But the Blessed Hope of the believer is indeed the Rapture before God's wrath comes upon the ungodly.
Our Blessed Hope is Jesus Christ himself (not the “rapture”), as per scripture. Jesus Christ himself prayed to the Father against taking out the believers (John 17:15), as we’re to be shining our light into this world of darkness -- right up to the end.
God’s wrath is reserved for the children of disobedience, as per scripture. The obedient are guided through it, not evacuated from it.
For Christians, it is still the Day of Grace for all mankind, therefore our focus must be on getting the Gospel out to all, and on holding fast to the truth of God's Word
Agreed. However, the problem is that
men in bondage make poor witnesses. There are “sins unto (physical) death,” and we are up to our necks in those sins.
Repentance now cannot be overstated. Come out of the foul system.
Here’s some real world advice. Pay off your debts, people. Settle the mortgage, settle the credit cards . Get out of debt bondage NOW -- even if that means taking a “loss.” That loss will be minor compared to what awaits you if you wait any longer. Debtor’s prison and asset forfeiture, in all its grisly wealth confiscation forms, have returned. Even your retirement accounts are about to be looted. Get away from the target area$.
I definitely believe this, and have preached it several times. I've always been committed to individual righteousness and reclaiming morality from the bottom up, one person at a time.
Indeed. If I sojourn to Sweden, for example, I should be able to walk in to any fellowship of the brethren there and find that same Jesus Christ there as I find with my brethren here. We all agree that the word of God is the bottom line, and NO man or denomination calls the shots.
Today, the forces working from the top down are evil and overwhelming. We have to recall Elijah's mission of training up a generation of "sons of the prophets" and be concerned about preserving a righteous remnant.
Amen, amen!
Yes the Resurrection of the dead in Christ, then just afterwards the Rapture, will occur soon...
Then we who are alive and remain...
Indeed. And the word “remain” means
survive ala ‘Then we who are alive and survive...’
However, until that time....
This is our time, folks. This is our time to DO what the Lord has told us to do. Please ask him, NOW, what he would have you to do. And pray for the courage to then DO what he has told you to do.
No doubt... it's all about to come to a head. God will use it to create praying people once again, He will shake us from sleep, rip us from complacency, and strengthen His church with the blood of the martyrs.
Yes, there will be bloodshed. For example, my wife’s born again friend had been told by the Lord that she will be martyred/killed for her faith. How many of us have the luxury of foreknowing that? Do not be afraid! There is a far worse thing than physical death. The spirit of fear is one of Satan’s boys; do not consent to it!
And how did they overcome Satan?
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and
they loved not their lives unto the death (Rev. 12:11).
Great evil can be used for great good. It's hard to be prayerful and prophetic when our entire Christianity is based upon warming a padded pew and putting God on the backburner for our favorite forms of entertainment and idolatry.
Christianity is a
label; born again is an action. This is a call to
action.
I bet flames of prayer will light heaven up when there are swords under necks and hungers in bellies.
Amen! They will! We have God’s word on it. If believers singing praises can move God to ambush their enemies and destroy each other (2 Chron. 20:22, 23), what more will he do for his spiritual warriors?
I think we will see civilian roundups and resettlement, many people will be executed and "re-educated" shortly after they're named as terrorists. An outpouring of immortality has desensitized a generation, there are hearts so cold that killing fellow men is no different than playing it in a video game.
Indeed. (So let us dump the video games!) For many, the much easier path offered by the harlot church will undoubtedly have more appeal than a brutal martyrdom and the very real possibility of seeing one's family starved, imprisoned, or worse. The way of the true born again believer has always been personified more by the martyrs of the Roman Coliseum than the credit card laden modern church of the Mercedes-Benz.
America is under judgment, and that judgment will begin at the house of God. God is not mocked and he WILL clean house in whatever fashion he sees fit.
But it isn't all bad. This won't be a popular thing for me to say, but I think we will see prophetic and apostolic men and women come from ISIS. There will be Damascus Road experiences for Muslims, and those Muslims will evangelize Islam before the end. Where Satan is raising up an army, God is building up Pauls. Glory to God.
God will always separate the wheat from the tares. Heaven may likely gain many martyrs in times to come, it's appointed for all men to die.... many may die, but they will die free, their chains broken, and awaken on the right side of eternity.
In the meantime, it is a prudent course of action to continue to warn all who will listen that the great threshing floor is immediately in front of us. I believe the tribulation has begun, and the wheat and the tares will both be in it -- all the way to the harvest. While many just shrug it off and say 'God will provide,' it may be that God has been telling believers to prepare for those days. (Just because your pastor or spiritual mentor preaches the pre-trib 'rapture' doesn't mean it's true.) The tribulation has arrived and I urge all believers to prepare NOW.
Store some food. Save some water. Think in terms of survival in a physical sense. Sleeping bags and blankets are always in demand during difficult times. During natural calamities such as floods and earthquakes, relief agencies always need medicine, food, and clothing. Almost anyone can afford basic camping supplies. There is much that you can do -- even on a limited budget.
People forget that Paul was an extremely zealous religious fanatic that consented to the death of Stephen and persecuted the Church.
When God turns people like that, they are unstoppable and will die serving the Lord.
It takes people with that mindset, to reach the Jews and Muslims.
It also takes that mindset to reach those who would believe they are free, when they are not.
