Jesus is Coming at the Rapture!
by David J. Stewart | March 2009 | Click for background music in a new window
1st
Thessalonians 4:17, “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.”
Amen! Jesus is coming again for His saints, to catch us up into the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. This event is called the Rapture by most Bible students. Although the term “Rapture” is not found in the Bible, the phrase “Caught Up” certainly is in 1st Thessalonians 4:17, which has the same meaning. Amen and amen! I can't wait until that day and I believe it will be soon. Even so come Lord Jesus!
I am so glad that God gave us these precious PROMISES from the Scriptures to encourage us and brighten our dark path in this sin-cursed world. Here is another precious passage of Scripture regarding the pretribulation Rapture of the Church, 1st Corinthians 15:51-53, “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” Amen!
In less than a second our physical bodies, each with its own pain, limitations and weaknesses will be CHANGED into an incorruptible body. There will be no more need for medications, no more need for MRIs or Cat-scans, no need for corrective surgery, nor need for hospitalization. Our new bodies will be perfect. Amen!
Oh, that the Lord would return today!
Here are some remarkable Scriptures from Luke 17:24-29 . . .
“For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.”
These Scriptures speak of the pretribulation Rapture and of the harsh Judgment that will follow upon the inhabitants of the earth. God would not destroy the wicked by flood until Noah and his family were safe. God would not destroy the wicked in Sodom until Lot and his family were safe. And God will not destroy the wicked during the Tribulation Period until the Church has been raptured away from the earth. The fact that God would not bring judgment in the days of Noah and Lot until the righteous were removed is strong evidence of a pretribulation Rapture.
As in the Days of Noah and Lot
Notice that Jesus said His return would be as it was in the days of Noe (Noah) and Lot. In both situations, the wicked were happy, indulging in sinful pleasures and were preoccupied with the cares of this temporal life. Luke 17:28b, "they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted." God was not a part of their lives. Is this not the world we live in today? People are so busy watching the Food Network, This Old House, ESPN (Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) and a host of other television and cable stations, that they have no time for God. People spend more time watching television and cable more than any other activity. It is apostasy!
I know a man who is always talking about the two homes that he owns, and his plan to buy a condo next. His heart is fixed upon his wealth and retirement plans. He is a good man (as far as sinners go), and an honest man, but his heart is set only upon his assets, wife, kids and future retirement plans. God is not in his plans. He professes faith in God, but his life is all centered upon his assets, family and future retirement. The Bible says that the people of Sodom ate, drank, bought, sold and planted. These are not sinful things; yet they become sinful when they replace God in our daily life. Our god is whatever is most important to us. Ezekiel 16:49 states, "Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy." This exactly describes the United States today.
We are a sinfully proud nation. As incontrovertible proof of our pride and arrogance against God, one need only consider the most popular city in America—SIN CITY Las Vegas! How dare we shake our fists in God's face and name one of our cities SIN CITY! Have we no shame as a nation? Millions of Americans flood to Las Vegas each year to gamble, fornicate, commit adultery, and indulge in all manner of sinful pleasure. May I say, what HAPPENS in Vegas is RECORDED IN HEAVEN. Revelation 20:12b, "and the books were opened."
God has blessed us with so much provisions. Sadly, we are so spoiled in America that a whopping 14% of all our food goes into the garbage!!! With all the money being donated to charitable organizations in America, the streets of every major city are saturated with the poor and needy homeless people. Sadly, many of the head administrators of so-called “charitable organizations” receive salaries in excess of $100,000 per year. According to Forbes the Salvation Army's top dog, Todd Bassett, took home $175,050 from the “CHARITABLE” organization's donations for the fiscal year ending in 2004. $175,050? That's ridiculous! I wonder how many Santa Claus buckets needed to be filled to pay Mr. Bassett's extravagant salary? I wouldn't give a dime to the Salvation Army. That's just my opinion.
Americans spend more time playing video games, watching television, entertaining themselves, playing sports and having fun than any other nation on earth. Although these things are not necessarily sinful, the Bible condemns those who make enjoyment an end in itself, Philippians 3:18,19, “(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)” As born-again believers, we must make Jesus Christ the center hub of our life, and not having fun, seeking entertainment or minding earthly things.
Jesus said that people would be living selfishly, only thinking about themselves, prior to His return. We are certainly living in those times today. We do not know when the Lord will return and it would be wrong to set any dates. However, we are told by the Lord of the conditions that would exist prior to His return, and we certainly seem to be living in those times today. Everywhere we turn in America today, we see people buying and selling, marrying and divorcing and marrying again, spoiling themselves with gourmet cooking and dining out, indulging in all sorts of entertainment and fun, casting aside the Word of God and watching all manner of violence, sexual filth and blasphemy against God on the movie screen. The time is ripe for the Lord's return. Even so come Lord Jesus!
"Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch." —Mark 13:35-37
“In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God,
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