Tag Archives: Body of Christ

More Than Fire Insurance (Amended)

01 Saturday Dec 2018

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“by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.” ~ Ephesians 2:15-16, ESV

It is sad to say, but so many Christians become Christians only because they want to qualify for God’s Fire Insurance Policy—Jesus Christ. If we are true believers in Christ, then it needs to be apparent to us that Christ wants to be more to us than the One who is our Ark of safety (the One who saves us from the fire damage the Tribulation Period’s trumpet and bowl judgments and the Lake of Fire cause).

That’s right! Christ wants to be more to us than someone who saves us from the end-time Wrath of God, as well as saves us from the Lake of Fire’s eternal punishment. He wants us to recognize Him not only as our Savior but also as our Brother, Advocate, Healer, Lord, and so much more. In other words, Christ not only wants us to have an eternal life with God but also an abundant life right here on Earth. He wants us to live an incredibly wealthy life—a life full of God’s Favor, Love, and kindness, as well as a life full of the Oneness and the Peace that are in the Godhead.

This spiritual truth is why Christ’s Death does not just reconcile and restore us back to a right relationship with God—does not just provide our Ark of safety that saves us from any fire damage. Incontestably, by sacrificing His Life, Christ also succeeds in destroying the whole system of the Jewish Law—that system which establishes the wall of hostility that separates Gentiles and Hebrews. By breaking down the wall that separates us—Hebrews and Gentiles—Christ also creates peace between us, by making ALL nations and ethnicities One Body of believers.

Now, we who are Gentiles are no longer outsiders by birth. We no longer live in this lost world without God and without hope. Indeed, we now are members of God’s Household of Faith and joint-heirs with Christ. As such, we not only have access to the Fullness of Christ, which is the Fullness of the Godhead, but also Christ wants us to use this Fullness in this life.

Let us come into God’s Presence to thank Him for all that He already has done for us, and let us thank Him for everything He is going to do for us. Let us also begin to use the fullness of the Godhead that is available to us because of Christ’s Finished Work on the Cross. Shalom.

Keep it real…Live it out…Watch it work!

~ This slightly modified devotion is from my Keeping It Real: Daily Renewing The Mind 2015 one-year devotional.

Encourage One Another, Daily

02 Thursday Feb 2017

Posted by in Spiritual

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encourage1

 

 

I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me face to face, that they may be encouraged in heart, knit together in love, and filled with the full riches of complete understanding, so that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ~ Colossians 2:1-3, Berean Study Bible

But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. ~ Hebrews 3:13, Berean Study Bible

Let us hold resolutely to the hope we confess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds. Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching. ~ Hebrews 10:23-25, Berean Study Bible

Therefore encourage and build one another up, just as you are already doing. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Berean Study Bible

 

What have believers in Christ done with encouragement or exhortation? Where have they hidden it, because most believers never receive any encouragement or exhortation?

How sad that is, especially since encouragement or exhortation was a necessary and expected staple in the lives of the first century Body of Christ. Indeed, it was a major way to urge or motivate one another to remain faithful, to be fruitful, to be joyful, to keep the faith, to stay hopeful, to continue to persevere/endure, to remain strong, to remain united, and so on and so forth.

Surely God knew that we all would need encouragement. Surely God knew how we all would feel when encouragement was absent from our lives—useless, forgotten, unwanted, unimportant, and/or unloved, just for starters. No wonder the apostles instructed and expected the first century Body of Christ members to encourage one another DAILY, as in the following verse: “But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called ‘Today,’ so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” ~ Hebrews 3:13, NASB

So, again, I ask: What have believers in Christ done with encouragement or exhortation? Without a doubt, it is sad that God’s children do not encourage ALL their brothers and sisters in Christ, when they have the opportunities to do so—sad that so many believers, instead, think it is okay to pick and choose the people they will give support to, give hope to, give help to, show love to, inspire, strengthen, and etcetera. My brothers and sisters in Christ, we must do much better than that!

Grace to every brother and sister in Christ . . . . .  Every blessing . . . . .

Bride of Christ Haiku

03 Saturday Dec 2016

Posted by in Poetry

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brideofchristhaiku

 

And I heard a sound like the roar of a great multitude, like the rushing of many waters, and like a mighty rumbling of thunder, crying out:

“Hallelujah!
     For our Lord God, the Almighty, reigns.
Let us rejoice and celebrate
     and give Him the glory.
For the marriage of the Lamb has come,
     and His bride has made herself ready.
She was given clothing of fine linen,
     linen bright and pure.”
For the fine linen she wears is the righteous acts of the saints.

Then the angel told me to write, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” ~ Revelation 19:6-9, Berean Study Bible

Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, shining with the glory of God. Its radiance was like a most precious jewel, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. ~ Revelation 21-9-11. Berean Study Bible

NOTE: I wrote the haiku poem in my illustrated haiku on December 3, 2016.

Grateful to Be 65: Loving What God Is Doing with Me

06 Sunday Mar 2016

Posted by in Praises and Thanks

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Nadine's 65th Birthday Celebration; March 6, 2016

But those who wait for the LORD [who expect, look for, and hope in Him]
Will gain new strength and renew their power;
They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun];
They will run and not become weary,
They will walk and not grow tired. ~ Isaiah 40:31, AMP

Even to your old age I am He,
And even to your advanced old age I will carry you!
I have made you, and I will carry you;
Be assured I will carry you and I will save you. ~ Isaiah 46:4, AMP

Celebrating my 65th birthday . . . March 6, 2016 . . . .

Grateful to Be 65

It is great to be alive
And grateful to be sixty-five,
Valuing attitude of gratitude,
A spirit full of certitude:
Peace, joy, laughter and love,
Everything amazing to speak of;
Though retired from paid career
Never emeritus in infinite sphere;
Senior with no rainbows to chase,
Compliments of God’s Grace.

Note to Self:

I have learned that the beauty in growing old not only is being able to look forward to each birthday but also is being able to accept each new year of my life’s journey with all of its opportunities, challenges, failures and successes. I must never forget it is God’s Grace that makes it okay for me to expect more in life to celebrate, as long as I remain forever grateful to God for my life and am forever faithful to celebrate the life He has given to me.

Two Biblical Proofs Favoring Pre-Tribulation Rapture

04 Thursday Sep 2014

Posted by in Bible Study

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Proof Positive

Avraham approached and said, ‘Will you actually sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Maybe there are fifty righteous people in the city; will you actually sweep the place away, and not forgive it for the sake of the fifty righteous who are there? Far be it from you to do such a thing — to kill the righteous along with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike! Far be it from you! Shouldn’t the judge of all the earth do what is just?’ ~ Genesis 18:23-25, CJB

For God has not intended that we should experience his fury, but that we should gain deliverance through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who died on our behalf so that whether we are alive or dead, we may live along with him. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10, CJB

In necessary things unity; in uncertain things freedom; in everything compassion. ~ Unknown Author; most often misattributed to Augustine

God help us all who call ourselves Christians, for even in a time such as this we still remain unable to become ONE. We primarily are divided by doctrines, issues, and practices. As a result, we who profess to be Your holy and righteous sons and daughters, joint-heirs with Your only begotten Son (Jesus the Christ), frequently end up treating each other like notorious enemies instead of like venerable brothers and sisters in Your Household of Faith.

There continues to be too much arguing among followers of Christ Jesus over doctrines, issues, and practices that neither are crucial to the Gospel of Christ nor to how anyone obtains eternal life (how someone is saved). Christians’ most commonly debated doctrines, issues, and practices include, but are not limited to: the Rapture, the Millennium, the Earth’s Age, Life on Other Planets, Food and Drink, Female Pastors, Observing the Sabbath vs. Worshipping on Sunday, Speaking in Tongues, Performing Miracles, and various legalistic Do’s and Don’ts (like going to the movies, dancing, smoking, drinking, playing cards, wearing makeup, and so forth).

How horrible our arguing with and our mistreatment of Body of Christ members must look to the unsaved world. No wonder the masses of lost souls in today’s world are not coming to Christ Jesus. Why would any of them want to be a part of this current 21st century body of believers who vehemently disagree with each other? These quarrelsome believers not only refuse to tolerate but also choose not to be civil to their brothers or sisters in Christ Jesus who think differently about things that usually have nothing to do with a person’s salvation nor with the Gospel of Christ!

If we agree on the essentials, yet disagree on the non-essentials, then let us learn how to agree to disagree without becoming/being disagreeable (unloving, compassionless, coldhearted, intolerable, argumentative, hostile, inhospitable, bad-tempered, grouchy, snarky, sarcastic, stubborn, nasty, offensive, unpleasant, unfriendly, rude, legalistic, insulting, disrespectful, and the list goes on). Let us learn how to remain loving, caring, and kind to each other. After all, one of the most crucial lessons Christ Jesus taught is this one: “This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other” (John 13:35, MSG).

Having said that, let me say this: Because I know that the Rapture is one of the most commonly debated doctrines, I would like to share, strictly from a general theological perspective, two biblical proofs favoring a pre-Tribulation Rapture. Not only do I find these proofs to be two of the best but also I agree with them, as do so many theologians, countless other followers of Christ, and even copious churchgoers. For this reason, I am certain that numerous individuals who will read this blog entry probably already know these proofs, and I equally am certain that various other individuals who will read this blog entry neither had read nor had heard of these proofs before now. My hope then is that the end result of having read this article will be that those readers who didn’t believe will have come to believe what so many present-day followers of Christ already accept to be true about the Bride of Christ’s pre-Tribulation Rapture.

Biblical Proof Number One—from the Old Testament:

Anyone who believes that there is a radical and ESSENTIAL difference between the righteous and the wicked should agree that God knows the difference, and  he or she should agree that God is the One who makes the distinction between those who are “righteous” and those who are “wicked.” Additionally, anyone who believes that there is a radical and ESSENTIAL difference between the righteous and the wicked also should agree that righteousness and wickedness are exact opposite spiritual (heavenly vs. hellish) characteristics, which is why God never wanted His righteous children and the world’s wicked persons to mix.

Furthermore, since God knew there would be a nonstop righteous vs. wicked battle taking place on this Earth, that is why He had some undeniable proof of His timeless pattern of Judgment placed in His Word. Biblical proof number one, therefore, is that God does not judge His truly righteous believers with the world’s very wicked unbelievers. This biblical pattern is most noticeable in the Scriptures describing the time of Noah, and it continues to become more evident throughout the rest of the Old Testament. God’s pattern of Judgment also is found in the New Testament, especially in end-times verses. That’s why there really can be no denying that God clearly is represented throughout the Holy Bible as a righteous Judge who pronounces Judgment that always is correct and fair.

For example, in the Old Testament, Abraham, who is one of Noah’s after-the-Flood descendants, knew quite well that God never would judge the righteous with the wicked, and that is why Abraham doesn’t shy away from reminding God of His existing Judgment pattern. Abraham says to God:

…Will you actually sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Maybe there are fifty righteous people in the city; will you actually sweep the place away, and not forgive it for the sake of the fifty righteous who are there? Far be it from you to do such a thing — to kill the righteous along with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike! Far be it from you! Shouldn’t the judge of all the earth do what is just? ~ Genesis 18:23-25, CJB

The point here is that it had been established before Noah’s day that God is a just and righteous Judge who only punishes (pours out His Wrath only upon those whom He has judged as) the wicked, and then only AFTER He has removed (separated) the righteous from mingling with the wicked. Righteous Noah, his sons, and his sons’ wives were saved from God’s 40 days and 40 nights of the falling rain Flood Judgment, while God poured out His promised diluvial Wrath upon all of the Earth’s wicked inhabitants, as well as upon the Earth itself!

As already mentioned, this pattern of God’s Judgment runs all through the Testaments. Of course, there always is an exception, and the exception that must be noted here is that, although there are many New Testament verses that chiefly emphasize God’s Judgment, there is NO mention of God’s Judgment in the New Testament passages considered as Rapture passages. This observation leads to the second biblical proof.

Biblical Proof Number Two—from the New Testament:

Since there is no mention of God’s Judgment in the New Testament’s Rapture verses, then it is decidedly possible that the Rapture of the Bride of Christ happens at a separate time from when God judges and then punishes the Earth and the left-behind wicked, many who are followers of the Antichrist, with His fiery Wrath. The apostle John writes:

Then I saw another sign in heaven, a great and wonderful one — seven angels with the seven plagues that are the final ones; because with them, God’s fury is finished. ~ Revelation 15:1, CJB

Apostle John most assuredly is describing the last Judgments—the last of God’s judiciary righteous Judgments issued against the left-behind ungodly (His Wrath or Fury). The apostle also is describing God’s righteous Punishment for committed crimes His enemies are guilty of (His Wrath or Fury). Without doubt, these seven plagues (seven bowl judgments) are the last of all of God’s promised righteous end-times Punishment (His Wrath or Fury).

All the same, it must be noted here that apostle Paul says when Christ Jesus died on the Cross, His atoning sacrifice not only had made the gift of eternal life (Salvation) available, but also He had saved (rescued, delivered) believers from God’s end-times Judgments and Punishment (outpouring of Wrath). In other words, so that God’s righteous would not experience any of His end-times Wrath, Christ Jesus’ sacrificial dying absorbed it ALL. Thus, biblical proof number two is Christ Jesus already took the Wrath of God in place of God’s Household of Faith believers—bore the FULL brunt of God’s Wrath for the Body of Christ, also known as the Bride of Christ (both saved Christian Jews and Gentiles). Apostle Paul writes:

…you turned to God from idols, to serve the true God, the one who is alive, and to wait for his Son Yeshua, whom he raised from the dead, to appear from heaven and rescue us from the impending fury of God’s judgment. ~ 1 Thessalonians 1:9b-10, CJB

~ and ~

For God has not intended that we should experience his fury, but that we should gain deliverance through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who died on our behalf so that whether we are alive or dead, we may live along with him. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10, CJB

The point here is that it already had been established before Christ Jesus’ day that God still is a just and righteous Judge who only punishes (pours out His Wrath only upon those whom He has judged as) the wicked, and then only AFTER He has removed (separated) the righteous from mingling with the wicked. Therefore, it stands to reason that the Lord’s righteous Bride first will be saved (rescued, delivered) from any part of God’s seven years of the end-times Tribulation Judgments, after which God then will pour out all of His promised fiery Wrath upon all of the Earth’s left-behind inhabitants!

The bottom line is this: As it was in Noah and Abraham’s days, so will it be in these current last days. God will NOT have His spiritually renewed, saved, and reconciled back to Himself sons and daughters endure any of His prophesied end-times Judgments and Punishment that are reserved for His and Israel’s enemies. There is absolutely no way that God could explain or defend why He would let those individuals, whom the beaten and crucified Christ Jesus’ Blood has justified as righteous, and whom the mighty workings of the Holy Spirit completely has sanctified as holy (sinless), go through any of the seven years of the end-times Tribulation. That is why the Bride of Christ will NOT be in the Tribulation Period!

Once again, the two biblical proofs favoring a pre-Tribulation Rapture for the Bride of Christ are that God never would judge His righteous when He judges the wicked, and Christ Jesus already has emptied God’s full cup of Wrath so that born again, saved, justified, and fully sanctified followers of Christ would never have to experience any Wrath of God. AMEN!

For a detailed explanation about God’s Wrath, please read my blog entry Lost In Translation.

Christ’s Elect Is His 144,000 Jewish Evangelists PLUS . . .

01 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by in Bible Study

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The Giving of the Seven Bowls of Wrath;The First Six Plagues,Matthias Gerung (1500–1570)

The Giving of the Seven Bowls of Wrath / The First Six Plagues, Matthias Gerung (1500–1570)

And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days. ~ Mark 13:20, KJV

And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. ~ Mark 13:27, KJV

And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. ~ Matthew 24:22, KJV

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. ~ Matthew 24:24, KJV

And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. ~ Matthew 24:31, KJV

 

 

One of the primary reasons why many followers of Christ Jesus do not believe in a pre-Tribulation Rapture is because they think that Christ Jesus is prophesying about the destiny of His Bride (the Body of Christ; The CHURCH), when He uses in His Olivet Discourse the word “elect.” The English word “elect” actually is eklektos in the Greek language, which is an adjective that means “choice” or “selected.” Therefore, the “elect” Christ Jesus is speaking about in Matthew 24:22, Matthew 24:24, Matthew 24:31, and also in Mark 13:20 and Mark 13:27 clearly refers to the “choice” individuals who will be living on the Earth at the end of the Tribulation Period.

Now “choice” (elect) definitely is a description God uses for His Jewish people, and a description the apostles use for the Bride of Christ. That is why it is important to note here that one of the main reasons why so many believers see the “elect” Christ Jesus speaks of in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 as the Bride of Christ is because they fail to distinguish between God’s plan for Israel and His plan for the Bride of Christ. These believers often forget that at the time Christ Jesus is speaking to His Jewish disciples in the Olivet Discourse that there was no Bride of Christ—no Christians! For sure, the Lord had not yet been crucified and resurrected, and the Holy Spirit had not yet fallen upon His Jewish disciples.

Thus, when believers declare that the “elect” in Matthew 24:22, 24, 31 and Mark 13:20, 27 definitively is the Bride of Christ, they actually have made a colossal interpretive mistake. The huge mistake they’ve made is taking the Olivet Discourse, which is a conversation a Jewish Jesus is having with His Jewish disciples, and then reading back into this conversation the destiny of the Bride of Christ (Body of Christ or The CHURCH). The Book of Acts explains exactly when the Body of Christ/Bride of Christ/The CHURCH/The Ekklesia was established on this Earth, and that was 10 days after the resurrected Jesus ascended to Heaven, when God then sent His Holy Spirit to fill the disciples (see Acts 1-2).

Without doubt, the Lord’s conversation with His Jewish disciples still today is NOT about the Bride of Christ per se. His conversation is about the destruction of the Jewish Temple and the Jewish city of Jerusalem, the signs of the end of the Age, and the sign of His Parousia, as in the sign of His coming (when He will establish His Messianic Kingdom for His Jewish people)!

The clear interpretation is that in the Olivet Discourse the Lord is focusing on Israel—His Jewish people as a whole. Now there are passages in Matthew 24 that have promises in them that the Bride of Christ also will receive. For example, the passages about two men being in the field, with one taken one left; and two women grinding at the mill, with one taken, one left certainly describe the promise of a rapture, so from these passages believers can imagine what The Rapture will be like for Christ Jesus’ Bride, who is raptured before the Tribulation Period begins. However, the images in these passages also depict God’s rapture plan for His Jewish people who, just before the start of and during the seven year Tribulation Period, will come to believe in Christ Jesus, and some of them will be raptured. The same is true of Matthew 25. The image of a Bridegroom coming for His Bride, with some virgins being caught up and some being left behind, can apply to the Bride of Christ (The CHURCH) and to God’s Bride (Israel).

Then too, unlike the many passages in which the apostle Paul calls the Bride of Christ “saints,” or in the verses that the apostle Peter calls Her the “chosen” and the “elect,” the “elect” ones Christ Jesus refers to in Matthew 24:22, Matthew 24:24, Matthew 24:31, the “elect” and “chosen” He refers to in Mark 13:20, and the “elect” in Mark 13:27 are not the Bride of Christ’s saints. The saints, in this case, the ones who survive the Tribulation, are the “elect” and “chosen” the Lord is speaking about in His Olivet Discourse, but they, first and foremost, are those end-time Jewish people the Lord says should flee to the mountains, once they see the prophesied abomination of desolation, because Jacob’s Trouble (cf. Jeremiah 30:7) or the Great Tribulation is about to take place (cf. Matthew 24:21).

As earlier mentioned, in the New Testament, the English word translated as “elect” or “chosen” is the Greek word eklektos, which, once again, is an adjective that actually means “choice” or “selected.” So Matthew 24:22 really should read as: “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the choice [ones’] sake those days shall be shortened.” Then too, a better translation for Matthew 24:24 would be: “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very choice [ones].”

Where Matthew 24:31 is concerned, Christ Jesus definitely is making it very clear in this verse that the “elect” He mentions in Matthew 24:22, 24 mainly is the Jews who have gone through the Great Tribulation (Jacob’s Trouble). Borrowing from Isaiah 11:12, the Lord says, “And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:31 KJV). Once again, “…his elect…” should read “…his choice [ones]…”

Be that as it may; there can be no doubt in the above quoted verse that Christ Jesus is referencing the gathering of the Jews as prophesied in Isaiah 11:12, which reads this way: “And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” (KJV). Put differently, the prophet Isaiah is foretelling of a time when the ten tribes of Israel (the outcasts) and the two tribes of Judah (the dispersed) will be gathered together from the “wings of the Earth” and restored as one whole nation.

Since Christ Jesus is referencing this prophesied gathering of the Jews in Matthew 24:31, which Isaiah 11:12 vividly describes, this is an excellent reason why Matthew 24:31 is not about The Rapture of the Bride of Christ, even though Messianic Jews are included in the Bride of Christ. More accurately, Matthew 24:31 obviously is about the Lord sending out His angels at the end of the Tribulation primarily to gather His now believing entire nation of Israel. Since this is an end of the Age gathering, there no doubt also will be some believing Gentiles out of many nations included, but neither these surviving “elect” Jews nor any of the surviving “elect” Gentiles are the Bride of Christ.

Additionally, the fact that it is the Lord’s angels who are gathering those Tribulation Period’s survivors whom the Lord calls His “elect” should alert believers to the fact that this gathering is not The Rapture of the Bride of Christ, because The Rapture involves the Lord Himself descending from Heaven and snatching away His Bride! Angels have nothing to do with getting the Lord’s Bride together, even though She also is His “elect” or “choice” one!

Next is another verse in which some translators have wrongly used the English words “elect” and “chosen.”  That verse is Mark 13:20. In fact, it really sounds redundant to say, in the KJV of this verse, “for the sake of the elect…whom he has chosen.” For this reason, a better translation would be: “And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the choice [ones’] sake, whom he hath [commissioned], he hath shortened the days.”

Like in the Matthew 24 verses, the English word “elect” in Mark 13:20 really is the Greek adjective eklektos, which once again means “choice” or “selected.” However, the English word “chosen” in this Mark 13 verse is the Greek verb eklegomai, which means “commissioned” or “appointed,” as in having a specific responsibility to fulfill.

Clearly it is the “choice” 144,000 sealed Jewish evangelists who are the ones who will be given the very important as well as specific commission to fulfill during the Tribulation Period, and not the Bride of Christ or THE CHURCH! Beginning in the Old Testament, for the “choice” individuals who qualified for an “appointed” or “commissioned” office or responsibility, such as the judges for Israel, the Temple’s Levitical priests, Joshua’s warriors, and so on, they knew that their office or responsibility was expected to be fulfilled to the best of their ability. The same is true about the New Testament’s “choice” (elect) Jewish people. When they qualified for a commissioned or appointed office or responsibility, they knew it always came with the obligation of fulfilling it to the best of their ability. Therefore, there is no doubt that this fulfill to the best of their ability is the same obligation that comes with the commission to evangelize the end-time world, which is why the 144,000 sealed Jewish evangelists are the only ones who could qualify as Christ Jesus’ “choice” or elect.

The point here is that Christ Jesus NEVER was chosen from among many other possible Sons to be God’s “choice” One, for God appointed Him because Christ Jesus was the ONLY “choice” One (cf. Luke 9:35, KJV) and therefore the only worthy One—the Only begotten One. Similarly the 144,000 sealed Jewish evangelists NEVER will be chosen among many possible Jewish evangelists to convert the lost world during the Tribulation Period. God will commission them, because they will be the ONLY “choice” ones worthy to receive God’s seal. 

Moreover, understanding who really is worthy to be considered the “choice” ones who will be the “elect” Christ Jesus speaks about in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 without doubt is settled in the aphorism “…many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14, KJV). The Lord uses this particular aphorism in the parable of the King’s Wedding Feast (cf. Matthew 22:1-14, KJV). Once again, there is a better translation of Matthew 22:14, and this better translation is “…many are summoned, but few are choice.”

The crux of the parable of the King’s Wedding Feast is that the “choice” ones are not “choice” because the King “chose” them, for in the parable of the King’s Wedding Feast the King (God) didn’t choose anyone. He sent an invitation to one entire group, and after everyone rejected His invitation, the King (God) extended the invitation to every person His servants could find (good and bad). The point here is that the few “choice” (chosen; eklektos) individuals in this parable are “choice” only because it is by the Grace of God they have responded correctly to the King’s invitation or summons. Their ‘right’ response not only is accepting the King’s invitation to the feast, which is done by accepting His Son as Lord and Savior, but also is coming to the feast wearing the appropriate heart clothing—having the right inward attitudes (a born-again spirit), which manifests outwardly in their holy and righteous deeds.

In other words, the parable of the King’s Wedding Feast proves that it always was God’s Plan that, even though He appointed the Jews to be His “choice” people and Israel His “choice nation,” because the Jews, as a whole, failed to fulfill their invitation’s responsibility, God then appointed the Bride of Christ (Jews and Gentiles) to be His new “choice” people (cf. 1 Peter 2:9, KJV). What’s more, after the Bride of Christ is raptured, God then will appoint the 144,000 Jewish men to be His “choice” people. They will be a remnant of the Jews living in the Tribulation Period who will have accepted God’s Grace, will be redeemed and therefore will be blameless (“without fault”) virgins (“without blemish”) who have not been defiled by women, and who will be followers of the Lamb (cf. Revelation 14:3-4).  

Finally, as earlier mentioned, in the Old Testament, God promises that He will save Jacob (both Israel and Judah, or the entire nation of Israel), out of the time of great trouble, Jacob’s Trouble, or the Great Tribulation (cf. Jeremiah 30:7). Then in Jeremiah 30:10-11, God adds the following promises:

Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the Lord; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid. For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet I will not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished. ~ KJV

In the above verses, God is confirming that He not only will discipline His Jewish people but also He will rescue them from the Great Tribulation—save them from total annihilation. God also promises to destroy all of His Jewish people’s enemies so that the Jews never will have to fear them again. Additionally, God promises to return His Jewish people to their Promised Land of Israel where they will live in peace. Since God has yet to fulfill these promises, it should be evident that the “elect” that Christ Jesus is speaking about in Matthew 24:22, 24, 31 and Mark 13:20, 27 only can be the Tribulation’s surviving elect (“choice”) Jews. However, some surviving Gentiles also will be the elect (“choice”) ones who are rescued from total destruction.

For sure, both the Tribulation’s “elect” Jews and Gentiles will be those believers in Christ who are sold out for Him, either because of the 144,000 sealed Jewish evangelists/servants’ preaching or the preaching of those once unwatchful and unprepared believers who got left behind. Put differently, the “elect” at the end of the Tribulation will be believers who remain loyal to Christ Jesus, especially when they face death. Clearly, the believers who will face martyrdom in the Tribulation Period definitely would be God’s “choice” ones, but so would the specific remnant of believing Jews who find safety from the Antichrist’s persecution and God’s wrath (God’s judgment on the unbelieving world and His discipline of Israel during the Great Tribulation).

According to the Scriptures, around mid-Tribulation, a remnant of the Tribulation’s Jewish “elect” will be the ones who flee to the hills. Of the numbers of the “elect” Jews and Gentiles who do not hide in the hills, the Scriptures warn that they must be very careful not to be found by the Antichrist, because he either will force them to take the Mark of the Beast, or he will behead them. These “elect” who did not flee to the hills also must be aware of all the false christs and aware of all the other deceptions that are initiated during the Tribulation, because these deceptions could cause them to abandon Christ Jesus. Their goal should be to survive the Great Tribulation and be ready to stand and worthy of standing before Christ Jesus as His wheat/sheep, when the Lord makes His bodily return on the Day of the Lord.

Now, since the Lord’s Second Coming is all about destroying the wicked (wiping them off this Earth), it also should be evident that the Bride of Christ is not Christ Jesus’ “elect” in any of the abovementioned Matthew 24 and Mark 13 verses. The definitive Scriptures that prove the Bride of Christ won’t go through the Tribulation are Isaiah 26:19-21 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18. Not only do these verses prove that the Groom comes for His Bride and raptures Her before the Tribulation Period begins but also these verses have the same order of events, which are: 1. The dead rise first; 2. The alive righteous individuals are snatched away, then hidden behind a shut door; and 3. The Lord comes to punish the world and/or God pours out His wrath.

Then there are the verses in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3. Where 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 is concerned with The Rapture and the HOPE of being rescued from the wrath to come, 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 is concerned with judgment or the wrath of God. That apostle Paul has changed the subject from hope to judgment means he is now speaking about the Day of the Lord in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3, which is a day that will not include The Rapture!

Instead of being the day of The Rapture, the Day of the Lord is the day Christ Jesus will send His angels out to gather the “elect” or “choice” survivors of the Tribulation Period, primarily the Jews and those left-behind unprepared, unwatchful believers whose lives needed to be sifted like wheat. Now, the only ones the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night for are the Tribulation’s surviving unbelievers, because they are living in darkness, and more likely than not they are not aware of what the Scriptures say about the Day of the Lord. More important, the Day of the Lord is not The Rapture of the Bride of Christ, because the Day of the Lord is mainly about the outpouring of God’s punishment/discipline on Israel and the outpouring of terror and death on Israel’s enemies (chiefly the Arabic nations).

The bottom line, once again, is that the “elect” Christ Jesus speaks of in Matthew 24:22, 24, 31 and Mark 13:20, 27 is not the Bride of Christ. This “elect” is primarily the Tribulation’s surviving Jewish people. As earlier stated, to declare that Christ Jesus definitively is speaking about His Bride in said chapters is a colossal interpretive mistake. Why is that such a huge mistake? Well, it is because the Olivet Discourse is a conversation the Jewish Jesus is having with His Jewish disciples about the destiny of the Jewish Temple, the Jewish city of Jerusalem, and the Jewish people as a whole. Forgetting who the Lord’s audience is and the questions His Jewish disciples ask Him to answer invariably will lead to the usual oversight—mistaking the Bride of Christ for the Tribulation’s “elect.”

The Bride of Christ absolutely is not the Tribulation’s “elect,” because the Scriptures show that it is the spiritually blind Jewish people, the unbelieving Gentile masses, and the unprepared, unwatchful Body of Christ members who are the ones who will experience the Tribulation Period. Where’s the Bride of Christ during the Tribulation Period? She’s in Heaven with Her Groom, because the Bride of Christ (the faithful, obedient, prepared, and watchful Body of Believers) is raptured before the seven year Tribulation Period ever begins! A word to the wise should be sufficient. Amen

Countdown to the Rapture

26 Monday Jan 2009

Posted by in Bible Prophecy

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Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one … lift off! No, this is not the usual countdown for a NASA rocket. This is the countdown to the Rapture.

On the prophetic timetable, the very next event to happen is the Rapture. For that reason, these are not just the times that try men and women’s souls; these are the times in which the fulfilled prophetic signs become God’s warnings to men and women about the future of their souls.

Since the Holy Bible repeats the pattern that God follows before He judges or punishes mankind, then true believers know that just as it was before The Flood in Noah’s days, just as it was before fire and brimstone rained down on Sodom and Gomorrah in Lot’s day, and just as it was before many other biblical events took place, God will not begin Daniel’s 70th week (The Tribulation Period) without warning people that the most horrific times in human history are about to begin. Thus, through many prophetic signs, God constantly is warning 21st century people that He once again is about to judge or punish mankind … indeed the entire Earth!

Because God does not want anybody to perish, He will do all that He can to ensure that born again, saved believers in Jesus the Christ will be redeemed/delivered/rescued/saved from God’s wrath (judgment) that is soon to come upon this Earth. Indeed, God will do whatever must be done in order to keep His enemy from plucking the Body of Christ out of His hand, which means God will do whatever it takes to shake loose any existing complacency, stinking thinking, and wrong behaviors that have an iron grip on so many of today’s Laodicean-like church members.

The increase in these and other strangleholds is why the Body of Christ is living in a time when the CHURCH Age is coming to an end. For sure, these end times also are why the Body of Christ must stay alert, watching for the promised cloud-gathering sign to be fulfilled, because when all has been said and done, because God has given sufficient warnings, there will be no one who will be able to say that he or she never had a clue! Therefore, because the Rapture can happen at any time, true believers also must do as their Savior tells them to do. They must “…look up, and lift up [their] heads; for [their] redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:28, KJV).

Now, since the time of Jesus the Christ, there have been hundreds of prophecies that have been fulfilled, but those that have been fulfilled in the 21st and 20th centuries should cause people to stop and take notice. For example, globally, the prophesied signs that pertain to an end time societal breakdown are being fulfilled, daily.

God prophetically warns through His Word that, as the end of the Church Age draws near, there will be an increase in the number of people who will have no regard for the law or morality. These people will be greedy, selfish, violent, immoral, hedonistic and rebellious. Consequently, all of these lawless and immoral people will have something else in common—problems with a total breakdown of the family and great despair (see 2 Timothy 3:1-4, 6; Mark 13:12; and Matthew 24:12).

Add to the behaviors listed above the fulfilled sign of an increase in the number of people who practice homosexuality. Daily, homosexuals in all walks of life are openly expressing their “gay” lifestyle. Moreover, there are many learned individuals who maintain that because homosexual men and lesbian women were born this way they do not choose their “gay” lifestyle. Indeed, even some men and women who say they are “called” of God to preach and teach His Word now are saying that homosexuals and lesbians have a divine right to be who they are for they are gifts from God (reference here is to the You Tube video clip in which “Being Gay is the Gift of God” is the discussion topic on Oprah’s Spirituality 101).

Add to this increased lawlessness, immorality and homosexuality the use of drugs, which rapidly is increasing among the lower class, middle class, and upper class individuals. The Apostle John writes in Revelation 9:21 that, even during the Tribulation Period, the left behind lawless and immoral people: “Neither repented…of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts” (KJV). The word “sorceries” in this verse is the English translation of the New Testament Greek word “farmakeiva,” which is transliterated as “pharmakeia,” and pharmakeia means pharmaceuticals or drugs. Thus, in these end times, no one can say that there is not CURRENTLY already an out of control drug problem for which there seems to be no solution.

Moreover, what today’s true believers are able to discern is that all of these aforesaid societal problems are the very same societal problems that were witnessed in Noah and Lot’s days, and these same societal problems were the reasons why God cleansed the world with The Flood and then later totally destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, and all the humans, animals and vegetation in those cities. What today’s true believers also are able to discern is that since these same transgressions are running rampant again, the end result will be the same: God is going to judge or punish the people who neither obey His commandments nor believe in Him or His Son. Again, God forewarned the people in Noah and Lot’s days about the very judgments or punishments that would come upon them, and yet the masses did not heed God’s warnings!

Besides these increased societal signs, God has fulfilled in our time other prophetic signs: the rebirth of Israel; an increase in media covered global-political events; an increase in upheavals in nature; an increase in rampant diseases and epidemics; an increase in spiritual apostasy (increases in doctrinal and moral departures in the CHURCH and increases in the number of people who will turn from the Lord to Satanism … see 1 Timothy 4:2-3, 2 Timothy 3:5, Matthew 24:12, and 1 Timothy 4:1); an increase in the number of people who mock the end-times prophecies; an increase in false Messiahs, false prophets, and false teachers; an increase in technology; a knowledge explosion; and an increase in the desires to want to use  nuclear weapons. The fact that all of these prophetic signs are and have been happening simultaneously in our time should shake loose any complacency, stinking thinking, and wrong behaviors that might have a stranglehold on believers in Christ.

Whether we want to believe it or not, time is running out. The Rapture of the true CHURCH is the only prophetic event that needs to be fulfilled before the Temple is rebuilt, the Antichrist signs a peace agreement with Israel, and the Tribulation Period begins with its seven seals’ judgments and ends with Jesus the Christ’s bodily Second Coming—when every eye sees Him coming in His glory, and He sets His feet down on the Mount of Olives. The Rapture countdown, thus, has begun, and every living person who is not in the Rapture will be left behind to suffer during the Tribulation Period. Yet, no matter what some people believe and teach, God does not want any person to have to experience the Tribulation Period, because He knows that the Tribulation Period will claim countless lives!

Furthermore, because the Tribulation Period is designed in such a way to shake the left behind uncommitted and disbelieving out of their lethargy so that they finally will accept Jesus the Christ as their personal Savior and Lord to whom they totally surrender; and because the Tribulation Period is designed in such a way so that the uncommitted and disbelieving who remain uncommitted and disbelieving will receive their just punishment for deliberately choosing the Antichrist as their god, these are the reasons why God constantly is warning the world, but specifically the Body of Christ, that the Tribulation Period’s horrific times are right around the corner. The Tribulation Period’s seven seal, seven trumpet and seven vial judgments upon the whole Earth also are why God wants Christ’s Body to continue to “…look up, and lift up [their] heads; for [their] redemption draweth nigh.” God, thus, forewarns this world’s masses, and especially the Body of Christ, because He wants true believers to be on the alert and prepared for His cloud-gathering sign so that they will not be caught off-guard!

The only way anybody who is still alive will be able to be delivered from the wrath of God that is to come upon this Earth is for a divine intervention to take place. That divine intervention for the Body of Christ is the Rapture.

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one … lift off! Once again, the countdown to the Rapture has begun, so let’s make sure we are Rapture ready so that no matter whether we are alive or dead when Christ comes back in the clouds we will be caught up to be with Him forever more!