Counted Worthy To Escape

I believe we should all be praying that we might be counted worthy to escape the tribulation: "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). But note that Jesus is speaking to the same believers, the same "ye," in Luke 21:8-35 that he is speaking to in Luke 21:36.

I believe we will escape the entire tribulation and stand before the Son of Man (Luke 21:36) only if we die before the tribulation starts (Isaiah 57:1, 2 Corinthians 5:8, Philippians 1:21-23). Many of us Christians will go through the tribulation (Luke 21:31; Revelation 6:11, 7:14, 9:4, 12:17, 13:7-10, 14:12-13, 15:2, 16:15, 18:4, 20:4).

*******
Gospel Of Escape From Suffering?

Note that no scripture says that the purpose of the rapture is to provide a way of escape from the tribulation, just as the gospel itself has never been about a promise of escape from earthly suffering and death, but has always been a promise of victory and eternal life despite suffering and death:

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us" (Romans 8:35-37).

"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy" (1 Peter 4:12-13).

"That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:7).

"Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life" (Revelation 2:10).

"I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18).

"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Corinthians 4:17).

"Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit" (Revelation 14:12-13).

"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it" (Luke 9:23-24).

*******
Counted Worthy To Suffer

Note that a Christian must be counted worthy to suffer for Christ: "When they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name" (Acts 5:40-41).

A Christian that does not take suffering upon himself now to follow Christ is not worthy of Christ: "And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me" (Matthew 10:38).

A Christian is counted worthy of the kingdom of God by suffering patiently for it: "We ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer" (2 Thessalonians 1:4-5).

"We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22).

"If we suffer, we shall also reign with him" (2 Timothy 2:12).

"For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer" (Philippians 1:29).

"For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps" (1 Peter 2:21).

"Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer" (2 Timothy 3:12).

"Be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel" (2 Timothy 1:8).

"That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto. For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation" (1 Thessalonians 3:3-4).

"Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you" (Matthew 5:11-12).

"If any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf" (1 Peter 4:16).

*******
Escape By Death?

Note that Isaiah 57:1 says "the righteous perish." It is in their dying that some of the righteous are "taken away from the evil to come" (Isaiah 57:1). "To die is gain" for a Christian (Philippians 1:21).

Note that the Hebrew word translated "perisheth" in Isaiah 57:1 is abad. The Bible uses it to speak of things "perishing" or being "destroyed."

I agree that "we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed" (1 Corinthians 15:51), that is, that not all Christians will have to die before being changed into their immortal bodies at the 2nd coming. But note that this in no way requires that the rapture be pre-trib or that Luke 21:36 not be referring to an escape by dying before the tribulation.

*******
Pray For Death?

I don't think that Luke 21:36 is saying that we should pray directly for "death," for death in itself is our enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26), but that we should pray for "escape," even though we know that this will involve our death, for we should desire to be counted among those who "loved not their lives unto the death" (Revelation 12:11), for "he that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal" (John 12:25).

I believe we should all have the attitude of Paul: desiring to go be with the Lord via death, but at the same time desiring to continue any work we might have here for the Lord in case it might in any way be a blessing to our brethren: "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you" (Philippians 1:21-24).

Again, I don't believe we should ever pray "Give me death," for death in itself is our enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26), but we can pray "Give me escape" knowing that this will involve our death. It's like a person going into a gym and saying to a trainer "Give me pain." The trainer would rightly suspect that something might be wrong with the person. But there would be nothing wrong with a person going into a gym and saying to a trainer "Give me a strong body" knowing that this will involve the painful lifting of weights.

Note that in Philippians 1:21-25 Paul is referring to his desire to "depart" via death because he says "to die is gain" and specifically contrasts his departure with his continuing to "live in the flesh" and "abide in the flesh," just as in 2 Timothy 4:6 he refers to the time of his "departure" via death being at hand.

Even though death in itself is not a blessing, can't we still be blessed in our death? "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them" (Revelation 14:13); "The righteous hath hope in his death" (Proverbs 14:32); "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21); "Being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead" (Philippians 3:10-11); "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints" (Psalm 116:15); "A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth" (Ecclesiastes 7:1).

*******
Psalm 91

"There shall no evil befall thee... Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet" (Psalm 91:10, 13); "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you" (Luke 10:19). Did Jesus mean nothing shall by any means hurt us physically, or nothing shall by any means hurt us spiritually? "Some of you shall they cause to be put to death... But there shall not an hair of your head perish" (Luke 21:16, 18); "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life" (Revelation 2:10).

*******
Enoch

Note that the Bible doesn't tie Enoch's translation with the flood in any way. He was translated 669 years before the flood. Nor does the Bible say we're to look to the translation of Enoch as a type for us, but instead says we're to look to the patient suffering of Job (James 5:10-11).

It doesn't say Enoch was translated to escape suffering, and all the great Old Testament saints and martyrs of Hebrews 11:32-38 weren't translated, and the church has never been translated from persecution, war, famine, plague, or natural disaster during the past 2000 years.

*******
Noah & Lot

Note that the Bible says Noah's deliverance was a type of our deliverance through baptism (1 Peter 3:20-21), not rapture, and the judgment on Sodom and Gomorrha was a type of the eternal judgment of hellfire (Jude 7), not a type of the tribulation.

*******
The Exodus

Note that the Bible nowhere says that the Exodus was a type of the rapture, but rather it says that the Exodus was a type of our initial salvation, after which we must take heed not to fall into sin like the Israelites did after the Exodus, so that they were overthrown in the wilderness (1 Corinthians 10:1-12).

Also, note that even if we were to decide on our own to take Exodus as a type of the rapture, the Exodus did not occur until after God had finished pouring out his plagues upon Egypt (Exodus 7-12), just as the rapture will not occur until after God finishes pouring out his plagues upon the unbelievers at the end of the tribulation (Revelation 16; Matthew 24:29-31). So the Exodus would serve only as a type of the post-trib rapture.

*******
Isaiah 57 & Micah 7

Some say that Isaiah 57 and Micah 7 require that all the righteous will be gone, and only the wicked left. But how do these passages require this? Are "the sons of the sorceress" in Isaiah 57:3 the ones who are speaking in Micah 7:1 ("Woe is me!") and Micah 7:7 ("I will wait for God")? Note that Paul said the same as Micah 7:2 ("there is none upright") in Romans 3:10 ("there is none righteous, no, not one") to refer to me and you, and Jesus said in Luke 12:53 that Micah 7:6 ("the daughter in law against her mother in law") would be fulfilled in the families of believers.

*******
Psalm 12:1

"Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men" (Psalm 12:1).

If this is not poetic hyperbole, who's crying for help?

And even if it is not hyperbole, "What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:9-10). Does this past and present fact require a pre-trib rapture?

Note that in Psalm 12:1, the Hebrew word translated "fail" is Strong's #6461, the definition of which includes "prob. to disperse." The Hebrew word translated "ceaseth" is Strong's #1584, the definition of which includes "failure." When the godly cease to stand up for what is godly and fail to stand together in what is godly, then truly the wicked will walk on every side (Psalm 12:8).

*******
Stand Before The Son Of Man?

Some say "stand before the Son of man" in Luke 21:36 must be a direct reference to the judgment. But this is not necessarily the case; it could simply refer to standing before him in heaven in worship (e.g. Revelation 7:9-10).

I don't believe that the spirits of those people who will escape the coming tribulation by dying before it starts will require resurrected bodies in order to "stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:36). Note that the disciples understood disembodied spirits as being able to stand and walk: "Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit" (Luke 24:36-37); "When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear" (Matthew 14:26).

Note that when Samuel's spirit was brought up from sheol, he had some sort of ghostly body which was wearing a mantle (1 Samuel 28:14-20), and the souls of the martyrs in heaven are given robes to wear (Revelation 6:9-11), and the great multitude in heaven that come out of the great tribulation by dying in the seals (Revelation 6) also wear robes and hold palm fronds in their hands (Revelation 7:9-14), even before the 1st resurrection (Revelation 20:4-5).

*******
Luke 21:28 and Luke 21:36

"When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh" (Luke 21:28).

I believe that "these things" in Luke 21:28 which we will still be here to see (because we will not have escaped) are the "signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars" that will appear right before the 2nd coming (Luke 21:25-27). Note that Jesus is speaking to the same believers, the same "ye," in Luke 21:8-27 that he is speaking to in Luke 21:28.

"Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass" (Luke 21:36).

I believe that we will escape all the events of the tribulation (not be here to see any of them) only if we die before any of them begin to come to pass (Isaiah 57:1; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:21-23).