The rapture will be a gift of Deliverance to men and women who look for the coming and appearing of the Lord Jesus as their treasure and it will also be an Awakening to the doubting and unbelieving men and women who treasure those things on earth. They will know their error and become the "tribulation saints" as well as many others as declared in the Book of Revelations. The Grace of God will still be in operation but under a different administration. The opportunity for heaven will still be available but instead of thru the Church by faith, it will be available thru the preaching of 144,000 Jewish men called divinely by God. Faith will then have all the facts needed to expose with each passing day as describe in the book of Revelations...God's reality. What truth is and where it sits....in Jerusalem in the person of Christ!! Still many will defy and such is the Battle of Armageddon!!
Most of the world will come under the rule of the Antichrist advancing his agenda with an ultimatum using fear. Personally, I believe, the Antichrist will scare more people into heaven than under any other scenario and God knows it....that's the higher purpose of his wisdom because of the human heart being so preoccupied with the things of this world. There is far more scripture to support a pretrib hope in Christ than any other stated. One of the key purposes for the rapture is to comfort the people with it which apostle Paul advises us to use this doctrine for. "Therefore comfort one another with these words" he declares. There is no comfort in becoming a tribulation saint though I am willing to die for my faith in Christ. And there is no one to rapture but perhaps the fewest of numbers if it is to occur at mid or certainly post tribe season. It would certainly be a contradiction and a sad joke for such a hope to not be realized when it counts the most.
There is a difference between suffering for our faith in the normal process of human failure versus being under the wrath of God as divinely written in the Book of Revelations prepared for judgement of the highest order and intensity. Our leading world governments and nations could collapse and we all could be a part of that disciplining for a season which has happened many times past. Jesus issues a stern warning to church members left behind saying "I never knew you" ...in other words they used his name but it was for their purposes not for His glorification. Jesus spoke but they had other plans with the gospel. There is a falling away within the community of churches that is surely before us and a catching up of the remnant who will remember their first love and hope on Him still.......
The Word of God cuts both ways, dividing even between bone and marrow, soul and spirit with a twin edge sword. Cutting in to cut out the selfish mindset of so many in churches. I know plenty of "details" about God's prophetic word and none of it brings one to salvation. It is the heart that needs to be touched by the prophetic word thru the reality of what God is doing and why. Israel is God's tool for preaching righteousness once again because so many in the church are self righteous or shall we say like a "Pharisee". Protecting themselves despite what God is doing to promote Himself!! It is the way that Jesus is returning that rubs so many the wrong way much to their own loss. Wasn't that the problem when He first came? Maranatha......In Christ love.
Most of the world will come under the rule of the Antichrist advancing his agenda with an ultimatum using fear. Personally, I believe, the Antichrist will scare more people into heaven than under any other scenario and God knows it....that's the higher purpose of his wisdom because of the human heart being so preoccupied with the things of this world. There is far more scripture to support a pretrib hope in Christ than any other stated. One of the key purposes for the rapture is to comfort the people with it which apostle Paul advises us to use this doctrine for. "Therefore comfort one another with these words" he declares. There is no comfort in becoming a tribulation saint though I am willing to die for my faith in Christ. And there is no one to rapture but perhaps the fewest of numbers if it is to occur at mid or certainly post tribe season. It would certainly be a contradiction and a sad joke for such a hope to not be realized when it counts the most.
There is a difference between suffering for our faith in the normal process of human failure versus being under the wrath of God as divinely written in the Book of Revelations prepared for judgement of the highest order and intensity. Our leading world governments and nations could collapse and we all could be a part of that disciplining for a season which has happened many times past. Jesus issues a stern warning to church members left behind saying "I never knew you" ...in other words they used his name but it was for their purposes not for His glorification. Jesus spoke but they had other plans with the gospel. There is a falling away within the community of churches that is surely before us and a catching up of the remnant who will remember their first love and hope on Him still.......
The Word of God cuts both ways, dividing even between bone and marrow, soul and spirit with a twin edge sword. Cutting in to cut out the selfish mindset of so many in churches. I know plenty of "details" about God's prophetic word and none of it brings one to salvation. It is the heart that needs to be touched by the prophetic word thru the reality of what God is doing and why. Israel is God's tool for preaching righteousness once again because so many in the church are self righteous or shall we say like a "Pharisee". Protecting themselves despite what God is doing to promote Himself!! It is the way that Jesus is returning that rubs so many the wrong way much to their own loss. Wasn't that the problem when He first came? Maranatha......In Christ love.
Hi Gregory:
ReplyDeleteAgain good article. Your comment about the finer details about prophecy not winning one person really struck a chord. You know where I stand on the whole pre/mid trib thing so I won't mention that in detail but just this morning, I ran across that very scripture in 1Thess you mention and believe that I should share what I was reminded of. The early saints in Thessolonica were despairing because they believed that their dead brothers and sisters had missed their opportunity to be with the Lord when He returned. Paul had to remind them not only had they not missed their shot at being with the Lord but that they would be with Him first. That was the scope of what Paul said.
Blessings
Thanks for the kudos and appreciate your comment. They surely was looking for the resurrection of the saints and the hope of being caught up. A powerful expression of faith and we need such real hope in the churches today. What a mission God has set before us in His all knowing wisdom these words still lives today!
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