Who will be ready for
the Rapture of the Church? Answered simply--ALL those who are BORN
AGAIN through faith in Jesus' shed blood which PAID THE PENALTY for ALL
of our sin when Jesus died on the cross.
How does a person become
born again? Answered in its most simple form--"WHOSOEVER shall CALL
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:13.
HOW
is that CALL made? By believing Jesus died to SAVE YOU from God's
judgment upon your sin (which IF is NOT covered by Jesus' blood WILL
sentence you to hell and eternal separation from God). You MUST BELIEVE
you've sinned. You TRUST totally that God has sent His only begotten
Son to die for you--and to give you eternal life. You CALL upon the
name of the Lord JESUS with your mouth in prayer, asking Him to cleanse
you, forgive you and enter your heart. He will. YOU SHALL BE SAVED!
God is FAITHFUL to do what He says in His Word.
ALL WHO ARE BORN
AGAIN THROUGH FAITH IN THE LORD JESUS WILL BE RAPTURED AT THE LORD'S
APPEARING IN THE AIR, WITH A SHOUT, AND THE SOUND OF A TRUMPET--BEFORE A
TIME OF GOD'S ANGER AND JUDGMENT COMMONLY CALLED "THE TRIBULATION
PERIOD:. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11.
BUT WHO WILL BE "LEFT BEHIND" AT HIS COMING? This answer will be longer.
Any who are "left behind" at the Rapture of the Church will be so
because they trusted in SOMETHING ELSE rather than the shed blood of
Jesus.
They may trust that going to Church saves them. They may
trust in "doing good works" or "following" their Church's sacraments or
traditions (and WOE when the Church they follow is IN ERROR). They may
think they are "not as bad" as one who murders or commits terrible
atrocities (ignoring--or bring ignorant of--the fact that everyone has
sinned and fallen short of the glory of God). These people CLAIM the
name of Jesus BECAUSE OF their adherence to a Church, but IF they do NOT
really know Him in a personal true heart relationship, and are not
"born again" of the Spirit, they ARE "the lost" who sit in Church pews.
These are called "professing Christians"...they are "Christian in name
only", and therefore Jesus must say, "I never knew you."
The
errors in the Churches are addressed by Jesus in Revelation 2 and 3.
Only TWO of the seven were NOT told TO REPENT. ONE: those whose faith
is so strong that they die (are martyred) for Jesus [Smyrna]--these are
promised to receive the CROWN of eternal life--which is in heaven in the
presence of the Lord. TWO: those who know the WHOLE WORD of God; those
who KEEP the word of His patience (who, in faith, are looking for His
appearing at the Rapture); and those who do NOT deny the name of Jesus
[Philadelphia]--these are promised to be KEPT OUT OF THE VERY TIME OF
THE TRIBULATION (which is rapidly approaching in our time).
REPENTANCE is called for for these 5 errors:
There is "losing one's first love" of the Lord [Ephesus], AND "mixing"
Christian doctrine WITH the vain philosophies and deceptions of the
world [Pergamos]. IF people do these things for very long (with no
repentance), they will become severely backslidden. The severely
backslidden are NOT working for the Lord, but doing their own desires.
IF one follows their own lusts and sin there WILL BE consequences:
suffering, pain, illnesses, lack, frustration, anxiety and unhappiness.
The call is to REPENT and RETURN to full fellowship with Jesus--then
you WILL KNOW abundant life on earth and be rewarded at the Bema Seat of
Jesus.
The following 3 ERRORS puts one in danger of MISSING the
Rapture. IF people DO NOT REPENT of these 3, THE CONSEQUENCES are (1.)
"being cast into a bed of affliction" [the Tribulation], (2.) being
caught unaware as Jesus comes LIKE a thief [and suffering "the sudden
destruction" of the Tribulation--1 Thessalonians 5:3], and (3.) to be
spit out of His mouth when He appears in the air [therefore, being
vomited into the Tribulation].
It IS possible for "church
goers" to be "left behind". These are the ones who sat in a Church pew,
but who missed the TRUTH of THE NECESSITY to be born again.
The
last 3 ERRORS are for (1.) following the false teaching of a Jezebel
within the Church who TEACHES the depths of Satan [Thyatira--Roman
Catholicism]; (2.) for being dead [Sardis--NO LIFE of the the
Spirit--therefore NOT being born again, which occurs in many Reformation
churches because a lack of teaching]; AND (3.) for being lukewarm,
indifferent, apathetic, apostate and feeling rich and in need of nothing
[Laodecia--who will be spewed out of Jesus' mouth at His coming in the
Rapture, the apostate and false church of the end time].
PLEASE READ AND DISCERN WHAT JESUS SAYS IN REVELATION 2 AND 3--the PROPHECY of the entire AGE of the Church on earth.
Judgment MUST begin at the house of God (1 Peter 4:17), and being "left
behind" at the Rapture is a strong judgment upon those who have NOT
trusted in the shed blood of Jesus to SAVE them, and who are therefore
NOT born again.
What is GOD'S PROVISION, in His Word, to overcome the sin nature and to walk as PURE before our Lord?
There are many people caught in guilt trips over their own sin. This is
HOW to BE FREE of the guilt. Remember, our Lord desires us to walk in
CONFIDENCE and STRENGTH "in Him"--a faith-based walk. (If we are
feeling guilty, we often HIDE instead, and GIVE UP in doing what Jesus
really desires us to do. It's as simple as walking in prayers of
confession.)
I know we are all SO AWARE of our sin nature.
BUT there IS A WAY to enter "the rest" that Jesus gives, BECAUSE HIS
BLOOD HAS PARDONED US OF "ALL" OUR SIN. We can KNOW the peace that
passes all understanding, and we can HAVE JOY, yes, even right now in
these "sinful bodies of flesh".
We confess our sin any time we are aware of falling short--we clean our slate of sin every night as we go to bed.
I'm speaking of praying according to 1 John 1:9--If we CONFESS our sin,
we KNOW He is faithful and just, and HE WILL forgive us our sin, and
CLEANSE US FROM ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS.
We therefore KEEP our
relationship strong with Jesus, and we DO NOT lose His fellowship
because we sinned. [This is NOT a word about losing our salvation once
we are born again, BUT it IS a way to keep PURE before our Lord and to
remain in constant fellowship with Him.] Those of us who have HOPE in
the Pre-Tribulation coming of Jesus in the Rapture, purify ourselves,
even as He is pure. 1 John 3:2-3. We do this every time we confess
according to 1 John 1:9.
There are also some questions concerning
the Bema Seat of Jesus--the place we where we will face our Lord (after
the Rapture) to receive from Him according to what we have done (or not
done) while in our flesh bodies upon the earth. 1 Corinthians 3:9-15.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27.
What is rewarded? What is not rewarded?
Can we anticipate just what might await us? Or are we fearful that we
might not measure up? [The Apostle Paul was aware of possibly not
measuring up--that was why he paid careful attention to the lusts of his
flesh, buffeting that flesh to bring it into submission to the will of
the Lord. We are admonished to do the same.]
At the Bema Seat of Jesus, it is NOT our sin that is being judged by the Lord. It is our WORKS, of what sort they were.
Are our WORKS worthy to receive crowns (rewards)? Or are are they just
worthless wood, hay and stubble (time wasted doing unessential things)
which will be burned, and as they are burned, will we be left with no
works worthy of reward?
This brought to the forefront "a
trepidation" of NOT having any works that are worthy to receive the
rewards of crowns. I want to address that trepidation. Perhaps, we
will "be surprised" by what our Lord reckons as WORKS worthy of reward.
I must say that any time we pray for the lost; any time we give help to
the needy out of our love for Jesus (mentioning His name); any time we
share the Word of God with others; any time we are a faithful parent,
husband or wife (following the Lord's directions in His Word); we are
doing works worthy of reward.
We don't need to be pastors, or
full time missionaries, or great evangelists. Even giving a cup of water
in the love of Jesus (sharing His name) will be rewarded. I believe
there will be rewards for small kindnesses that we have forgotten that
we've even done.
The answer for any trepidation we might feel concerning our SERVICE for the Lord:
We just pray and ask the Lord to lead us every day, knowing that doors
of opportunity will be opened so that we can reach out with what the
Lord has laid upon our hearts to do. We also PRAY that we "recognize"
the open doors of opportunity that are put into our pathways.
Doing it this way: We WILL hear the Lord say, "Well done, you faithful and obedient servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord."
OUR COMPLETE TRUST IS IN HIM--FOR EVERYTHING!!!
May the Lord God, our Father, through Jesus Christ, His Son, and by the
power of the Holy Spirit, provide our every need. Philippians 4:19.
HE WILL. HE DOES!!!
May all of you be richly blessed in Jesus,
seated with Him in heavenly places, walking the life of faith, full of
love, joy and hope.
HE IS INDEED COMING TO RAPTURE HIS OWN--AND THAT IS IMMINENT. May we be full of confidence at His coming....
This is very good. When I fall into a legalistic mentality I lose my peace and joy in Jesus.
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