Recently I have become aware of Scriptures which no one is talking about, but which are going to be very relevant in the near future according to the signs and the prophecy of Scripture. These are the scriptures that tell us of the sufferings the followers of Jesus will have to endure as we “pick up our cross and follow him.” There is a popular teaching now that tells us we will not have to endure any suffering because Jesus is going to take us out of here (the Rapture) before the trials occur. We have been fortunate to live in a society that has been remarkably free of persecution and torture for over 200 years. But in many places in the world up through today, Christians have had and are having persecutions and even death because of their faithfulness to Christ. This blessing we have had has become our curse in that we are not prepared to endure the sufferings Jesus taught us about and have been experienced by faithful followers of Jesus throughout the last 2000 years. Yet according to prophecy and the signs we are seeing, this life of luxury may soon be a thing of the past in the United States as the country and world descend into a world-wide atheistic one-world government eventually ruled by the antichrist.
First of all, the teaching that the Rapture will occur long before Christ returns is false. All the Scripture that tells those of us that are alive at the time of Christ’s return will be taken up to meet him in the air are all associated with Jesus’ second coming not before. And many things have to occur before he returns, which are not going to be pleasant. (cf. Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21) Instead, as Revelation tells us, it will require that we have patient endurance and faithfulness.
Rather we should be encouraging one another to develop a beautiful love relationship with our Lord so we will know without any doubt that He will take care of us through whatever trials we must endure. If your faith is weak and your relationship with Jesus is superficial, you will not endure and will yield to the oppressors who will free you from the sufferings, but at what a cost? Revelation tells us those who take the mark of the beast and therefore worship him will be thrown into the flames of torture just like the dragon, the beast, and the antichrist. (Revelation 14:9-12) I would rather learn to endure the trials by deep knowledge of God’s love than spend eternity or the second death in the realm reserved for Satan. You might reread Heaven Is Beyond Imagination to get a better handle on the unimaginable depth of God’s love for you to be able to have patient endurance and faithfulness that will be required, and the motivation to avoid the second death described in the Appendix, The Bad News. Dale Black, DaleBlack.org, is also one whose teaching is right on track with this.
These are the verses in which Jesus tells us about suffering for him. The first that caught my attention is 1 Peter 4:12-19:
“12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.
13 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler.
16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.
17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
18 And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”
19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.”
When speaking about the end times with his twelve disciples, he told them in Matthew 24:6-13:
“6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.
9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.
10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,
11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.
12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,
13 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
Acts 5:41: “The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.”
Romans 5:3 “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;”
Romans 8:17-18: “Now if we are children, then we are heirs–heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”
II Corinthians 1:5-8:
“5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.
6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.
7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, despaired even of life.”
Philippians 3:10-12: “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”
There may be more, but these are the Scripture references I found when writing this article. The point is according to the Word of God, suffering is a natural result of faithfully following Jesus. Crosses are not easy to bear but we must bear ours to follow Jesus. Don’t let anyone mislead you into thinking that you will not have to suffer for following Jesus when your brothers and sisters around the world have had to suffer and some are still suffering. Lay hold of Jesus’ promise that you will not suffer anything that his grace in you cannot handle. And when your life is taken away, remember your life is not the physical body you are in but the spirit that the coming trials says God’s elect must have patient endurance and faithfulness. indwells it. When satanic forces choose to kill you, all they can do is separate your spirit from your body and allow you to enter into God’s place of beautiful eternal rest and joy. Please lay hold of how deep is God’s unimaginable love for you and His promise never to let you endure more than you and He together cannot handle. You must love Him and trust Him so much that the suffering you must endure does not rob you of your inner joy and peace. The word in Revelation several times during the trials says we are to develop our relationships with the Father and the Son so that we can have this patient endurance and faithfulness when Satan’s fury comes our way. Do that instead of hoping to be taken out of here before you have to suffer like the rest of the world has.