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Petra, Places of Safety
and God's Protection
MP3
I had a discussion the other day with a member who still held on to
the idea of God taking faithful members to Petra, a place of safety in
the end time. He wanted to hear my feelings about the subject.
I began by reminding him that a place of safety was not a teaching of
the ICG. I referred to our booklet, "Where
Is Your Place of Safety?" I then went on to tell him some very
important elements we all need to understand.
Non-Salvation Subjects
1] The idea of a place of safety is a non-salvation subject. That
is, whether a place of safety exists or not has no direct bearing on our
salvation. The existence of such a place can, in no way, gain
salvation for the true believer.
Personal Beliefs
2] Members have personal beliefs about any number of non-salvation
subjects. There is no church or ministerial prohibition against
these personal beliefs, as long as one does not preach them nor attempt
to spread these beliefs among the congregation with the idea of
encouraging others to these same beliefs.
Members have personal beliefs about the identification of the two
witnesses, when Christ will return, and the location of the Ark of the
Covenant, to mention just a few. There is nothing wrong with these
things, as long as obsession with these beliefs does not take
significant measures of time from the fervent study of Salvation
subjects (see
Obsession with Biblical Twigs). What good would it do this
gentleman to spend excessive amounts of time on the subject of Petra, if
he fails to qualify for Salvation in the first place?
No Advanced Notice
3] In any case, God would not give us the details of a place of safety
or His protection for the future until we get to that specific moment.
The Bible shows this to be true. God trained Moses for 80 years
prior to his assigned duty of leading Israel out of Egypt. When do
you believe Moses knew about the Red Sea opening up and giving them a
way of escape? Clearly this was a key point in God's plan for
Israel. Would it have been important for them or Moses to know of
this event years or decades before the fact? When was Joshua told
about how to conquer Jericho? When did Hezekiah learn how God
would take care of Sennacherib and his 185,000 soldiers, who were set on
the utter destruction of Jerusalem?
Let us bring this point up to the present. We know that we are in
the end times and that the Great Tribulation is just ahead. This
is general knowledge. What are the details? What specific
dangers lie ahead for me? When will this happen? Am I to be
martyred or will God grant me protection? Will I remain in Seattle
or will God deliver me into the Cascade mountains? Will He protect
me in place or sweep me away into the north Canadian woods or somewhere
else in this world? Even if I knew the specifics, what possibly
could I do with this knowledge? Is there something I could
prepare? Maybe I could prepare a pack and prepare food and
clothing for the trip. But what did Christ say to the disciples
before He sent them out?
And he called unto him the twelve, and began to
send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean
spirits; And commanded them that they should take nothing for their
journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse:
But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats. –Mark 6:7-9
Why would God treat us, also His disciples, any differently?
"Place of Final Grooming"
4] Those who believe in Petra or a specific place of safety often speak
to a "final grooming" that will take place with the members there.
This final grooming is ostensibly training, preparation and/or character
building of some kind. If there was a place of safety where one
was sitting for 3.5 years, this idea seems reasonable, but is it
efficient? In what form would this training or preparation take?
Would it be a make-shift college of some kind? Whereas the
classroom has its place, God has built righteous character primarily
through the member's interactions with the world and our daily lives in
that world. Why would God give a select few 3.5 years of
"classroom" training while Seth, Noah, Abraham and saints who have died
since then will be resurrected with the righteous character gleaned
without such training?
We know that there will be end time martyrs (Revelation 17:6) and that
Satan will attack the church and prevail against it (Daniel 7:21;
Revelation 13:7). These scriptures preclude everyone a) going to
an alleged place of safety or b) being protected in the end time.
Further, both lend great opportunities for further character building.
The world is the best training ground for character building and will be
throughout the end time for the firstfruits.
Godly Protection Is Promised
5] God does not promise us a place of safety. He does speak much
to personal protection. See
this paper on these promises of God.
Conclusion
Godly protection is a promise of God and a specific element of belief.
God does not give us advanced notice of our future and what might be
waiting for us in the Great Tribulation and beyond for the simple reason
He does not want us putting our focus on those things. Our fervent
focus must be our Salvation Process. This is spiritual.
Physical protection in the tribulation is merely physical. Our
salvation is not predicated on our staying alive into the Great
Tribulation or for all 3.5 years of its duration. It IS predicated
on what we do NOW in the Salvation Process. The Salvation Process
IS the place of safety (see
The Safest Place in the World). The Salvation Process is
CHRIST.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor
things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be
able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord. –Romans 8:38-39
As Mr. Armstrong ends the booklet mentioned above, "CHRIST
is your PETRA! He is your ROCK, and your hiding place!"
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