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Place of
Safety
Safety
.
by Jim Haeffele
Does the Bible speak of a special “place
of safety” for Christians during the Great Tribulation and the Day of
the Lord? If so, where is it?
In what is called the Olivet
Prophecy, Jesus said, “For then there will be great tribulation, such
as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever
shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved
[meaning, alive]; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened” (Matthew 24:21-22).
What will happen to Christians during the Great Tribulation?
The popular teaching today is that they will be
raptured to heaven before the Great Tribulation begins and return with Christ
at His second coming to end
the Great Tribulation and to put Satan away.
What is the correct biblical teaching on what
will happen to Christians during the Tribulation?
In Jesus’ prophecy to
the seven churches, which was given
to John for him to write in the book of Revelation, Jesus said, “Because
you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of
trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the
earth” (Revelation 3:10).
These Christians will be
protected from the Great Tribulation because they kept Christ’s “command
to persevere” and they also kept the commandments of God (Revelation 14:12).
But how and where will they be
kept from that “hour of trial”?
A woman flies into the wilderness
In chapter 12 of the book of Revelation John
writes of a war in heaven between Satan and the archangel Michael.
But Satan will lose and be cast back down to the
earth. Satan will then have great wrath because he knows he has but a short
time left.
He will bring about great tribulation (war) and
persecute the woman, which at the end of the chapter is symbolic of Christ’s
Church (verses
12-13).
Verse 14 says, “But the
woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the
wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a
time, from the presence of the serpent [Satan].”
Notice that the woman, here
meaning the Church, will “fly into the wilderness to her place.”
The word “place” is singular.
This verse also says the Church is nourished for 3½ years (time = 1 year, times
= 2 years, half a time = half a year) in the wilderness (see also Revelation
13:5).
Does the Bible indicate any possible location
for this wilderness or “place of safety”?
Some have speculated about where a place of
safety would be, such as Petra in Jordan, but the Bible does not clearly
indicate a specific location.
We do know that part of the Church will be taken
into a “wilderness to her place” (Revelation 12:14) where it will be “nourished” —
protected and cared for.
The wording implies there is one location that
will be prepared at which the Church will be protected, but Scripture does not
clearly identify that place.
Are all protected in a place of safety?
But will all Christians be included?
Although some Christians will be nourished and
protected, it seems others will suffer persecution and martyrdom during the
time of the Great Tribulation (Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 12:17).
Speaking of the time of His
second coming, Jesus said, “And He will send His angels with a great
sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four
winds, from one end of heaven [atmosphere] to the other” (Matthew 24:31).
When Christ returns, He will resurrect faithful
saints from their graves and the saints who are alive will be changed.
The saints who are alive will have lived through
the Great Tribulation. Will they have been protected in a particular location
or “place of safety”?
Revelation 7 describes a group
of people numbering 144,000 (verses 3-4) and also “a great multitude which
no one could number” (verse 9) that is said to have “come out of the great tribulation” (verse 14).
The Bible does not say whether these people will
be in a wilderness location during the last part of the Great Tribulation or
whether they will be taken to such a location after they are “sealed” for
protection.
Exactly how and where they are protected is not
revealed.
God protects His people
The book of Psalms contains numerous scriptures
that speak of God protecting His faithful people.
In these passages, the focus is on trusting God,
as opposed to being in a specific location in order to be protected.
· Psalm 18:2: “The LORD
is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I
will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”
· Psalm 27:5: “For in
the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret place of
His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.”
· Psalm 31:20: “You
shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You
shall keep them secretly in a pavilion [“shelter,” Revised Standard Version] from the strife of
tongues.”
· Psalm 32:7: “You are
my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble.”
· Psalm 91:7, 9-10: “A
thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it
shall not come near you. … Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,
even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall
any plague come near your dwelling.”
· Psalm 121:7: “The LORD
shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul.”
These promises of protection
will be fulfilled for the “woman who flies into the wilderness,”
for those who “come out of Great
Tribulation,” and
for those gathered alive at Christ’s return
from “the four winds” of the earth.
The one common thread in all of these Scripture
examples is that God will protect those who faithfully seek to serve, obey and
trust in Him.
Place of safety summary
What can we conclude from these scriptures in
reference to a “place of safety”?
· The Bible says some Christians
will go into the wilderness to be protected from Satan and his wrath (Revelation 12:14).
· The Bible also says some
Christians will not go into this wilderness “place of safety” and
Satan will go to make war with them (Revelation 12:17).
· The Bible also shows that many
other servants of God will be “sealed” for protection (Revelation 7:3-8).
· Several Psalms speak of the
Lord’s protection of His faithful saints.
Jesus’ instructions to Christians today
It is true He instructed us
to “watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to
escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of
Man” (Luke
21:36).
But worrying about one’s personal safety to the
exclusion of other important spiritual responsibilities is not what Christ had
in mind.
In the Sermon on the Mount
Jesus instructed us to “seek first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
If Christians are seeking
first God’s Kingdom and His righteousness, then they will be watching and
praying and Jesus will be with them always, “even to the end of the
age” (Matthew
28:20).
Jim
Haeffele is a church pastor in the
Church of God, a Worldwide Association. He currently pastors congregations in
Fort Myers, Miami and West Palm Beach, Florida. He has served in the ministry
of the Church of God for over 46 years. During those years he and his wife,
Lois, have served congregations from Portland, Oregon, where he grew up, to
Utah, Ohio, North Carolina, and now Florida.
https://lifehopeandtruth.com/prophecy/revelation/place-of-safety/
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