Mercy in the Midst of the Great Tribulation

⁹ After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰ and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” ¹¹ All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² saying:


      “ Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom,
      Thanksgiving and honor and power and might,
      Be to our God forever and ever.
      Amen.”

¹³ Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”
¹⁴ And I said to him, “Sir, you know.”
So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. ¹⁶ They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; ¹⁷ for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters.  And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”--Revelation 7:9-17

Girls,

Reading through Revelation and stopped here for a moment.  God is so good. He is filled with mercy and compassion and gives us so many chances to repent and look to Him.  The elder in verse 14 identifies these as  "the ones who come out of the great tribulation."  Perhaps the greatest revival the world has ever seen, will occur during the period that comes immediately after the Rapture and in the midst of the greatest suffering the people on earth have ever known.  Even in judgment God remembers mercy and reaches out His hand to us.  

It is a comfort for me to know that God loves each one of us to the very end and does not wish that any of us should perish.  There will be so many people after the Rapture who had heard the gospel but not responded...thinking there was time. The loved one that had been witnessing to them is now gone...suddenly disappeared. But God because of His great love will be there calling them to come and even though their salvation could cost them their lives...they will now see that their hope is not in this world and will fall on their knees crying out to Him for salvation.

Jeremiah, in Lamentations 3,  in the midst of judgment, sin and sorrow, says this.

This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope.Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!"

Hope in Him...come to Him now.  2 Corinthians 6 says that Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

Love
Mom