Matthew 24:13-22, “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.”
This passage of Scripture is often taken out of context by Calvinists in the Lordship Salvation crowd. They merely take Matthew 24:13, “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved,” attempting to use this passage to justify Lordship Salvation. I have heard this heresy again and again, and it makes me sick! If you listen to a lot of preaching like I do, then you know I am telling the truth. But the big mistake they all make is not to read the entire passage of Scripture. The true meaning of verse 13 is found in verse 22, “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.” Ah, now that makes sense! Jesus is talking about your “FLESH” being saved, not your soul.
Those saints who survive until the end of the Great Tribulation (Matthew 25:15), will bodily go into the 1,000 year millennium. They will have children and it will be a time of peace which the world had never known. This will be true for a couple reasons. First, Jesus will be in charge, reigning with an iron rod of righteousness over the whole earth from Jerusalem as King of kings, and Lord of lords. Second, Satan will be bound in chains in the Bottomless Pit for a thousand years, unable to do any harm. The reason why we see so much occultism (All Seeing Eye, The Great Pyramid, 666 hand signs, et cetera) is because Satan is unbound at this time, roaming about the earth seeking whom he may devour (1st Peter 5:8). Satan is the god of this evil world (2nd Corinthians 4:4). Ah, but we as Christian believers have eternal life dwelling in us, because we have the Son of God in us (1st John 5:20).
But prior to all this must first come the Tribulation period for 7 years, a time of suffering which the world has never seen. Billions of people will die! An asteroid will strike the earth and poison the waters. Revelation chapter 9 says that the sun will scorch men upon the earth. Deadly creatures from the Bottomless Pit will be unleashed upon the earth, stinging people like scorpions, but won't be able to die (Revelation 9). Can you imagine? If you are a saint of God, you will be CAUGHT UP (1st Thessalonians 4:17) in the Rapture, so we won't be here for the Tribulation period.
By the way, I am a firm believer is a pretribulation Rapture. Titus 2:13 commands us as believers to look for “the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ,” not the Antichrist! If the Rapture is the same event as the Second Coming, as Pastor Steven Anderson errantly teaches, then why should we look for Jesus? We should look for the appearing of the Antichrist, and then we will KNOW when Jesus Christ is coming. That violates several Scripture passages, which teach us that NO MAN, not even the angels, know the time of Christ's return (Mark 13:33-38). He that shall endure to the end shall be saved. Again, this has nothing to do with receiving the free gift of eternal life. Matthew 24:22 plainly speaks of “flesh” being saved, which is the proper context here. Lordship Salvation is a doctrine of devils, not taught in the Bible.
God gave us a specific book in the Bible to teach us all about how to have eternal life, the Gospel of John. John 20:31, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” Everything that a person needs to know to be saved is recorded in the Gospel of John. In this precious Gospel we find the word “believe” mentioned 85 times, but not once do we find the word “repent” or “turn from sin” or anything else that adds works to grace. You get saved simply by admitting that you are a needy sinner, and trusting what Christ has already done to pay for your sins on the cross.
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