But all of this is diametrically opposed to the way of the world, which preaches freedom from the constraints of God’s word, perverse sex, materialism and the devaluation of human life.

So, although the rapture will shock everybody and will be covered in the media and everybody left will be aware of someone who is gone, the leaders of the world will begin their great deception, trying to convince the population left behind that there was no rapture.

How is this going to be accomplished? Well, pretty easily because most of the people left behind are already in a state of deception.

They have been deceived into believing that Jesus is not the Messiah; they have been deceived into believing that the word of God is not true; they have been deceived into living a lifestyle that only brings constant pain and suffering instead of the freedom and paradise that God offers.

The world’s leaders will declare that there was no rapture, that a mass hysteria took place, and the news media will follow the party line.

Then to make things easier, shortly after the rapture, one-fourth of the world’s population will be decimated due to wars, famine and plague. Those who were raptured will be counted among the dead.

After the Rapture

Shortly after the rapture, a seven-year period known in the Bible as the Great Tribulation will take place. It will begin with the signing of a peace agreement between Israel and her enemies and it will end with the physical return of Jesus Christ to set up His kingdom on earth. In between, will be seven years of terror for those on earth.

The following events and trends will take place in that seven-year period:

A man will arise who will achieve victory after victory both in politics and in war(Rev 13:7). This man, who should be easily identified by his rapid rise and popularity, is your the anti-christ. Many people believe that this person must be Jewish. That is, in order for Jews to accept him as Messiah, only a Jew will suffice.

This is not necessarily the case. The Bible does not specify that he is a Jew, and it does not specify nationality. Only God-fearing Jews will require a Jewish Messiah. The liberal, ungodly Jews who dominate Israel will be as lost when it comes to Biblical truth as the Gentiles of the world and will be deceived by his charisma, and more than likely, the desires of the world’s media.

Currently the new nickname for the United States is the Great Satan. This may have some significance.

Violence will increase in all parts of the world, both nation against nation (ethnic wars) and domestically. Men will indiscriminately slay one another as peace will be removed from the earth (Rev 6:3-4).

There will be extreme inflation, poverty, and lack of food as one day’s wages will buy enough food for one day for one person (Rev 6:5-6).

In a very short period of time, one-quarter of the earth’s population will be killed due to wars, famine, pestilence and wild beasts. These wild beasts could very well be viruses, bacteria and other microbes. In late 1995, Time magazine ran a cover story on the rise of new infections and called microbes “malevolent little beasts” (Rev 6:7-8).

Many people will experience a religious conversion and become followers of Jesus Christ and most of these people will be hunted down and killed (Dan 7:21).

There will be a great earthquake, the sun will be blackened, the moon will turn red and all mountains and islands (which are underwater mountains) will be moved (Joel 2:30-32).

There will be a brief period of calm on the earth following this great earthquake which will give those who survive a false sense of security.

One-third of the earth, one-third of all of trees and all the green grass will be burned up due to a comet or meteor that hits the earth (Rev 8:7).

A meteor will hit the earth causing the sea to become like blood, killing one-third of all sea creatures and destroying one-third of all shipping (Rev 8:8-9).

A “star” named Wormwood will fall from the sky and poison one-third of all fresh water killing many people (Rev 8:10-11).

The sun, moon and stars will be darkened by one-third. The day and night will be reduced by one-third. There is some speculation that this means the rotation of the earth will be changed so that a day lasts only 16 hours instead of 24 hours (Rev 8:12).

Fearsome locust-like beings will be released from underground who only attack people who are not followers of Jesus Christ. These attacks will be very painful but last only 5 months (Rev 9:1-11).

An army of 200 million horse-like creatures will kill one-third of mankind (Rev 9:13-19).

Two men (known as witnesses, see item 7 below) of Jewish origin will preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ for 3 1/2 years and be killed at the midpoint of the 7 year tribulation. These two will be responsible for a 3 1/2 year world-wide drought and will be killed by the anti-christ (also known as the beast in the Bible).

People will be required to receive a mark on their right hand or forehead in order to buy and sell. Those who receive this mark will develop a loathsome and malignant sore on their bodies within a short period of time (Rev 13:13-18).

The oceans will chemically change and become like the blood of a dead man (congealed?) and everything in the sea will die (Rev 16:3).

The fresh waters will become like blood (Rev 16:4-7).
The sun will scorch the people on earth with fierce heat (Rev 16:8-9).

The throne of the anti-christ and his kingdom will become darkened (Rev 16:10-11).

The Euphrates river will dry up allowing the kings of the east to march westward (Rev 16:12).

The kings of the world will gather their armies together to battle God at Armageddon. There will be an earthquake so great that all of the mountains and islands will disappear. There will be hailstones weighing close to 100 pounds that will crush the armies that have gathered (Rev 16:17-22).

Shortly after this great earthquake, Jesus Christ will return with His army to claim the earth as His possession (Zech 14:3-5).

The Two Witnesses
These two men are God’s gift to the people of the earth who refused to submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ prior to the rapture, but who will recognize the error in their life and seek God knowing the terrible mistake they have made.

These two men will proclaim the gospel and provide hope for those left behind. Their message is for the salvation of the soul. They will have no message as to how you can avoid the hell that life on earth has become, because there is no hope to avoid that tribulation.

If you are left on earth, then your destiny is to suffer and more than likely die. But you still have the hope of salvation. Listen to what these two men are preaching and turn to God.

The Bible does not say who these two men are. Many speculate that they are Elijah and Enoch, two ancient prophets of God who never died.

Regardless, they will be responsible for many of the natural catastrophes that will wreak havoc on the property and economy of the earth. They will have the power to prevent rain, and there will be a 3 1/2 year drought on earth until they die. They will turn water into blood and cause all kinds of plagues on earth and, in general, make life miserable for those who are living on earth.

Also, they will be invincible, as many will try to kill them only to be killed by their own hands. Those who attempt to blow them up will themselves be blown up; those who attempt to shoot them will have their guns explode in their hands; those who attempt to poison them will be poisoned by their own efforts. Only the world dictator will be able to kill them and only when God allows it.

The purpose of all the misery that these two witnesses inflict on the earth dwellers is to turn people back to God in repentance.

The misery will be so great that when the world dictator does finally kill these two, the world will rejoice in a Christmas-like celebration, giving gifts to one another.

Three and one-half days after their death they will be resurrected and, in full view of the entire population of the world, ascend to heaven at the command of God when He calls them to “Come up here.” Shortly after he kills the two witnesses, the world dictator will declare himself to be God. He is the anti-christ.

The 144,000 Jewish Witnesses

Shortly after the rapture, God will call His army of 144,000 Jewish believers into service to provide a voice of hope for Jews throughout the world. The best friends and most staunch supporters of Jews have always been true, believing Christians. It was this element of the world’s population that provided help and support for Israel and Jewish people.

The rapture removed the Christian people from the earth and awakened the 144,000 to their purpose. These 144,000 preach to Jews worldwide that Jesus is the Messiah. These 144,000 will be spread out worldwide and more than likely go about in pairs, two by two, as Jesus instructed His disciples to do.

It will be these 144,000 who will oppose Israel signing a peace treaty for protection; it will be the 144,000 who will identify the anti-christ for who he is; it will be the 144,000 who will warn Israel of the treachery of the anti-christ, and it will be the 144,000 who will lead the Jews worldwide to the hiding place prepared for them by God in the Judean desert.

These 144,000 Jews are going to be strange people by normal standards: they will be celibate, very bold, fearless, spiritually strong and probably very much like John the Baptist. You can read more about the 144,000 witnesses in Revelation 14.

Money

Hard currency will become obsolete. This is no surprise, as banks and governments have been working to eliminate currency, coin money and paper transactions for decades. Currency and coin is expensive to produce, lends itself readily for drug trafficking and, with high tech equipment, is too easily counterfeited.

Banks desire to eliminate the teller position as an expense item, and with the elimination of paper checks and currency, all financial transactions can be handled with a computer. The debit card will become the tool for all personal financial transactions.

However, at some point after the rapture, probably right after the two witnesses are killed, everyone will be required to get a mark on their right hand or forehead in order to buy and sell.

Do not, do not, do not under any circumstances participate by receiving this mark. All those who receive this mark known as “the mark of the beast” are doomed for eternity.

By taking this mark you are swearing allegiance to the anti-christ. You may as well attempt to enjoy life as best you can because eternity for you will be hell.

It is at this point that God will have separated His followers from Satan’s followers. Those who have taken the mark will persecute those without the mark.

God will render judgment on those with the mark by inflicting them with a disgusting looking and very painful ulcer covering their bodies.

So how can a person without the mark survive and still buy and sell? Again, this will almost be impossible, but there will be people who are part of the anti-christ’s regime who don’t believe in the anti-christ; they are just “survivors” who pick the “winner” and seek to profit from that relationship.

Therefore, save up for yourself gold; gold has always had value as money and always will, even in a cashless society.

Identify one of these profiteers and seek to purchase food and living supplies from him. However, don’t ever disclose to him how much gold you have and where it is. You want to be more valuable to him as a dealer than as a bounty.

By the way, you will have a price on your head for not taking the mark. Obviously you won’t be living an open life, as you will be in hiding somewhere at a remote location or in the forest on the outskirts of a large city.

Your only goal will be to eat to live and hope to escape the militia hunting for you and those like you. Should you get caught, your fate will be either death or slavery.

If you receive this manual before the rapture and plan to be around after the rapture, then start storing up food and living supplies and put them into hiding in some remote and difficult to access area. You should include weaponry to defend yourself and medical supplies as part of your living supplies.

Safety Concerns

This era will be the most violent of times in the history of the world. Death, brutality and destruction will be part of everyday life. One of the defining characteristics of the last days following the rapture will be a lack of peace.

There will be civil wars throughout the world: people will kill one another indiscriminately. Random acts of violence will fill people with fear. Car-jackings, home invasions, drive by shootings, and bombings will all increase with an intensity that will leave people with absolutely no sense of security.

In order to survive this time, you will need to remove yourself from society and live in a remote area that is difficult to access. Getting together with a group of like-minded people would provide additional support and safety.

As mentioned earlier, stock up on food, medicines, living supplies, weaponry and gold. You will need enough for 7 years.

Don’t plan on being able to supplement your food with hunting and fishing because the stocks of wild animals and fish will have been depleted and destroyed by the 3 1/2 year worldwide drought and three successive meteor-like or comet-like objects that strike the earth sometime after the rapture.

The 3 1/2 year drought is brought on by the two witnesses. The first object from outer space to strike the earth will destroy 1/3 of all trees and all the green grass on earth.

The second object, more like a meteor, strikes the sea and destroys 1/3 of all sea creatures and 1/3 of all shipping. The third object turns 1/3 of all fresh water poisonous and kills many people.

Needless to say, all of this will also seriously deplete the food supplies for the world’s population, causing food prices to skyrocket.

Those people in the world who never before missed a meal or worried about food will become very familiar with hunger pangs and the feeling of going without food for long periods of time.

This will be one of the causes of the increased violence as people become more self centered, short-tempered, and competitive for the food sources in short supply. As Jesus spoke to His disciples about these days, He said, “people will betray one another and hate one another...the love of many will grow cold.”

Health Concerns

Prior to the rapture, the world experienced an increase in health-related catastrophes, an increase in new infectious diseases and an increase in the return of diseases thought to have been eradicated or brought under control.

The past two decades have brought on AIDS, EBOLA virus, flesh-eating bacteria, the return of tuberculosis, incurable gonorrhea, herpes and many other virtually incurable sexually transmitted diseases.

After the rapture, things do not get better, as one quarter of the world’s population will die as the result of wars, famine and plague.

Sometime after the two witnesses are murdered and after people are required to take the mark on the right hand or forehead, there will be a terrible plague causing a loathsome and malignant ulcer on the bodies of those who have taken the mark. This will be a very ugly and very painful sore that will make life miserable for those who have it.

In addition to all this, because of the poor economic situation worldwide and the 3 1/2 year drought that depletes the world’s supply of water, sanitation practices will deteriorate even in what were advanced nations in Europe and North America.

With the short supply of water, there won’t be sufficient water for flushing toilets, taking baths, washing clothes and transporting wastewater to treatment facilities. This will result in the increase of typhus, cholera, salmonella and E.coli infections.

Therefore, since you have decided to reject Christ’s offer to join in the rapture, your concern is how to maintain good health in the post rapture era.

You must build a supply of multiple vitamins with particular emphasis on anti-oxidants such as C and E and minerals. It will also be necessary to have a supply of disinfectants, particularly one that can be added to water to make it potable.

Above all, do not accept the mark of the beast on your right hand or forehead. If you do take the mark then nothing can be done for you—you will suffer the malignant ulcer making the rest of your life almost unbearable.

Did you ever have a canker sore in your mouth? If so, then you know how painful that one little canker sore was. Now think of having canker sores all over your body, on your genitalia, in your mouth.

Think how painful and unbearable your life will be. Then follow that misery with eternity in hell. Don’t take that mark.

http://www.raptureready.com/rr-survival-guide.html

The Wedding Model
by Chuck Missler

The Wedding Model

In this second article in our series on the Rapture, we will explore another reason why we favor a “pre-tribulation” view of the Harpázô, the “snatching up” of the Church.

All through the Gospels, Jesus relied on the ancient Jewish wedding pattern for many of His parables, climaxing in His promise in the Upper Room in John 14 (as reviewed in our previous article). Many of us miss the full import of these allusions if we aren’t familiar with the model of ancient Jewish wedding practices.

Jewish Wedding

The first step, the Ketubah, or Betrothal, was the establishment of the marriage covenant, usually when the prospective bridegroom took the initiative and negotiated the price (mohair) he must pay to purchase her.

Once the bridegroom paid the purchase price, the marriage covenant was established, and the young man and woman were regarded as husband and wife. From that moment on, the bride was declared to be consecrated or sanctified - set apart - exclusively for her bridegroom. As a symbol of the covenant relationship that had been established, the groom and bride drank from a cup of wine over which the betrothal had been pronounced.

After the marriage covenant was established, the groom left his bride at her home and returned to his father’s house, where he remained separated from his bride for approximately 12 months. This afforded the bride time to gather her trousseau and prepare for married life.

During this period of separation, the groom prepared a dwelling place in his father’s house to which he would later bring his bride. At the end of the period of separation, the bridegroom came - usually at night - to take his bride to live with him. The groom, the best man, and other male escorts left the father’s house and conducted a torch-light procession to the home of the bride.

Although the bride was expecting her groom to come for her, she did not know the time of his coming. As a result, the groom’s arrival was preceded by a shout, which announced her imminent departure to be gathered with him.

After the groom received his bride, together with her female attendants, the enlarged wedding party returned from the bride’s home to the groom’s father’s house, where the wedding guests had assembled.

Shortly after their arrival, the bride and groom were escorted by the other members of the wedding party to the bridal chamber (huppah). Prior to entering the chamber, the bride remained veiled so that no one could see her face.

While the groomsmen and bridesmaids waited outside, the bride and groom entered the bridal chamber alone. There, in the privacy of that place, they entered into physical union for the first time, thereby consummating the marriage that had been covenanted approximately one year earlier.

After the marriage was consummated, the groom came out of the bridal chamber and announced the consummation of the marriage to the members of the wedding party waiting outside. Then, as the groom went back to his bride in the chamber, the members of the wedding party returned to the wedding guests and announced the consummation of the marriage.

Upon receiving the good news, the wedding guests remained in the groom’s father’s house for the next seven days, celebrating with a great wedding feast.

During the seven days of the wedding feast, the bride and groom remained hidden in the bridal chamber (Cf. Genesis 29:21-23, 27-28) for the seven days of the huppah. Afterwards, the groom came out of hiding, bringing his bride with him, but with her veil removed so that everyone could see her.

The Ultimate Bride

The New Testament portrays the Church as the Bride of Christ in Ephesians 5:22-33 (Paul even quotes Genesis 2:24 as the union at the Parousia of the Bridegroom in v.31!); cf. Romans 7:4; 2 Corinthians 11:2; James 4:4. In the opening verses of John 14, the marriage covenant is confirmed. Paul continually reminds us of the purchase price and the covenant by which we, the Bride, are set apart, or sanctified.

Ecclesiology vs. Eschatology

It is this distinctive nature of the Church that is often overlooked by students of prophecy: it is more a matter of ecclesiology than eschatology.

One thing that seems to highlight this distinctiveness is the strange remark Jesus made regarding John the Baptist:

Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. -Matthew 11:11

What does that mean? Jesus goes on to explain,

For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. - Matthew 11:13

It is John the Baptist that closes the Old Testament, not Malachi. A profound distinction appears to be drawn between the saints of the Old Testament and those of the New.

One of the challenges in fully appreciating Paul’s epistles is the need to understand the staggering and distinctive advantages afforded the Church, in contrast to those of the Old Testament saints. And it is this role as the Bride of the Bridegroom that is emphasized in the parables and in the Book of Revelation.

The Departure of the Bridegroom

The Bridegroom has departed, and His return to gather His Bride is imminent. He has gone to prepare a place for you and me. (He has been at it for 2,000 years! It must be a spectacular abode!)

This very doctrine of “imminence” is taught throughout the New Testament and is a cornerstone of the “pre-tribulational” view: there is no event which is a prerequisite condition for His gathering of His Bride.

The Great Tribulation

There are those who believe the Church will go through the Great Tribulation. In exploring this issue, it is essential to distinguish between persecution, which clearly has been the lot of the Church for 19 centuries, and “the Great Tribulation” of eschatological significance. The persecution - and tribulation - of the Church was clearly promised to us:

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. -John 16:33

The source of this tribulation is the world and, of course, Satan. However, “the Great Tribulation” of eschatological significance is quite another matter.

For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. -Matthew 24:21

The context here is clearly Israel. Jesus is quoting from the Old Testament:

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 -Daniel 12:1

Note that “thy people will be delivered”: the focus of the “Great Tribulation” is Israel. That is why it is called “the time of Jacob’s Trouble”:

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. -Jeremiah 30:7

Jesus (in the Old Testament) explains:

I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me earnestly. -Hosea 5:15

To “return,” He must have left His place! The offence referred to is singular and specific: their rejection of Him. In “their affliction” they will ultimately repent and He will respond.

The Great Tribulation also involves more than the wrath of the world or the wrath of Satan: it involves the indignation and wrath of God. In contrast, the Church has been promised:

For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,-1 Thessalonians 5:9

And,

Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. -Romans 5:9

And, specifically,

Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour [time] of temptation [trial], which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. -Revelation 3:10

Peter also emphasizes,

The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: -2 Peter 2:9

Here, Peter is using the judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah “as an example,” as Jesus also did, in which the prior removal of Lot was a precondition before the angels could do their work.

A complete study of this issue involves careful and diligent study of both the Church (ecclesiology) as well as the eschatology (end time aspects) of the Great Tribulation, which, of course, far exceeds the focus of this brief review. It requires precise definitions of the terms used, and great care to understand how each of the elements of the revealed truth relate to each other.

But the fundamental doctrine of imminence has to be forfeited with any view that requires the Great Tribulation - or any other precedent event - to occur prior to the Rapture.

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. -Luke 21:36

Are you going to escape these things that shall come to pass? If so, how? Or are you relying on the notion that the Lord is “delaying His coming?” This could be a very dangerous presumption. Do your homework. It is important.

http://www.khouse.org/articles/2003/449/