For those of you who believe that ALL Christians will be taken in the Rapture, I hope and pray that you are right. On the other hand, if one believes that way, and feels no need to change his backslidden, lukewarm, compromising, unwatchful, worldly, or fence-straddling ways, WOE BE UNTO HIM, if he suddenly finds the Rapture happened and he was left behind.
Isn’t it much safer to get as close to the Lord as we can in these VERY LAST DAYS? Is there any negative in doing that??? It is much safer and wiser to believe that all Christians are NOT going in the Rapture.
Are all Christians going in the Rapture? If, at some point in your life, you have asked Jesus Christ into your life to become your personal Lord and Saviour, does this GUARANTEE that you are going in the Rapture? All signs point to the END OF THE AGE VERY SOON, SO THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION YOU COULD ASK YOURSELF IS, “AM I READY FOR THE RAPTURE?”
Before we go any further, let’s clarify what the RAPTURE is. I Thessalonians 4:16-17 says, “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: then we which are alive and remain will 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.”
The Rapture is the GREAT ESCAPE from the horrendous Tribulation period that is SOON to come on ALL THE WORLD! It is for a body of born-again believers in Jesus Christ. The question is, “IS THE RAPTURE FOR ALL CHRISTIANS?”
It is probably safe to say that a majority of Christians reading this letter would say “YES”. We are NOT addressing the issue of salvation, or “once saved, always saved,” or “eternal security”. For those of you who answered “Yes”, CAN YOU FIND EVEN ONE SCRIPTURE THAT GUARANTEES THAT ALL CHRISTIANS ARE GOING IN THE RAPTURE?
Just because you have always believed something, or your Pastor believes it, or your church teaches it, DOES NOT MAKE IT TRUE! IT MUST BE BASED ON THE WORD OF GOD! If ALL CHRISTIANS are going in the Rapture, we have lost nothing by drawing closer to the Lord to prepare for His Soon Return. If, on the other hand, we have a false sense of security regarding our readiness for the Rapture, and we ignore the Lord’s warnings to GET OUR HEARTS RIGHT WITH HIM BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE, we have a TREMENDOUS amount to lose. Just read the Book of Revelation!
Your opinion, and my opinion, does not matter. What you have been taught does not matter. WHAT DOES THE WORD OF GOD SAY? This is ALL that really matters. The remainder of this letter will be WARNINGS DIRECTLY FROM THE WORD OF GOD CONCERNING YOUR READINESS FOR THE RAPTURE! (If YOU are ready, that’s wonderful, but how about your family, your friends, and those who sit in the church pews around you?)
In Luke 21, the whole chapter is discussing the End of the Age and the Second Coming of Christ. In verses 34–36, JESUS GIVES AN OMINOUS WARNING TO ALL CHRISTIANS, “and TAKE HEED TO YOURSELVES, lest at any time YOUR HEARTS be over-charged with surfeiting (partying), and drunkenness, AND CARES OF THIS LIFE, and so THAT DAY COME UPON YOU UNAWARES. For as a snare (trap) shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole Earth. WATCH YE, therefore, AND PRAY ALWAYS, THAT YE MAY BE ACCOUNTED WORTHY TO ESCAPE ALL these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the son of man (Jesus).”
If ALL Christians were going to take part in this GREAT ESCAPE, WHY WOULD JESUS GIVE SUCH A STERN AND OMINOUS WARNING TO THE END-TIME CHRISTIAN??? This is DEFINITELY a very PERSONAL WARNING for each of us. The subject matter can be nothing but the Tribulation hour and the Rapture. Jesus says to pray always. Surely, Jesus knows that a non-Christian cannot be in an attitude of constant prayer. Surely, non-Christians are not expected to be LOOKING FOR THAT DAY and WATCHING for signs of His Soon Return.
Jesus is continuously talking to HIS FOLLOWERS throughout this chapter. Jesus says to TAKE HEED TO YOURSELF, He is addressing YOUR HEART and He is constantly personalizing this message to YOU, to YE, THE CHRISTIAN! ARE YOU LISTENING? ARE YOU READY???
What can we do, as Christians, to be found WORTHY of the Lord’s GREAT ESCAPE, THE RAPTURE? Jesus tells us to be in a constant attitude of prayer. Become so close to the Lord that you can talk with Him about anything. Pray that the Lord would reveal to YOU anything in your life that might keep you from being ready for the Rapture. Then you need to act upon that which the Lord shows you to do.
In this passage, the Lord strongly encourages us to be WATCHING for the SIGNS of His Soon Return, so that we would not be UNAWARE of the approximate time of His Return. Jesus said we could KNOW when His Return was NEAR, EVEN AT THE DOORS! ALL SIGNS NOW CONFIRM TO US THAT HIS COMING IS AT THE DOOR!!!
If you do not have this firm conviction in your heart that our Lord’s Return is AT THE DOOR, it is probably because you have not been WATCHING for signs as He continuously admonishes us to do over and over again in the New Testament (Read Mark 13:1–37). Are the CARES OF THIS LIFE your priority, or do you so much look forward to His Return that YOU LOVE HIS APPEARING (II Timothy 4:8) more than the things of this life?
The CARES OF THIS LIFE (Luke 21:34) are what cause us to become “worldly” Christians, or “backslidden” Christians, or “lukewarm” Christians. Luke 21:34-36 (Go back and read it again) strongly implies that these types of Christians ARE NOT READY FOR THE RAPTURE!!!
In Revelation, starting with Chapter 6, the horrible judgments of the Tribulation are poured out on an unsuspecting world. In Chapters 1-3, there are several WARNINGS TO THE CHRISTIANS IN THE LAST DAYS, WARNINGS BEFORE THE RAPTURE AND THE TRIBULATION IN CHAPTERS 6-19.
The constant theme of Revelation, Chapter 2, is the NEED OF THE END-TIME FOR CHRISTIAN TO REPENT! Rev. 2: 4-5 says, “I have somewhat against thee, because THOU HAS LEFT THY FIRST LOVE. Remember, therefore, from whence thou are fallen, AND REPENT, and do the first works; or else I WILL COME UNTO THEE QUICKLY, AND WILL REMOVE THY CANDLESTICK OUT OF HIS PLACE, EXCEPT THOU REPENT.”
When are we going to live holy lives? in heaven? Or here while on earth? Hebrews 12:14, “Without holiness no one can see God.” (You may read the whole chapter)
Continue to read the topic: “How to live a perfect life?”
