Blessed

There is so much I want to say, but just from my reading yesterday, I am keenly aware that I need to emphasize the blessings that are available for us in The End.


Daniel 12:12 Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.
Revelation 1:3 Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
Rev. 14:13 "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them."
Rev 16:15 "Behold, I come like a thief ! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed."
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
Rev. 22:7 "Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book."


These are just some verses, but they give the general idea of the blessings available to us.
Even in these verses there is a hint that there is no pre-trib rapture. 
I know every single one of my friends says they want to be gone before the tribulation starts, but all of that wishful thinking isn't even well informed. There is no special blessing for those who die before the rapture. No special blessing for those who do not live through that terrible time.
If you are a believer, you must understand that the plagues and troubles of the end are not for you.  The ONLY things that will happen to believers in the tribulation are: being be-heading, plundered, killed by the sword or fire, kidnapped, and tricked by so-called friends.  OK, that doesn't sound so good. Here let's read the verses...


 Daniel 11:33-35 Those who are wise among the people will give understanding to many, yet they will die by sword and flame, and be captured and plundered for a time. When defeated, they will be helped by some, but many others will join them insincerely. Some of the wise will fall so that they may be refined, purified, and cleansed until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.


Rev 13:10 If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.


Here's a verse though, that also points to a blessing, a BIG blessing, that comes with this type of death:
Rev 20:4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. They had not worshiped the beast


The full explanation for all of this would take some time, time I'd love to take if I didn't have places to go and people to see. But if I explained it all, you'd be missing out on part of your blessing. Blessed is he who searches out these answers for himself!
I'll just point out that "keeping the words of prophecy in this book" (Rev 22:7) isn't going to happen if you're gone before the tribulation. The instructions given for that time are not just for people "left behind". Personally I would find it unfair if a brand new Christian who only became a Christian when he saw all of his Christian friends disappear got the biggest blessings promised to anyone in the Bible.
I am jazzed about those blessings. I want to reign with Christ for a thousand years. People who are not Martyrs, or who don't die in the 7 years, or who don't live through the 7 years, do not get to be in the thousand year reign. They will come back with the New Heaven and New Earth after the thousand years. (more on that another day.)
I'm not saying that we seek these blessings for the sake of the blessing. Believe me, you will one of the "wise that will fall" (in Daniel 11) "to be purified" if those are your only motives. Seek God first... gifts, blessing, second.


I have run out of time. I hope this has spurred you on to look around these verses yourself... and around others you may find.
Don't be afraid of the future... be excited for your blessings.