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"Place of Safety"?
Tens of thousands believe there is a place of safety, probably in the Jordanian desert, awaiting God's church. Thousands fervently hope they can qualify to flee to this place to escape the coming Great Tribulation. Is this a valid hope? WILL the church go to such a place? Are YOU headed toward a "place of safety"?
by Garner Ted Armstrong [see also "Where is Your Place of Safety?"]
No one wants to suffer pain, injury or death! Yet the "Great Tribulation" spoken of in the Bible (Matthew 24, Luke 21) promises terrible persecution, pain, suffering and DEATH by martyrdom for Christians!
Jesus Christ prophesied, "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" (Matthew 24:9).
Who are these Christians?
WHY are they singled out to suffer in the Great Tribulation? Jesus also said, "But there shall not an hair of your head perish"! (Luke 21:18). WHO are those who will escape unscathed? Who are those who will be afflicted and killed?
Are the ones to be afflicted the "inferior" Christians; people with hidden sins, spiritual weakness; in a "lukewarm" condition, while those who escape are praying, studying, meditating, overcoming, zealous Christians?
Jesus said some of those in God's true church would be put to death but others would be spared! Why? What's the difference? Why are some spared, but others allowed to suffer tribulation and even martyrdom? Notice what Christ said:
"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. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. But there shall not an hair of your head perish. . ." (Luke 21:6-18).
Obviously, when Christ said "SOME of you…" He is describing the whole church, and saying of SOME that not a "hair of their head would perish," but of others that they would be betrayed by family and friends, and taken into terrible trials.
Jesus was describing the time of the GREAT TRIBULATION, just prior to the DAY OF THE LORD, and the end of this present age.
Some of His true disciples were to be "delivered up," but not all!
Notice. "But before all these [wars, earthquakes, famines and pestilences], they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues [churches], and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake.
"And it shall turn to you for a testimony. Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist" (Luke 21:10-15).
Here is a picture of true Christians, those who are a part of the Body of Christ in the final generation of this world's civilizations, doing the work of God. That work they are accomplishing becomes such a stench in the nostrils of carnal-minded, God-defying human governments and religious organizations that Jesus prophesied His remnant church would be terribly persecuted—many of them MARTYRED for the sake of His name, and His work!
Who are these who will be "delivered up"?
Are they inferior? Have they become lukewarm? Are they the "Laodicean church," whom Christ is going to "spew out of His mouth"? (Revelation 3:14-16).
Notice Mark's account. "And the gospel must first be published among all nations.
"But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up [this means arrested, being `brought' before officialdom], take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: But whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: For it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Spirit" (Mark 13:10, 11).
Obviously these are deeply converted Christians! Filled with the Holy Spirit, they confidently, in FAITH, expect that Almighty God will put powerful, moving witness in their mouths by which they will convict their tormentors. As such, they will join the ranks of those righteous men and women cataloged in the 11th chapter of Hebrews, "of whom the world was not worthy." They will join ranks with Stephen, who gave powerful witness as he was being murdered; with Peter, who was probably crucified upside down; with the apostle Paul, who died a martyr; with Jesus Christ of Nazareth Himself!
Are these, singled out by Almighty God and by the HEAD of His true church, Jesus Christ, "inferior," lukewarm Christians?
Were those mentioned in Hebrews 11 inferior? Was Stephen? Was Paul? Was Jesus Christ?
WHO is better able to give a powerful witness and testimony before the highest courts, before religious conclaves, before officialdom at every level, including heads of state? Those who are lukewarm? Or those who have been called of God to deliver a witness and a warning to God-rejecting, sinning mankind?
WHO were the "spokesmen" and the "watchmen" of God in the past? Why, they were the prophets and the apostles! God did not select the WEAKEST among His people for His spokesmen, but the strongest!
The "Laodicean Church"
The false concept that lukewarm Christians will be martyred; "left behind" while the "Philadelphian Era" will be "taken to a place of safety" came from the false notion that God's church would pass through seven successive "eras" or stages of development.
Study Revelation 2nd and 3rd chapters in this regard.
Because the "letters to the churches" were revealed successively, along an old Roman mail route, commencing with Ephesus and ending with Laodocea, it began to be assumed that these letters were intended to be understood as "eras" of the church, one following another.
Thus, since "Ephesus" is mentioned first, it was assumed that the first century, when the apostles were alive and working, was the "Ephesian era." This would be followed by "Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and, finally, the Laoocean era."
However, notice that the truly large churches; those where Paul primarily worked, and where Peter preached (Peter wrote from Babylon, or near modern day Baghdad, while Paul worked among the Gentiles in Corinth, Thessa-lonika, Philippi, Colossae, Galatia (Lystra, Iconium and Derbe), and Rome), as well as the large church in Jerusalem and the other large one in Alexandria, are not mentioned!
Further, notice that the rejoinder to each of the seven churches in Asia (Asia Minor today, or modern-day Turkey) are warned, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the CHURCHES" PLURAL! (See Revelation 2:7, 11,17, 29; Rev. 3:6, 13, and 22 in this regard.)
Elaborate attempts were made to assign various dates and events to justify this doctrine.
Those who believe the "Laodicean church" is comprised of those "lukewarm" members of God's true church also believe that the "Laodicean church" is more like an "attitude" in the hearts and minds of perhaps 50 percent of those WITHIN another church era.
That "era," they say, is "Philadelphia." This church era is called "the church of brotherly love." That this connotation is completely unscrip-tural is lost on many. While it is true that the Greek word philadelphos means "brotherly love," there is nothing which leads us to apply the meaning of the Greek names of all of the churches to each "era" (so-called) which they identify. Smyrna, Thyatira, Pergamos and Laodicea are merely names. Laodocea was named for "Laodice," the wife of Antiochus Epiphanes! If one is to claim application of the Greek meaning of philadelphos to so-called "eras" of the church, then one must also explain the meaning of all the others!
According to the belief in "church eras," at some moment in time (expected continually, reinforced by excited, speculative sermons repeatedly), the "Philadelphia era" will be whisked away to a "PLACE OF SAFETY"!
Perhaps they will be taken up by the grounded fleet of DC-10s—Almighty God supplying "a 10-inch angel" for each so-called defective "10-inch bolt"! You may laugh at this, but this supposition was PREACHED before nodding, agreeing, believing people many years ago, in the wake of a terrible, fatal crash of a DC-10 in Chicago.
As the supposition goes, those who are "lukewarm" (of the "Laodicean attitude") will be SHOCKED when this pseudo-rapture occurs, and their own beloved friends, perhaps family members, even husband or wife, are suddenly GONE, but they are "left behind" to suffer the pangs and horrors of the GREAT Tribulation!
Is this scenario true?
For, if it is Not, then literally tens of thousands of the members of God's church are being completely DECEIVED; are banking on a FALSE HOPE, and are doomed to great disappointment, and perhaps some will stumble, spiritually, and simply give up when they discover they have believed in a completely FALSE doctrine!
Now, think!
The concepts I have explained above require that THREE of the seven eras must be CONTEMPORARY during the final century of this age!
Those who accepted this concept in the 1950's and 1960's should therefore believe that the "Philadelphian era" died when my father died, in 1986! The church which emerged would then be WHICH CHURCH, according to this concept?"
Why, Laodicea, of course!
But this concept leaves no place for the more than TWO HUNDRED different churches and groups which have resulted from one of the most (if not THE most!) gigantic apostasies in history! The church God used my father and me (as well as many other "pioneers" of the 1950's and 1960's) to raise up, DISINTEGRATED!
None of those groups which sprang up wanted to lay claim to being the END TIME ERA, and so NONE of them has incorporated as "The Laodicean Church of God!"
Church Eras— True or False?
What about the concept of "church eras"? Did God foreordain that His church would pass through specific, different "eras," or "phases," down through history each "era," or "phase," of His church having distinctive characteristics, strengths and/or weaknesses which would clearly identify that particular era?
Certainly there can be no argument against the obvious fact that the seven churches of Revelation 2 and 3 are symbolic of the entire Church of God, both during that apostolic age, and down through all history!
Repeatedly the Scripture warns that all members of God's church are to hear what the Spirit says to all the churches!
None of the supposed "eras" is told to ignore what the Spirit said to all the other "eras" (so called), paying attention only to the message directed toward themselves.
Certainly it is obvious that this section of the book of Revelation was indicative of the general trials, persecutions, tribulations and difficulties affecting the whole church at that time!
Further, it is very likely indicative of the general type of trials, troubles and persecutions which would afflict the whole church throughout history, and which does afflict the church NOW!
But are we to understand that each of these seven contemporaneous churches represented a completely separate, different "era" or "phase" through which God's true church would pass from the time of the apostles until the final remnant spoken of in Revelation 12?
If the remainder of the theory presupposes that each era supersedes the other, and emerges and becomes extant only after the passing of the other (even if it admitted there is a transitional period), WHY should more than one third of the number be presupposed to remain extant contemporaneously, during the last days?
For, if Sardis is yet alive, and there be those who will "walk with Christ in white"; if "Philadelphia" comprises another, separate organization; if "Laodicea" either comprises lukewarm members WITHIN that organization, or another organization, you have THREE of the SEVEN existing side by side, contemporaneously! Then why not FOUR or six, or all seven?
But there is a far more important truth which destroys the theory.
As I have asked out of the pulpit, and in private conversations, "This is NOT a `trick' question: WHEN did the detestable, lukewarm "Laodi-cean" attitude first rear its ugly head in the Church?" Usually, when I ask this, people remain silent. They become confused; speculative. What do I mean by the question?
It is a simple question _ not a trick! The answer is OBVIOUS to anyone who knows his or her Bible.
Surely, if you are one who remembers the elaborate theory of "church eras," you well remember the answer. The answer is, "why, IN THE FIRST CENTURY _ contemporaneous with all the others!"
Of course!
Then, if one must cling to the "church era" theory, the following statement is true: "Laodicea was part of Philadelphia!" Right? Of course it is! There it is, in your own Bible, in Revelation the 2nd and 3rd chapters! For IF the time of the apostles; the time when John wrote the book of Revelation, was the "Ephesian ERA," then ALL the problems, attitudes, and spiritual difficulties which are set forth in Revelation 2 and 3 were extant right then, in the end of the FIRST CENTURY!
Why of COURSE they were!
Then, admit to yourself what is as plain as the nose on your face that, even as ALL the described difficulties, from those who had left their first love, to those who were "spiritually dead," to those suffering persecution, to those before whom God had set an open door, to those who were lukewarm, were taking place WHEN JOHN WAS TOLD TO WRITE THE LETTER TO THEM!
They were contemporaneous!
They all existed at the same time!
And that is the point. The warnings contained in Revelation 2 and 3 are for ALL the church, EVERYWHERE, ALL THE TIME!
They were never intended to be understood as phases or eras. God did not "foreordain" that people born during the middle ages HAD to belong to the so-called "Thyatiran era," while those born in the early part of this century HAD to belong to the so-called "Sardis era."
IF the so-called "Ephesian era" was the first 100 years or so of church history, and IF it was the era of the apostles, then why did not any of the apostles warn the church that they were about to lose their place; that they had "lost their first love?"
WHO was the apostle who most exemplified LOVE? Why, JOHN, of course! He was "that disciple whom Jesus loved"; the disciple who leaned on Jesus' bosom during the last supper. He wrote repeatedly about LOVE in his three letters in the Bible.
Never did Paul warn the many churches in his jurisdiction that "their candlestick would be removed out of its place," or that they "had lost their first love." Neither did James, or Peter, or any of the others.
ONLY EPHESUS, that specific city where John had been the overseer for many years, is warned that they "had lost their first love" (Revelation 2:4). But, since all the churches were contemporaneous, IF the days of the apostles comprised the "Ephesian era," then this warning should have been repeatedly proclaimed to all the church for DECADES! Instead, it went ONLY TO EPHESUS, and not to Jerusalem, Alexandria, Rome, Corinth, or anywhere else!
Actually all New Testament literature would supposedly represent "Ephesian era literature," and should be replete with many warnings about "losing one's first love" IF an era was involved. The absolute silence concerning any such warning throughout ALL the New Testament except for those few verses in a book not written until about 92 AD proves none of the apostles remotely thought that they were living in "the Ephesian era."
Some have said, "Yes, but what about Revelation 12? What about the woman who flees into the wilderness on the wings of an eagle?"
"The Two Wings of an Eagle"
Those who cling to the idea of a "great escape" into a wilderness; a kind of "physical rapture" into a place of safety, are fond of quoting Revelation 12:14, which says, "And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent."
There is no doubt about it. Almighty God plainly says, in His Word, that He will protect, and preserve alive, a "remnant" of His true church!
That the "woman" is God's church is without doubt. That the symbol "wings of a great eagle" connotes God's protection is without doubt. However, "the wilderness" is metaphor, and could include (as it did in the Middle Ages) all of Europe, including the deep, plunging valleys of the Swiss Alps, the French Alpine region, the provinces of Northern Italy, and the rugged terrain of Spain. In Biblical terms, it usually meant any desolate, uninhabited wilderness.
Also, we know that the "time, times and half a time" corresponds to the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord!
The ministry of the two witnesses also takes place during 31/2 years! Further, Israel is said to be suffering the pangs of the Great Tribulation for approximately the same period of time.
This is the identical time span during which "Jerusalem will be trodden down of the gentiles." All of these great events are to take place within the same three and one-half year period.
Not only is the term "wilderness" metaphorical, so is the expression "two wings of a great eagle."
Notice what God says about how He rescued ancient Israel from the wrath of Pharoah and the Egyptian army: "And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
"Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.
"Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine" (Exodus 19:3-5).
Remember, the Israelites WALKED every step of the way, or perhaps rode animals, or were carried in carts, by horses or oxen! They were protected in Goshen in their own homes, and then protected by the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea. God described this entire experience as having borne them "on eagle's wings." So the metaphorical expression "two wings of a great eagle" does NOT mean DC-10s, or any kind of aircraft at all, but merely is referring to God's supernatural protection.
The term "that she might fly" does NOT connote actual flight, as in an aircraft. Fleeing is "flight." The expression "take flight" when one flees from danger or an enemy is quite common in literature, and never connotes flying in an airplane.
Now, notice what Christ said in His famous Olivet prophecy about WHERE, or in which direction the saints are to "take flight" when they see all the terrible events of the Tribulation coming to pass: "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
"Then let them which be in Judaea flee [i.e. "take flight"] into the mountains:
"Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
"Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
"And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
"But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
"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 24:15-21).
WHY PRAY AT ALL, that one should not have to flee either in the winter, or on the Sabbath, if such "flight" is by SUPERNATURAL MEANS?
The "flight" away from danger for those who SEE that the tribulation is about to take place involves PHYSICAL RIGOR! Just as when the Israelites walked out of Egypt, so these end-time Christians will WALK, or use whatever physical means of transportation available to them, to escape!
WHICH Christians? Christ said "…they which be in Judaea," NOT "them which be in Seattle, Washington, or Miami, Florida, or London, or Sydney, or Cape Town!"
And WHERE would they flee? Christ said "to the MOUNTAINS." Jerusalem is high up in the mountains. Steep, precipitous mountains are in every direction from Jerusalem; North, South, East and West. Christ did NOT say to flee across the desert to Petra. He said those in Judaea (which includes the entire ancient province so named by the Romans) should flee to the mountains!
Now, what of Christian people who are NOT in Judaea, but are living in countries all over the world? Notice what the Bible says about WHERE God's converted saints are to be found at the coming of Christ! Jesus said, "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
"And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Matthew 24:30,31). The angels do NOT gather God's elect from ONE SMALL LOCATION in a desert hideout in Jordan! Instead, they gather them from every point of the compass; from Canada, Australia, Africa, Europe, Asia, South America, the United States _ the Islands of the seas _ from "one end of heaven to the other!"
Where are they? ON THIS EARTH. Notice, "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which are asleep [death is described as a deep, unconscious sleep!].
"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
"Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (I Thessalonians 4:13-17). Clouds are part of this earth's atmosphere. They are generally found under 50,000 feet, and are formed from water vapor and tiny ice crystals.
Clouds are a part of the three "spheres" forming our earth, which are the "bathysphere" [oceans and waters], "lithosphere" [rocks and land] and the "atmosphere." By way of analogy, if you have a desk-sized globe, the actual mantle of air where the clouds form is thinner than the lacquer finish on your globe!
Christ is coming back to this earth! He will descend to the MOUNT OF OLIVES in that same day! "Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
"And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south" (Zechariah 14:3, 4).
NONE of the scriptures describing the return of Christ refer to a special group of people hiding in caves in the Jordanian desert, or anywhere else!
The Bible says those in and near Jerusalem should flee to the mountains! It says the saints of God will be gathered by the angels from all over the world to meet the descending Christ in the air! It says nothing about all of God's people being in some special place!
The Wrath of SATAN
John saw, in a vision, the final attempt of Satan the devil to overthrow the very throne of God!
"And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
"And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him" (Revelation 12:7-9).
That this occurrence takes place just prior to "the Great Tribulation" is obvious from the language of verse 12, and the fact that the dragon makes war with "the remnant of her seed," meaning the church.
Further, it is at this time God offers salvation to countless humans who have previously heard His warning message:
"And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, now is come salvation, and strength, and the Kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accuse them before our God day and night.
"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they LOVED NOT THEIR LIVES UNTO THE DEATH"! (Revelation 12:10, 11).
Reread carefully those verses!
At the beginning of the Great Tribulation it is not (as some have preached and written) TOO LATE for salvation!
Remember, the entire host of the 144,000, plus the vast, innumerable multitude (Revelation 7), are converted as a direct result of the calamitous events of the tribulation!
Notice the characterization of God's true servants during this terrible persecution from Satan. How do they overcome the devil? "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb"!
Further, they were involved in more than just an "organized" work, for each one of them, at some time or another, will be called upon to give his own PERSONAL testimony! They also overcome Satan "by the word of their testimony. . ."
What kind of people will they be?
Will they be terribly concerned about sustaining, extending, preserving and protecting—at practically any cost—this human, physical life?
No! ". . . And they loved not their lives unto the death"! (Revelation 12:11).
Remember! Those righteous men and women who were singled out to make a final witness before the satanic forces of this evil world, and who were MURDERED because of their righteous stand for God and His laws, are not the "weak" of God's church!
For years, many ministers have taught FALSELY that Almighty God will use physical punishment, the GREAT TRIBULATION, martyrdom and torture before death as the final means of expiating guilt; the final manner in which God will cleanse unrighteousness, and bring about brokenhearted REPENTANCE in recalcitrant, unyielding or "Laodicean" (lukewarm) people!
Ask yourself the following question: "Is that why Stephen died?" Is that why Paul died? Is that why Peter died? Is that why John the Baptist was beheaded? Is it why they killed James, the brother of John, with a sword?
What about all the others? Polycarp was a student of John the apostle, and was burnt at the stake! Was it because he was a "Laodicean?" No, of course not!
Turn to and read the famous "faith" chapter, Hebrews 11!
Notice! After mentioning a host of the righteous patriarchs, prophets and some of the judges of Israel, including Gideon and Samuel, God's Word summarizes this catalog of His holy martyrs by saying, "Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
"Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to fight the armies of the aliens.
"Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
"And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
"They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
"(Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth, |