During the Great Tribulation when rebellious man worships the beast, his image, and takes his mark, I am convinced that he will begin to experience some of the torment of hell in this life and if magnified will give him a glimpse of hell and eternal doom. There are a number of striking images of eternal torment and we will only look at [one]. This image is taken from Matthew’s gospel (See Mt.:22-1-4) where an uninvited guest at the wedding banquet between Christ and His Church is thrown into “outer darkness.” Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth’” (Mt. 22:13).

If we put this image into its historical context it has a chilling effect. At the banquet hall there was warmth from the torches and fires to illuminate the hall. There was warmth generated from the many friends in the hall with pleasant conversation, merriment, delicious food, and good drink. To be cast into the outer darkness was an awful thought. There were no streetlights, everything is pitch dark. It’s a place where thieves and criminals slink around in the night to abuse and prey upon the poor and helpless. There are sounds of people crying out in anguish all around. There is tremendous fear from being left all alone, and as the temperature drops your teeth begin to chatter. As the night wears on and you remember all the peace and comforts of the hall you can’t help but gnash your teeth from being cast out, from being excluded from a place of warmth, light and protection from the evil all around.

Now when we bring this into the present reality for those who worship the image of the beast and take his mark, they too will immediately be cast into outer darkness. To be cast into the dark night of evil where there is no protection from the predators of evil that slink through the dark alley way catching you in their web of immorality, plunging you into their seditious life style. Nor is there any escape from the seductive influence to entrap you into a life of prescription drug addiction [of psychotropic drugs]. Their endless psychological counseling leaves you no better off, but still immobilized with the anguish of depression. In the dark night of your soul there is no one to protect you from the voices that frighten and the loneliness that tramples your heart. The agony of despair keeps you far from peace and in bed with constant feelings of stress, anxiety, and panic.

Worse yet, there is an emptiness in your heart that befuddles the mind and causes you to gnash your teeth for missing something in your life and feeling helpless to fulfill it. This is only a faint glimmer of eternal torment.

This entire blog is quoted from my book: Final Warning.

Blair, Daniel, Final Warning (Tate Publishing & Enterprises 2006) pp. 166-167

This Part II demonstrates that the Church has already begun to enter the Great Tribulation. This is a powerful and moving video that will awaken the spirit in every Christian who wants to know the truth and to be prepared for what lies ahead

A large part of humanity has rejected God as their Divine Creator. Everywhere you look God’s sovereignty has been exchanged for the fatalism of Mother Nature. The dependence on God has been exchanged for self-help. The sufficiency of God has been exchanged for counseling from the professional psychologist, which is the new world religion in disguise. Faith in God as the Divine Healer has been exchanged for dependence on drugs and the medical practitioner, who sanctions the intervention of psychology. The absolute truth from God has been exchanged for tolerance – a clear agenda for the “Global City of man”. The only way to God has been exchanged for religious pluralism. Dying to self has been exchanged for increasing your self-esteem – a major doctrine of psychology. Obedience to God has been exchanged for lawlessness. A heterosexual relationship has been exchanged for same sex marriage. And God’s structure for the home has been exchanged for social intervention and its perverted teachings of psychology.

When the Church also follows this same path of unchecked rebellion against God she becomes the lukewarm church spoken of in the book of Revelation. Her witness to a dying world will all but cease. No more revivals, no more saw dust trails, and fewer crusades have weakened the church. Watered down preaching and the introduction of secular psychology has lessened the effectiveness of gospel preaching. And as the world slips deeper into the abyss of gross immorality with the church not far behind, the modern day prophets are proclaiming that all is well and the church can expect a secret rapture to deliver them from this evil world.

But what does God say? Will God really deliver the lukewarm church prior to the Great Tribulation or will He allow her to go through the Great Tribulation to strengthen her faith and cleanse her of all unrighteousness? “God uses trials and tribulations in the believer’s life to remove the barnacles of the old sin nature… He uses the powerful storms of life to strengthen your faith and dependence on Him. Only a lukewarm church that has been essentially free from persecution will fabricate the secret rapture to whisk them away in the nick of time to escape the Great Tribulation.” (Final Warning, Daniel W. Blair) Great trials and tribulations have always been the seeds of the church. Why would God expect anything less in the last days? When Christ returns in magnificent glory to punish those who are disturbing you and to rapture His Church at the end of the age, will you be ready?

So what must the church do? She must prepare for the Great Tribulation, but more than that she needs to repent of her unholy exchange. We must believe that God is in control of this world and nothing happens by accident. Mother Nature does not send the storms or the severe weather; God does it with the hope that men would repent and turn back to Him. The church must stop trusting in the world to counsel her people. Let the church return to God’s Word that has given her everything she needs for life and godliness. Let the church return back to trusting in God alone to bring complete healing to man – physical, mental, and spiritual healing. God saves the whole person. Finally, let the church return to the commandments of God and reject the perverted teachings that have been accepted by the modern world. And if she refuses, then true believers must come out of her and form their own fellowships trusting in God to give them godly leaders.