Tag Archives: tribulation period

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Greg Laurie – His Seal of Authenticity

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In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. . . . —Ephesians 1:13

Traveling by air today requires that you first go through airport security and present your identification before you can board your plane. And when the TSA agents pull out a mysterious little light and run it over your driver’s license, they are authenticating it. They are making sure that everything is legitimate. With that little light, they can find a mark that isn’t visible to you. But they can see it with their light.

There is a mark on believers that God can see. He knows who belongs to Him. But during the Tribulation period, there also will be a mark on the people of the Antichrist (see Revelation 13:16–18).

When Christ comes into our lives, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. The Bible says, “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:13–14).

In ancient days, when a king would send something, he would seal it. The seal from his signet ring, imprinted in the wax, essentially said, “This belongs to the king. Don’t mess with it.”

As a believer, you belong to the King. He has sealed you. He has marked you. You have his ID tag on you. You are his property.

An elderly gentleman who was known for his godly life was asked, “What do you do when you are tempted?”

He said, “I just look up to heaven and say, ‘Lord, Your property is in danger.’ ”

Do you have God’s mark? Is His I. D. tag attached to you? Can you proudly say that you belong to Him?

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Greg Laurie – A Self-Willed Choice

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And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. — 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12

I have found that many people will reject Christ without even knowing what He says. They will reject the Bible without reading it, even saying the Bible is full of contradictions. But when asked what so-called contradictions in the Bible they have a problem with, they can never identify them. That is because they haven’t read the Bible. They refuse to believe the truth, and instead they believe the lie.

What is the lie? When it is fully realized in the Tribulation period, the lie is that the Antichrist is God, and people will buy into this. Then God will confirm their choice and “send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:11ââ,¬”12). Those who turn from the truth of God to the Antichrist and refuse God’s answer of salvation will be turned over to their own self-willed choice.

For example, Pharaoh hardened his heart, even when miracle after miracle was performed by the hand of God through Moses and Aaron. But then we read, “The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh . . . ” (Exodus 9:12). Isn’t that a contradiction? No, it is a progression. Initially Pharaoh did harden his heart. He hardened it again and again. And then God hardened, or strengthened, it.

God has given us a free will. He will not force us to believe something we don’t want to believe. He will come to us and seek to convince us of the truth of the Scripture. The Holy Spirit will work on our hearts. But we have the ability to resist Him.

If you harden your heart again and again, there will come a day when God will strengthen you in your own resolve.

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Greg Laurie – In His Hands

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And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. —Revelation 12:11

How important it is for us to know that our lives belong to God. God decides the day of our birth, and God decides the day of our death. But we have everything to do with the dash in the middle.

In Revelation 12:11, we read of the saints during the Tribulation who “overcame [the devil] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”

They did not love their lives to the death. These believers knew their lives belonged to God. They knew that as followers of Jesus during the Tribulation period, they could lose their lives. They also knew their times were in God’s hands. Thus, they spoke up for their faith in Christ and, whatever the consequences were, they were ready to face them.

A story is told from the pages of Christian history about a believer who was brought before one of the Caesars. He was told to renounce his faith and give glory to Caesar. The man would not do it. So the emperor said to him, “Give up Christ, or I will banish you.”

The Christian said, “You can’t banish me from Christ, for God says, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ ”

The emperor said, “I will confiscate your property.”

The Christian replied, “My treasures are laid up in heaven. You can’t touch them.”

The emperor said, “I will kill you.”

The Christian answered, “I have been dead to this world in Christ for 40 years. My life is hidden with Christ in God. You can’t touch it.”

The emperor turned to some of the members of his court and said, in complete disgust, “What can you do with such a fanatic?”

May God give us more Christians like this.