The Apostle Paul speaks of the Rapture of the Church many times in his letters (or epistles) sent to the churches which he had established through the preaching of Christ during his travels. He sent letters to the churches so that though he was absent from them, each church group in every city could continue to grow in the knowledge of Christ Jesus. And passing these letters around from city to city, and from church to church, all the churches were able to grow in Christ with the same understanding, and virtually at the same time.
The Rapture (as it is known today) is called by various terms in the New Testament such as: the gathering of the saints, our hope of glory, the catching away, the resurrection of the just. This event is the end of our salvation. It is graduation day for the true Church! It is our reward for fighting the good fight of faith in our daily battles as we overcome. The Apostle Paul constantly refers to the rapture as the object and end of our hope, because the change of the human body into a glorified body is what Jesus himself attained in resurrection! We have a promise and a hope to be what he is! This Christian Resurrection or rapture is the payoff for living the true christian life!
But if you listen to many preachers and teachers in the Church today you would think it does not rate any significance. This is satan's way of changing the focus of the church to the love of the world. We are told to love not the world nor the things that are in the world, but church leaders whether knowingly or unknowlingly are teaching the church to love the world. This is facilitating the falling away of the church. Preachers must wake up and preach the true Gospel of Jesus Christ before it is too late!
Paul spoke to the Church of the Thessalonians several times about the Rapture. Verse 13 infers that the Christians in the Church of the Thessalonians were experiencing a great deal of grief when fellow Christians died. Paul admonished them not to be sorrowful and full of grief the way unsaved people are when their loved ones die. He also explained the reason for their sorrow by saying, they "have no hope". In other words, unsaved people have no hope of ever being reunited with those they love and have lost in death!
But we who are saved have a promise that we will be reunited in the Rapture with our saved loved ones when the Lord returns for His Church. (This is the reason we must do all we can to get others saved while there is still time) Look what Paul says by the Spirit of the Lord:
"For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him."
This means that if we believe that Jesus died for our sins and rose again, we must also believe that those who died in him will be resurrected and brought back with Him. Paul added that Jesus personally explained how this would happen:
"15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep."
Paul repeats Jesus in saying that those who are still alive at his return will not hinder Him from resurrecting those who are dead in Him. But rather, those who are dead will be raised and changed first, afterwards, those who are still alive. Here is how the Lord Jesus said it will happen:
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Firstly the archangel shall shout. At that shout the Lord shall come out of Heaven! Next the trumpet of God shall be blown. And when that trumpet sounds those who died in faith shall be resurrected, changed into glorified bodies and go up from the earth to meet the Lord Jesus in the air! Secondly, those who are still alive shall be changed in the same manner and caught up together with those who were just raised from the dead, all to meet the Lord in the air!
And from this moment we shall forever be with the Lord! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
Now let us prepare for this great event by cleansing ourselves from sin and produce the fruit of righteousness and holiness. And if a fellow Christian dies before the Lord returns, let us comfort one another with the knowledge that we shall all be reunited in the Rapture of the Church!
Hallelujah! And Praise the Lord forever!
1Thessalonians 4:2-4 Using the Word to Stay Holy
When Paul the apostle was not present with the Churches he had established in the Lord Jesus, it was his custom to write letters to them to ensure their continued growth.
In this particular letter, Paul admonishes the Church of the Thessalonians to abstain from fornication which means engaging in sexual intercourse before marriage. He said in verses 2-4:
"For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour:" (verses 2-4)
As Paul has said, Jesus has commanded us not to engage in sex sins, as those do who do not know God. Sex sins are running rampant in our society, and unfortunately also in the Church. As the Church of Jesus Christ we must keep ourselves free from unholiness. We must know how to resist the devil when he tempts us with the lust of fornication and other sins.
In Matthew Chapter 4:1-11 (Read it for yourself), Jesus taught us how to resist the devil by using the Word of God, saying to the devil, "It is written", (then quoting the Word of God in the area in which the devil is tempting us.) But in order to do this, we must know the Word of God and how to use it to overcome the devil.
For example, when tempted with sexual lust, we must say to the devil: It is written of me "God has not called me unto uncleanness but unto holiness." (1Thessalonians 4:7) And again it is written of me "Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"(1Corinthians 6:16) For it is written, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7) We must use the Word of God to resist the devil, otherwise he will not flee, but will overcome us. Remember, the main defense we have against the devil is the Word of God. And we must use it in order for it to work! (See James 1:22)
Pastors should teach Christians how to resist the devil with the Word of God in their churches. But if you are a Christian who is being overcome by the devil, you must begin to read the Bible for yourself. Before you read, pray and ask the Father to reveal what the scripture is saying. That's why you own a Bible. If you don't own one, buy one. If you do not know what to read daily, use the Weekly Scripture Reading to the right of blog. This weekly scripture reading schedule will take you through the New Testament one chapter per day and one chapter of the Old Testament each Saturday.
The Church needs to be armed with the Word of God especially in these last days before the Lord's return. Weak, watered down sermons are leaving Christians vulnerable to the devil. We must be armed with the full armor of God's Word in order to overcome when we are tempted!
For without holiness, no man shall see the Lord! (See Hebrews 12:14)
May the Lord prepare you for his soon return!
In this particular letter, Paul admonishes the Church of the Thessalonians to abstain from fornication which means engaging in sexual intercourse before marriage. He said in verses 2-4:
"For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour:" (verses 2-4)
As Paul has said, Jesus has commanded us not to engage in sex sins, as those do who do not know God. Sex sins are running rampant in our society, and unfortunately also in the Church. As the Church of Jesus Christ we must keep ourselves free from unholiness. We must know how to resist the devil when he tempts us with the lust of fornication and other sins.
In Matthew Chapter 4:1-11 (Read it for yourself), Jesus taught us how to resist the devil by using the Word of God, saying to the devil, "It is written", (then quoting the Word of God in the area in which the devil is tempting us.) But in order to do this, we must know the Word of God and how to use it to overcome the devil.
For example, when tempted with sexual lust, we must say to the devil: It is written of me "God has not called me unto uncleanness but unto holiness." (1Thessalonians 4:7) And again it is written of me "Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"(1Corinthians 6:16) For it is written, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7) We must use the Word of God to resist the devil, otherwise he will not flee, but will overcome us. Remember, the main defense we have against the devil is the Word of God. And we must use it in order for it to work! (See James 1:22)
Pastors should teach Christians how to resist the devil with the Word of God in their churches. But if you are a Christian who is being overcome by the devil, you must begin to read the Bible for yourself. Before you read, pray and ask the Father to reveal what the scripture is saying. That's why you own a Bible. If you don't own one, buy one. If you do not know what to read daily, use the Weekly Scripture Reading to the right of blog. This weekly scripture reading schedule will take you through the New Testament one chapter per day and one chapter of the Old Testament each Saturday.
The Church needs to be armed with the Word of God especially in these last days before the Lord's return. Weak, watered down sermons are leaving Christians vulnerable to the devil. We must be armed with the full armor of God's Word in order to overcome when we are tempted!
For without holiness, no man shall see the Lord! (See Hebrews 12:14)
May the Lord prepare you for his soon return!
2Thessalonians Chapter 2 - The Return of The Lord
Someone was teaching false doctrine to the Church by saying that the Lord's 2nd Coming had already taken place. Paul is explaining to the Church at Thessalonica that the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ has not yet taken place. And that before the Lord's return, two major events must happen first: (1) The falling away of the church and (2) The anti-christ must come to power over a one world government.
I believe that the first of these two events 'the falling away of the church' has and is taking place even as I write this blog. The fact that so many people who call themselves Christians and yet live like sinners is evidence that many have already fallen away from Christ. Look at how many church leaders have fallen into scandalous sex sins in our present day. Many pastors don't even believe the Bible anymore about Heaven or Hell! These churches are called 'seeker friendly' churches. They don't preach about the consequences of sin. The falling away is definitely here!
The anti-christ shall be a world political leader who shall exalt himself above God and shall eventually put an image of himself in the Temple of God and demand to be worshipped as God (Rev.13:15; Matt.24:15) Paul explains to the Thessalonians by revelation of the Holy Spirit that satan was already working his plan to bring the anti-christ into the world to be worshipped as Christ. Jesus explained in Matthew 24 that many false christs and false prophets would come in his name (Matt.24:5,11,24; Luke 21:8). And many false christs have already come in his name with there false religions which have become household names long before many of us were born!
I believe that the gathering of the saints (the rapture) is near as well as the revealing of the anti-christ on the world scene!
How can we make sure that we are not caught up in satan's plan of deception to prepare our hearts to receive the anti-christ when he appears. The answer is found in verse (10) of 2Thessalonians: we must receive "the love of the truth". In other words we must repent of our sins and believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be saved. And we must grow close to the Lord by loving the truth. This will cause us to become more like Him, lovingly desiring his appearing.
Those who do not receive the love of the truth will be deceived into following the anti-christ when he comes. They will miss the gathering of the saints, receive the mark of the beast (the antichrist), and go into the tribulation before the Lord's physical return to the Earth.
Beloved saints of God, let us draw near to him (Jesus), repenting of sin, cleansing ourselves from the sins of this generation...Preparing ourselves for our Lord's Soon Return!
I believe that the first of these two events 'the falling away of the church' has and is taking place even as I write this blog. The fact that so many people who call themselves Christians and yet live like sinners is evidence that many have already fallen away from Christ. Look at how many church leaders have fallen into scandalous sex sins in our present day. Many pastors don't even believe the Bible anymore about Heaven or Hell! These churches are called 'seeker friendly' churches. They don't preach about the consequences of sin. The falling away is definitely here!
The anti-christ shall be a world political leader who shall exalt himself above God and shall eventually put an image of himself in the Temple of God and demand to be worshipped as God (Rev.13:15; Matt.24:15) Paul explains to the Thessalonians by revelation of the Holy Spirit that satan was already working his plan to bring the anti-christ into the world to be worshipped as Christ. Jesus explained in Matthew 24 that many false christs and false prophets would come in his name (Matt.24:5,11,24; Luke 21:8). And many false christs have already come in his name with there false religions which have become household names long before many of us were born!
I believe that the gathering of the saints (the rapture) is near as well as the revealing of the anti-christ on the world scene!
How can we make sure that we are not caught up in satan's plan of deception to prepare our hearts to receive the anti-christ when he appears. The answer is found in verse (10) of 2Thessalonians: we must receive "the love of the truth". In other words we must repent of our sins and believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be saved. And we must grow close to the Lord by loving the truth. This will cause us to become more like Him, lovingly desiring his appearing.
Those who do not receive the love of the truth will be deceived into following the anti-christ when he comes. They will miss the gathering of the saints, receive the mark of the beast (the antichrist), and go into the tribulation before the Lord's physical return to the Earth.
Beloved saints of God, let us draw near to him (Jesus), repenting of sin, cleansing ourselves from the sins of this generation...Preparing ourselves for our Lord's Soon Return!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)