Lately there's been a lot of speculation concerning the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and the rapture of his church. For those of you who don't know what his church is, it includes no specific demomination or historical church. The church, or bride of Christ, consists of those believers who have come to an acceptance of Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. This means that we have put our faith in his life, crucifixion, and resurrection as the sacrifice and atonement for the sin and immortality that separated Adam from God in the garden of Eden causing him to die. This sinful nature was passed on to all mankind and is the source of all hatred, hurt, despair, affliction, confusion, and death that has ever occured and will continue to occur until the coming kingdom of the Lord. In this coming kingdom all these things will be of the past and will never again be for all eternity. Daniel the prophet spoke of these events through visions given to him by the Lord over two-thousand years ago. Interestingly enough in Daniel 12:4 the Lord tells Daniel to shut up the words and to seal the Book even until the time of the end when many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall increase. The time of the end really began at the resurrection of Christ because God sees all things eternally and to him a thousand years is like one day. Now in our day, with all the technology and information out there, it's quite obvious that many are traveling about the world with ease and knowledge has increased immensely especially in the last one-hundred years or so. This does not negate the word of God of course which stands consistant throughout all generations unto eternity. My point being that even with the burst of information and with prophetic events occurring like birth pangs, it does not mean that we are able to or should try to pinpoint the rapture of the church. In Matthew 24 Jesus speaks of the rapture and tells us to watch always because we do not know when he's coming and to be ready all the time because he will come when least expected.
The first and foremost thing we need to do as a man or a woman in this time frame is to make sure we have righteousness accounted to us. This can only be through having faith in Jesus sacrifice which provides us with the seal of God's Holy Spirit. In the book of Genesis Abraham's righteousness was not his own but God accounted it to him through his faith in God and in his righteousness. We know that since God is righteous he won't judge the righteous with the unjust because that would be unjust. In Luke 21 Jesus gives us a list of frightening things that will occur heading up to his return. In verse 36 he tells us to watch and pray always so that we may prevail and escape all these things that shall come to pass. So whether you believe in a pretribulation, midtribulation, or posttribulation rapture we know that God will divinely keep us from his wrath. We also know that salvation is a three-step process including justification, sanctification, and glorification. The next step is sanctification but it's important to remember that it's the goodness of God that leads to repentance. That means it's also God who sanctifies us from the inside out through prayer, devotion, and meditation on his word and his divine work in our hearts. Even so we should be careful because if we think that we can just sit around and somehow God will do his marvelous work then we are greatly mistaken. Free will has a great deal to do with the first two steps. It's the will of the Father that we will be in a glorified state with him for eternity when he raptures the church and returns to establish his kingdom. What we need to do until then is humble ourselves daily to the Lord and acknowledge who he is, what he's done for us, and what he will continue to do. We also need to repent for things we know are against him and ask him to reveal the things we don't recognize that we're doing against him so he can change those areas of our lives. We also need to forgive all who have wronged us and pray for the Lord's blessing on them and for his will to be done in their lives as well as in our own. When these things become fervent in our lives God will then be able to pour out his love through us on others drawing them to himself. I know this to be true in my personal life in how God has changed my heart, then my life, then the lives of those around me. As brothers and sisters in Christ we need to encourage one another in all aspects of our walk with Jesus. Concerning the rapture of the church, in 1rst Thessalonians the 4th chapter Paul says the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. He says that the dead in Christ shall rise first and then we which are alive and remain will be "caught up" (harpazo-Greek) with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord. The apostle then says to "comfort" one another with these words (See 1 Thess 4:16-18).
The next but equally important thing we must do is share these truths with anyone and everyone the Lord places in our lives through the leading of his Holy Spirit. Praying for the Lord to soften and prepare hearts is necessary because we can't prepare anyone for salvation it is a divine work of God. Even so we are the vessels he chooses to use to influence others through example and by implementing his truth in love. This being apparent we should invest as much of our time and efforts as possible into his coming kingdom because in that kingdom men's souls will be the only thing to enter there from this earth. All other things will be burned in the judgment of fire explained in 1 Corinthians chapter 3. Knowing this would you consider it a waste of time devoting ourselves to our selfish motives for our prosperity on this earth? Or by spending our time chasing after the evil desires of our heart with no regard to God's omnipotent presence? I pray so because our lifespan consists of the dash between the year we were born and the year we will die but eternity is forever. In closing concerning the things we should do on this earth during these last days, I now want to address what it is we should not do as believers concerning the body of Christ and the rapture. The last thing we should ever try to do is place a date on the rapture or place any specific event before the rapture. Doing this goes against the consistency of scripture. In 1rst Corinthians 15 Paul states, "BEHOLD I TELL YOU A MYSTERY. WE SHALL NOT ALL SLEEP, BUT SHALL BE CHANGED. IN A MOMENT, IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE AT THE LAST TRUMP (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)." Now if we compare scripture with scripture like we always should in 1rst Thessalonians 4:16 Paul refers to that trumpet as the trump of God. Nowhere in the scriptures does it link that trumpet to the last trumpet of judgment found in the book of Revelation (Rev 11:15). If it were then we could say that the antichrist has to be in power for the rapture to occur.
This however is in direct contrast with the rapture of the church being a "mystery". I am not saying that you can't of course hold a view other than a pre-tribulation rapture view. What I am saying however is that it's not okay to be dogmatic or adamant about the issue. These types of issues can cause division in the body of Christ and shouldn't be argued over. Bible prophecy is to be an encouragement to believers and a warning to non-believers. In Luke 21:28, Jesus tells us that when these things "begin" to happen to look up and lift up our heads because our redemption draws near. Jesus himself tells us to always be ready. If we're busy caught up in trying to predict when it will happen or waiting for future events to occur first, then that's time and energy wasted on what could be invested instead into the coming kingdom of God. In Second Corinthians chapter four, Paul speaks of our sanctification including persecution as a result of us investing in his kingdom which is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. We are investing in our future by faith, "WHILE WE LOOK NOT AT THE THINGS WHICH ARE SEEN BUT AT THE THINGS WHICH ARE NOT SEEN: FOR THE THINGS WHICH ARE SEEN ARE TEMPORAL, BUT THE THINGS WHICH ARE NOT SEEN ARE ETERNAL (2 Corinthians 4:18)." In conclusion, the Lord's return is at hand and it's time for the body of Christ to respond to the shaking of the earth. The gospel must be taken to the four corners of the earth and it starts at your home, your work, your neighborhood and in the preparation of our hearts. Prepare inwardly by looking into the mirror daily watching for unsightly planks in our eyes. Prepare those around us by showing them love and by speaking the truth in love to all those the Lord gives us opportunity to. Let's not waste anymore time pursuing the flesh, loving our sin, or living in pride. Most of all may the Lord bless you and fill you with his abundance of life and may you bear much fruit unto his coming kingdom!
The first and foremost thing we need to do as a man or a woman in this time frame is to make sure we have righteousness accounted to us. This can only be through having faith in Jesus sacrifice which provides us with the seal of God's Holy Spirit. In the book of Genesis Abraham's righteousness was not his own but God accounted it to him through his faith in God and in his righteousness. We know that since God is righteous he won't judge the righteous with the unjust because that would be unjust. In Luke 21 Jesus gives us a list of frightening things that will occur heading up to his return. In verse 36 he tells us to watch and pray always so that we may prevail and escape all these things that shall come to pass. So whether you believe in a pretribulation, midtribulation, or posttribulation rapture we know that God will divinely keep us from his wrath. We also know that salvation is a three-step process including justification, sanctification, and glorification. The next step is sanctification but it's important to remember that it's the goodness of God that leads to repentance. That means it's also God who sanctifies us from the inside out through prayer, devotion, and meditation on his word and his divine work in our hearts. Even so we should be careful because if we think that we can just sit around and somehow God will do his marvelous work then we are greatly mistaken. Free will has a great deal to do with the first two steps. It's the will of the Father that we will be in a glorified state with him for eternity when he raptures the church and returns to establish his kingdom. What we need to do until then is humble ourselves daily to the Lord and acknowledge who he is, what he's done for us, and what he will continue to do. We also need to repent for things we know are against him and ask him to reveal the things we don't recognize that we're doing against him so he can change those areas of our lives. We also need to forgive all who have wronged us and pray for the Lord's blessing on them and for his will to be done in their lives as well as in our own. When these things become fervent in our lives God will then be able to pour out his love through us on others drawing them to himself. I know this to be true in my personal life in how God has changed my heart, then my life, then the lives of those around me. As brothers and sisters in Christ we need to encourage one another in all aspects of our walk with Jesus. Concerning the rapture of the church, in 1rst Thessalonians the 4th chapter Paul says the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. He says that the dead in Christ shall rise first and then we which are alive and remain will be "caught up" (harpazo-Greek) with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord. The apostle then says to "comfort" one another with these words (See 1 Thess 4:16-18).
The next but equally important thing we must do is share these truths with anyone and everyone the Lord places in our lives through the leading of his Holy Spirit. Praying for the Lord to soften and prepare hearts is necessary because we can't prepare anyone for salvation it is a divine work of God. Even so we are the vessels he chooses to use to influence others through example and by implementing his truth in love. This being apparent we should invest as much of our time and efforts as possible into his coming kingdom because in that kingdom men's souls will be the only thing to enter there from this earth. All other things will be burned in the judgment of fire explained in 1 Corinthians chapter 3. Knowing this would you consider it a waste of time devoting ourselves to our selfish motives for our prosperity on this earth? Or by spending our time chasing after the evil desires of our heart with no regard to God's omnipotent presence? I pray so because our lifespan consists of the dash between the year we were born and the year we will die but eternity is forever. In closing concerning the things we should do on this earth during these last days, I now want to address what it is we should not do as believers concerning the body of Christ and the rapture. The last thing we should ever try to do is place a date on the rapture or place any specific event before the rapture. Doing this goes against the consistency of scripture. In 1rst Corinthians 15 Paul states, "BEHOLD I TELL YOU A MYSTERY. WE SHALL NOT ALL SLEEP, BUT SHALL BE CHANGED. IN A MOMENT, IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE AT THE LAST TRUMP (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)." Now if we compare scripture with scripture like we always should in 1rst Thessalonians 4:16 Paul refers to that trumpet as the trump of God. Nowhere in the scriptures does it link that trumpet to the last trumpet of judgment found in the book of Revelation (Rev 11:15). If it were then we could say that the antichrist has to be in power for the rapture to occur.
This however is in direct contrast with the rapture of the church being a "mystery". I am not saying that you can't of course hold a view other than a pre-tribulation rapture view. What I am saying however is that it's not okay to be dogmatic or adamant about the issue. These types of issues can cause division in the body of Christ and shouldn't be argued over. Bible prophecy is to be an encouragement to believers and a warning to non-believers. In Luke 21:28, Jesus tells us that when these things "begin" to happen to look up and lift up our heads because our redemption draws near. Jesus himself tells us to always be ready. If we're busy caught up in trying to predict when it will happen or waiting for future events to occur first, then that's time and energy wasted on what could be invested instead into the coming kingdom of God. In Second Corinthians chapter four, Paul speaks of our sanctification including persecution as a result of us investing in his kingdom which is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. We are investing in our future by faith, "WHILE WE LOOK NOT AT THE THINGS WHICH ARE SEEN BUT AT THE THINGS WHICH ARE NOT SEEN: FOR THE THINGS WHICH ARE SEEN ARE TEMPORAL, BUT THE THINGS WHICH ARE NOT SEEN ARE ETERNAL (2 Corinthians 4:18)." In conclusion, the Lord's return is at hand and it's time for the body of Christ to respond to the shaking of the earth. The gospel must be taken to the four corners of the earth and it starts at your home, your work, your neighborhood and in the preparation of our hearts. Prepare inwardly by looking into the mirror daily watching for unsightly planks in our eyes. Prepare those around us by showing them love and by speaking the truth in love to all those the Lord gives us opportunity to. Let's not waste anymore time pursuing the flesh, loving our sin, or living in pride. Most of all may the Lord bless you and fill you with his abundance of life and may you bear much fruit unto his coming kingdom!
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