The Overcomers’ Benefits and Rewards (Revisited)

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Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Bible Prophecy, Spiritual

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assembly, benefits, Community, ekklesia, faithful, obedient, overcomers, rewards, spiritually mature saints, victorious saints, YeHoVah, Yeshua

¹Loved ones, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from [YeHoVaH]. For many false prophets have gone out into the world. ²You know the Ruach Elohim by this—every spirit that acknowledges that Messiah Yeshua has come in human flesh is from [YeHoVaH], ³but every spirit that does not acknowledge Yeshua is not from [YeHoVaH]. This is the spirit of the anti-messiah, which you have heard is coming and now is already in the world. ⁴You are from [YeHoVaH], children, and you have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. ⁵They are from the world, so they speak from the world and the world listens to them. ⁶We are from [YeHoVaH]; whoever knows [YeHoVaH] listens to us, but whoever is not from [YeHoVaH] does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. ~ 1 John 4:1-6

Overcomers are believers who truly are more than conquerors; they clearly are the faithful and obedient victorious members of the Body of Yeshua — the faithful and obedient spiritual conquerors. Notice that, in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, Yeshua never addresses the entire Body of Believers — His whole Ekklesia — as overcomers. Nor does He address one entire ekklesia (one assembly or one “church”) as overcomers.

While speaking individually to the seven “churches” (more correct translations of ekklesiae are assembly and community), Yeshua only promises benefits and rewards to the saints who OVERCOME, even though He uses only the singular pronoun. Yeshua repeatedly says, “He who overcomes.” Therefore, Yeshua is making it clear that not all saints — not all members in His Ekklesia — are or will be OVERCOMERS. These overcomers in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 are saints who shine like the stars that are far and above the spiritual corruptions or spiritual problems Yeshua mentions to Revelation‘s seven “churches.”

I know what I said above is an uncomfortable truth, but the Divine Truth is that there are Bible verses that prove the overcomers — the ones to whom specific benefits and rewards are promised/offered and to whom these promised benefits and rewards will be given — are separate and distinct types of saints. If we read closely, we see that in every one of the seven “churches” Yeshua mentions in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 there were — and, indeed, there always will be — the kind of saints who were faithful believers in Yeshua and the kind of saints who were unfaithful believers in Yeshua. There were — and there always have been — the kind of saints who were obedient children of YeHoVaH and those saints who were disobedient children of YeHoVaH. In other words, there were then — and always have been — spiritual and carnal members in the Body of Yeshua. Therefore, there also always were (and always will be, including right now) holy overcomers AND the kind of saints who were or are overwhelmed, worn down, and defeated. To put it differently, from the beginning of Yeshua’s Ekklesia, there always have been those believers who have become spiritual conquerors and those believers who have been spiritually conquered!

Again, the Scriptures prove that Yeshua only promises EACH spiritual conqueror in each of Revelation’s seven “churches” that if he or she is a faithful and obedient overcomer; that is, if the spiritually mature man or spiritually mature woman in each “church” continues to fight against Satan’s fiery darts, his destructive deceptions, and his toxic lies, AND WINS even if his or her resistance leads to his or her death, then that OVERCOMER is the believer in Yeshua who will receive the following specific benefits and rewards:

1. The Tree of Life

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Ruach is saying to Messiah’s communities. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the Tree of Life, which is in the Paradise of [YeHoVaH]. ” ~ Revelation 2:7 (Ephesus)

2. The Crown of Life

Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, so that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Ruach is saying to Messiah’s communities. The one who overcomes shall never be harmed by the second death.” ~ Revelation 2:10-11 (Smyrna)

3. The White Stone

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Ruach is saying to Messiah’s communities. To the one who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone—and written on the stone a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.” ~ Revelation 2:17 (Pergamum)

4. The National Authority

To the one who overcomes and guards My deeds until the end, ‘I will give him authority over the nations and he shall rule them with an iron rod, as when clay pots are broken into pieces.’
Even as I have received from My Father, so I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Ruach is saying to Messiah’s communities.” ~ Revelation 2:26-29 (Thyatira)

5. The White Robes

“But still, you have a few people in Sardis who have not stained their clothes. They will walk with Me in white, because they are worthy. The one who overcomes thus will be dressed in white clothes; I will never blot his name out of the Book of Life, and will confess his name before My Father and His angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Ruach is saying to Messiah’s communities. ~ Revelation 3:5-6 (Sardis)

6. The Permanent Pillar

The one who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the Temple of My God, and he will never leave it. And on him I will write the name of My God and the name of the city of My God—the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God—and My own new Name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Ruach is saying to Messiah’s communities.” ~ Revelation 3:12-13 (Philadelphia)

7. The Throne

To the one who overcomes I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I myself overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Ruach is saying to Messiah’s communities.” ~ Revelation 3:21-22 (Laodicea)

He or she who has an ear needs to hear that Yeshua’s overcomer is not just the run-of-the-mill kind of saint, who gets into Heaven with the smell of smoke on him or her (see 1 Corinthians 3:15). To get these mentioned benefits and rewards, a saint must be a spiritual conqueror kind of overcomer — a faithful and obedient even unto death kind of saint.

Is anybody listening?

Seek a Towel, Not a Title

03 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Spiritual

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"institutional" (organizational) church, best interests of others, commitments, deacons, discipleship training, ekklesia, elders, foot washing, heart attitude, human spiritual gifts, humble, humility, leadership, leadership development, leadership hierarchical structures, local churches, menial tasks, mission statements, servant-hearted community development, servant-leader, servanthood, serving others ministry, status, title, towel, up the leadership ladder, vision statements

He said, ‘You’ve observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage.’ ~ Matthew 20:25-28, MSG

After he had finished washing their feet, he took his robe, put it back on, and went back to his place at the table. Then he said, ‘Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as ‘Teacher’ and ‘Master,’ and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other’s feet. I’ve laid down a pattern for you. What I’ve done, you do. I’m only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn’t give orders to the employer. If you understand what I’m telling you, act like it—and live a blessed life. ~ John 13:12-17, MSG

Now Jesus turned to address his disciples, along with the crowd that had gathered with them. ‘The religion scholars and Pharisees are competent teachers in God’s Law. You won’t go wrong in following their teachings on Moses. But be careful about following them. They talk a good line, but they don’t live it. They don’t take it into their hearts and live it out in their behavior. It’s all spit-and-polish veneer. Instead of giving you God’s Law as food and drink by which you can banquet on God, they package it in bundles of rules, loading you down like pack animals. They seem to take pleasure in watching you stagger under these loads, and wouldn’t think of lifting a finger to help. Their lives are perpetual fashion shows, embroidered prayer shawls one day and flowery prayers the next. They love to sit at the head table at church dinners, basking in the most prominent positions, preening in the radiance of public flattery, receiving honorary degrees, and getting called ‘Doctor’ and ‘Reverend.’ Don’t let people do that to you, put you on a pedestal like that. You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates. Don’t set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God; let him tell you what to do. No one else should carry the title of ‘Father’; you have only one Father, and he’s in heaven. And don’t let people maneuver you into taking charge of them. There is only one Life-Leader for you and them—Christ. Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you’ll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you’re content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty.’ ~ Matthew 23:1-12, MSG

One of the major problems in today’s institutional “church” is that there are far too many title seekers. Globally there are men (and some women) seeking these “church” titles: Bishop, Senior Pastor, Junior Pastor, Education Pastor, Youth Pastor, Pastor of Young Adults, Senior Worship Leader, Master Teacher, Elder (today, an adviser to the clergy, but in the first century an elder was an overseer or Bishop of an ekklesia, which is not the same thing as a “church” ), Deacon (in the first century, the believer doing outreach ministry—the Christian actually keeping the ministry of service to others command), Music Director, Choir Director, Director of Ushers, and so forth.

Sadly, most of the people seeking these and other “church” titles often are the kinds of individuals Jesus the Christ says seek the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in “churches” (the ones always sitting at head tables—usually jockeying for position). Additionally, most of today’s title seekers are just like those hypocritical “religious” leaders back in the Lord’s day—those Pharisees and Scribes—for too many of the wannabe spiritual leaders in this century also do things for public flattery and public recognition. Then too, just like the majority of those first century hypocritical Pharisees and Scribes, in every local “church,” most of this century’s title seekers are the ones who like to demand to be called Doctor, Master Teacher, Reverend, Bishop, and so forth, no matter if those titles are earned, or not (cf. Matthew 23:5-7).

What is disturbing to this blogger about this title-seeker trend are the institutional “church’s” beautifully worded mission statements, which describe for “church” seekers the biblical basis for local “churches’” ministries (i.e., what each local “church” does), as well as the concisely worded vision statements, which express an inspirational long-term desired change resulting from individual “churches’” actual ministry work. Now, not only do the mission statements usually mention what a particular local “church” is committed to doing, but also often within many mission statements there is either the phrase “by the Holy Spirit’s enabling power” or “through the Holy Spirit’s enabling power,” which gives the impression that the spiritual leaders, who mostly are in the larger local “churches,” seek the Holy Spirit FIRST before they make any decisions about how their “church” commitments will be realized.

Why all of that is disturbing to this blogger is because, in reality, many of the people who are getting the work done in their individual local “churches” are the title seekers who neither are functioning in accordance with biblical commands nor are being led by the Holy Spirit about how to develop their commitments in their mission and vision statements. Indeed, many of today’s title seeking spiritual leaders and their title seeking staffers often are treating “church work” the same way secular companies are treating their worldly jobs—like a brand that is being peddled!

Be that as it may; something else disturbs this blogger, and that is, where mission statements are concerned, most of the local “churches’” leadership AND servant-hearted community development commitments, for example, tend to be all about helping to produce servants-leaders who will “work” within local “churches.” Hence, while these are excellent commitments, and while these commitments do need the enabling power of the Holy Spirit before men and women could humble themselves and serve others, the disturbing problem is that these mentioned commitments to discipleship trainings, which are meant to teach “church” members how to become the kind of biblical spiritual leaders who minister to a lost world, instead are more about preserving these local “churches.” Expecting the title seekers to take part in any recommended discipleship training is all about making sure these local “churches” are raising up future Senior Pastors, and etc., AND LESS about aiding every believing “churchgoer” as he or she ministers to each other, LESS about teaching believers how to lead the sinners within each local “church’s” community at large to Jesus the Christ, and LESS about helping the world in general know God. In other words, these and other excellent commitments to spiritual developments are promoted and encouraged ONLY because the powers that be in today’s local “churches” are concerned about adding more pew sitters on their individual “church” roll, some of which might be members who, with the right amount of training, could move up a “church’s” leadership ladder!

Unfortunately because the above statements are true, the bottom line is that there is nothing biblical about most of this century’s institutional “church’s” top-down leadership hierarchical structures, which in most of the local “churches” mainly consist of, for example, Leadership Teams: Senior Pastor and his or her administrative, congregational, and outreach staff members, and a slew of other pastors, deacons, trustees, and/or elders serving alongside the Senior Pastor. They are the powers that be—the ones who establish and enforce all of their “church’s” rules and programs. Usually beneath the Leadership Teams are the Committees, and under the Committees are the various Ministries and their Teams. Now, what’s glaringly unbiblical about today’s institutional “church’s” leadership hierarchical structures is that many of these “church” leaders are PAID for their “service to others.”

In contrast, in the New Testament, there weren’t any PAID ekklesia “positions” for spiritual leaders, there weren’t any PAID ekklesia “positions” for staff members, and there weren’t any PAID ekklesia “believers” who were ranked higher than others. Biblically speaking, leadership for the first century ekklesia didn’t involve one chief leader making all the decisions, nor did it involve just a few believers making decisions for EVERYONE else. Also first-century leadership in each ekklesia didn’t involve one person nor a few people exercising authority over EVERYONE else. More important, those early leaders, were leaders because they were the ones who actually were serving others, and the best of those servants were the ones who modeled the kind of servant-life that others were Spirit led to want to emulate (cf. Matthew 20:26-28; Luke 22:26).

Today, however, where the task of performing so-called menial work is concerned, for example, the washing of local “church” leaders’ own members and/or their visitors’ feet, the spiritual leaders in most of this century’s local “churches” usually aren’t the ones humbling themselves to the level Jesus the Christ demonstrates. In other words, too many men and women in the institutional “church’s” hierarchy of offices or positions are not meeting the mark—are not living like the kind of spiritual leader Jesus the Christ lived. In the Word of God, the Lord shows that a genuine spiritual leader is someone who is willing to do the humblest of tasks, like the “washing of feet,” and to do said task either for his or her “church” members, or for the people living within the community in which his or her own “church” is found. The life Jesus the Christ lived, thus, is the reason why it is more important for believers to be seeking a towel (seeking servanthood) instead of seeking a title (seeking leadership; wanting to be the greatest of all His believers)!

Servanthood is far more important to God, and so is the reason why believers do what they do for Him, especially since serving others is how believers serve God. These biblical truths are why something so simple as the washing of someone’s feet carries multiple meanings.

The three principal meanings behind Jesus the Christ’s washing of His disciples’ feet are as follows: 1. foot washing demonstrates Jesus the Christ’s level of humility and the degree to which He is willing to express His commitment to servanthood (a serving others ministry; a pouring out of one’s self), especially since the Lord was the Last Supper host, His disciples were His guests; and especially since the washing of either the guests, strangers or travelers’ dirty, filthy feet, before the guests, strangers, or travelers entered a house, was the lowest Gentile slave’s responsibility; 2. foot washing demonstrates Jesus the Christ’s heart attitude, which contrasts His disciples’ heart attitudes, for they were bickering over who is the greatest disciple; and 3. foot washing symbolizes the best interests of others that Jesus the Christ expects His called-out disciples (and by extension, all of His disciples from then to now) to serve. Therefore, by washing His disciples’ feet at His own Last Supper, the Lord is saying to His original disciples, and to today’s disciples, that He does not expect anything “special” from His followers that He Himself hasn’t already done. Put differently, Jesus the Christ is saying that He expects all of His called-out ones to embrace humility at all times, and to serve not only one another, but also others. Once again, for the Lord, His disciples/followers are leaders, because they are the ones who actually are serving others. Furthermore, for the Lord, the best leaders are the servants who model the kind of servant-life that others who are Spirit led will desire to emulate (cf. Matthew 20:26-28; Luke 22:26).

Without doubt, Jesus the Christ is saying the exact opposite of what today’s worldly institutional “church” is saying genuine leaders are. The worldly institutional “church” is a man-made organization responsible for the established top-down leadership hierarchical structure—one in which the lowest person must climb to the top of the ladder before he or she will be considered a leader. In contrast, Jesus the Christ is saying that in God’s Kingdom leadership structure is turned inside out and upside down. That’s why the Lord teaches that leadership is servanthood, and the better a believer serves the more opportunities Father God will give that leader to serve others. In other words, Jesus the Christ teaches by example that God’s sons and daughters who serve best also will be His best leaders. Thus, every believer should know that if he (or she) is last (the lowest servant) yet desires to be great in the Kingdom of God (the best servant) that person first must serve wherever he or she is, and once he (or she) learns how to be the best servant he (or she) can be to everyone, the lowest servant who leads by example will become the best servant-leader.

Because leadership is about serving the best interests of others, this biblical truth is also why believers always should be seeking a towel instead of seeking a title. Having a servanthood aspiration no doubt is the reason why Jesus the Christ gives to His Body of Believers the human spiritual gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers. These human gifts are neither offices nor positions. They also do not represent a hierarchical (top-down) form of leadership. They are human spiritual gifts who exemplify the ways believers are to function in the Body of Christ—these human spiritual gifts are the servanthood ways believers are to do the Lord’s ministry work. They are to do the spiritual responsibilities divinely sanctified for either the apostle, or the prophet, or the evangelist, or the shepherd, or the teacher, or any number of combinations thereof; e.g., some first-century elders (overseers, bishops; functions NOT titles) also would serve as shepherds-evangelists-teachers; see Ephesians 4:11-13; Titus 1:5).

Having said all of that, let there now be NO doubt about the way the Lord wants His Body of Believers to be organized. First off, the Scripture says the Lord is to be the HEAD of the entire Body of Christ, which means He also is the HEAD of every local ekklesia or assembly (cf. Ephesians 1:22, 4:15; Colossians 1:18). Secondly, each supervised by elder(s) local ekklesia or assembly is to be independent and free from any internal or external interference from a hierarchy of individuals, or other bodies, associations, and etc.; as well as, free to manage itself without fearing interference from outside authority and control (cf. Titus 1:5). Lastly, the Body of Christ, which includes every supervised by elder(s) local ekklesia, is to be governed by ONLY spiritual servant-leaders who either function in the Body of Christ as elders (overseers or Bishops, some of whom also might function as shepherds), or deacons (cf. Acts 14:23, 1 Timothy 3:1-7, 1 Timothy 3:8-13, Titus 1:5, James 5:14).

The point here is that we were not created to seek titles, because being a member in the Lord’s Body has never been about any of us having an earthly title to go along with an earthly position. The Divine Truth is that we were created to seek ways we can serve God, and Jesus the Christ, who was Holy Spirit led, teaches by example that the best way to serve God is to serve the best interests of other human beings. Therefore, by serving others, we earn our greatest honor, which is to be men and women who serve God and the Lord.

The bottom line is that if we really want to understand the Word of God and how we are supposed to live that Word, we must look to Jesus the Christ and the life He lived to know what God wants us to do and how He wants us to be, which is always HUMBLE. Thus, like our Lord, we should be more about servanthood (seeking a towel) and less about leadership (seeking a title, and the position that goes along with that title). For sure, in several places of the Word of God, we are told that we are leading when we humbly are serving others, and that when we please God by how well we serve others, God will be the One who updates our leadership status, and NOT we ourselves (cf. Matthew 20:26-28; Luke 22:26; James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:6).

Selah . . . pause and calmly think about that! Amen!

Ekklesia Says It All: Christ Will Call His Bride Out of This World!

24 Monday Mar 2014

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Spiritual

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apantesis, Apokalupsis, assembly, Bride, Bridegroom, called-out group, congregation, dignitary, ekklesia, Epiphaneia, escort, gathering, huapantesis, institutional, koinonia or fellowship, parousia, qahal, rapture, relational, Septuagint or LXX, ten virgins, U-Turn

My Ekklesia

The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord,
Searching all the innermost parts of his being. ~ Proverbs 20:27, NASB

Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases to be,
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men. ~ Psalm 12:1, NASB

The righteous man perishes, and no man takes it to heart;
And devout men are taken away, while no one understands.
For the righteous man is taken away from evil,
He enters into peace;
They rest in their beds,
Each one who walked in his upright way. ~ Isaiah 57:1-2, NASB

But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man. ~ Luke 21:36, NASB

It is interesting how God chose to use the Greek word ekklesia, as the word that best describes Jesus Christ’s called-out group—His ONE Body of Believers or the Bride of Christ. Etymologically speaking, ekklesia is formed from a compound, a combination of two Greek words: ek (from out of) and kaleo (to call aloud or to call forth).

Furthermore, based on ekklesia’s traditional usage, it is obvious to many scholars that ekklesia at one time was the most inclusive word in existence. Many of these same scholars believe that this inclusivity is how its etymological meaning is connected to the biblical understanding of a first century A.D. ekklesia being a called-out group of believers (Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor, men and women, slaves and free persons, and so forth).

Now it should be noted here that other scholars have maintained that ekklesia originally only meant an “assembly” and NOT a gathered “spiritual” group that used to be part of a larger group. However, based on the Koine Greek language used to translate the Hebrew word qahal as ekklesia, which is found in one of the oldest and surviving Greek translations of the Septuagint (the Old Testament or LXX manuscripts), it cannot be denied that Christ Jesus’ meaning of ekklesia has remained the same as it is used in the Septuagint.

Furthermore, it widely is accepted that the Septuagint’s translation of the Torah (the Law; the first five books of the Tanakh or the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament) was completed around the middle of the third century B.C., while the rest of the Old Testament books found in the Septuagint widely are accepted to have been translated in the second century B.C. So then, by the time the first four books of the Koine Greek New Testament were written, it is no coincidence that the first person named in the four Gospels who uses ekklesia is Christ Jesus. When He uses ekklesia, He no doubt is prophesying about a future “spiritual” Body of Believers whom Father God will “call out” from a larger group of people who will be living in spiritual darkness—a larger group of people, which will include both the unbelieving pagan “Gentiles” and the unbelieving “religious” Jews.

Historically and biblically speaking, from the very first time ekklesia is used in the New Testament (see Matthew 16:18), ekklesia does NOT mean “church,” as it universally is translated today. Ekklesia, according to how Christ Jesus uses this word, literally means “called out of,” which, without doubt, begs the questions: 1. Who is being called out? 2. Out of what have they been called? That’s why no matter how anyone tries to spin it, the word “church” only defines a “place,” predominantly a “physical building,” and NEVER a people; whereas, whenever ekklesia is used in the Scriptures to describe a congregation, convocation, or an assembly, it always refers to PEOPLE—refers to the ones who actually have been called out and/or set apart, and NOT the places where they meet/gather.

Now granted, Christian people are the ones who actually congregated in the first century A.D. Jewish Temple before its destruction, in Synagogues, homes, and much later in “church” buildings, and so forth. Nevertheless, from the inception of Jesus Christ’s ekklesia, physical buildings NEVER were considered His called-out ones. Thus, ONLY ekklesia refers to the PEOPLE who are the Lord’s called-out group of believers! In other words, Christ Jesus NEVER calls His Bride His “CHURCH.”

Why is the Bride of Christ (Body of Believers) never going to be the same thing as “The CHURCH”? Well, according to the most credible archeological findings, it is because it is primarily evident that from the time that all of the ancient Greek city-states (in truth, villages) began holding their own ekklesia, something or someone was responsible for calling forth/summoning each Greek city-states’ citizens. That someone or something was the sound that came from a herald’s blown trumpet, which called forth/summoned the different groups of Greek citizens to their own ekklesia (a word in the ancient Greek cultural that always seemed to depict the basic idea of an “assembly”). Additionally, the most reliable archeological findings show that each known different ancient Greek ekklesia was held in a local community meeting place where the assembly (ekklesia) of Greek citizens discussed their own city-state’s various political concerns.

Furthermore, in ancient Greek city-states, each ekklesia was both its specific group of citizens AND the controlling power that governed its own city-state. In other words, city-states like Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Thebes, Argos, and so forth, were all part of ancient Greece (or the larger all-inclusive group that spoke the same language, believed in the same gods, worshipped the same way, and considered themselves to be Greeks), even though as city-states their own ekklesia not only had the power to enact laws and rule its own citizens, but also each ekklesia had the power to raise and train its own army, negotiate its own citizenship, establish its own religion, and collect its own taxes. In other words, most of the ancient Greek city-states were in essence individual kingdoms, with their own governmental assemblies, and their own kings.

Based on the available information about the etymological meaning of the ancient Greek culture’s ekklesia, it should be easy to see how, by the first century A.D., ekklesia very well could have meant a sanctified (set apart) spiritual Body of Believers in Christ Jesus who was “called out” or summoned by God to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, because the larger group of unbelieving people they once were part of still were living in spiritual darkness. Likewise, it should be easy to see how, by the first century A.D., ekklesia also could have meant something very similar to a Greek koinonia—group of Christians or followers of Christ who was united in purpose: fellowship. According to the Word of God, these early believers gathered together for the agreed upon purposes of sharing communion (fellowshipping), giving encouragement, and receiving preparation (cf. Acts 2:42), all of which were necessary pastimes that helped each participant achieve the God-commanded tasks of evangelizing and discipling his or her world, as he or she knew it then.

Put differently, these first century A.D. believers understood that they had been “called out” by God and for God (for His Divine purposes). In the latter sense, they all knew that, by gathering together with other like-minded born-again AND Holy Spirit- filled believers, who would meet (usually in community homes) for the sought after encouragement, fellowship, and training, they (these first century A.D. believers) would receive everything they needed to be able to represent accurately and faithfully the Kingdom of Heaven and Father God’s Perfect Will in all of life, while simultaneously affecting a change in their surrounding communities.

To reiterate, it is interesting that God chose the word ekklesia to define who the Lord’s Bride always has been, and continues to be. Once again, contrary to popular opinions, there is no way that anybody could make the English word “church” mean the same thing as the Greek word ekklesia. Again, the original first century apostolic meaning of ekklesia meant both a group of believers “called out” by God to receive Salvation (Kingdom of Heaven membership requirement, which is fulfilled after a born-again status is received) AND that of an “assembly” (a koinonia—a fellowship kind of meeting).

It wasn’t until the early 1600s that the King James Bible translators decided to transform the meaning of ekklesia so that it would reflect what “church” actually denotes today. At that time, the true historical and biblical meaning of ekklesia changed drastically from a basic “assembly” and/or “congregation” of people TO the “place of meeting,” as well as “a thing,” like a physical building. These “church” meanings definitely are the ones that the translators of the 1611 King James Bible intended for ekklesia, but as already stated these meanings are NOT the true definitions for ekklesia, when it is used to describe Jesus Christ’s Body of Believers.

Today, it widely is accepted that the literal meaning of ekklesia is a “called-out group”—an inclusive group of people “called out” from the world by God and for God. However, it should be noted here that after the first-ever members of this “called-out group,” which in this case represents God’s Household of Faith children, separated from that already mentioned bigger group, this is when God’s “called-out group” initially became a totally different group (i.e., Christians or Christ followers, and etc.). The point here is that, spiritually speaking, there really ONLY has been ONE true ekklesia. That is to say, from the Old Testament days, Father God has had His faithfully righteous Jewish people. From the New Testament days, Jesus Christ has had His faithfully righteous Body of Believers, which includes Jews and Gentiles. This Divine Truth often is missed. Too many people today, believers included, often fail to see that there really is ONLY ONE called-out group (more on this point later)!

What way too many believers also haven’t understood is that God purposely chose the ONLY word that could possibly give the most credence to the Word of God’s supernatural Rapture doctrine. More than any of mankind’s countless speculations or theories, ekklesia is God’s all-inclusive word that best describes what the Rapture is, and the “season” in which it will happen, just NOT the day or the hour!

Without doubt, it is the Word of God, which verifies that Christ Jesus will be coming for His Bride right after a rousing midnight cry, an angelic voice, and the sound of the Last Trumpet. Now anyone who is well acquainted with the traditional Jewish Wedding ceremonies will understand that this Last Trumpet call happens when the bridegroom, who first left His betrothed so that He could prepare a bridal chamber for the both of them in his father’s house, returns for his bride. Therefore, this LAST TRUMPET sound, which the apostle Paul writes about, is NOT the one that will happen at the physical bodily appearance of the Lord or His Second Advent, which is when He returns, bringing His saints with Him, at the end of the Tribulation Period. This LAST TRUMPET sound of Paul’s is the same TRUMPET sound that would have been blown right before the herald’s shout, which is mentioned in Christ Jesus’ Parable of the Ten Virgins. The wedding herald (probably a groomsman) could be the one who carries and blows the shofar, for he certainly is the one who shouts: The bridegroom is coming.

The Lord no doubt knew that His disciples knew that the bridegroom in the 10 Virgins Parable is coming back to abduct his bride in secret—to return on a day and at an hour NOBODY could have foreknown, thus, in secret—to snatch Her or “steal Her away” for the purpose of taking Her into the Bridal Chamber He built for Her inside His Father’s House, where they could consummate their marriage. In other words, the procession Jesus Christ alludes to in the 10 Virgins Parable is a procession from and back to Father God’s House, as prophesied and practiced in the ancient Jewish Wedding customs. This means that the Lord knew that His disciples also knew that the alluded to procession was NOT back to the father of the bride’s house for the wedding reception! The Lord knew His disciples knew that the Bridegroom (also King) coming for His Bride is a prophesied event, even though the Lord’s focus is more on preparedness (cf. Psalm 98:6; Joel 2:15-16; John 3:29; additionally, please read the Old Testament, as the Jewish wedding customs are in many verses in many chapters of several books)!

This preparedness (being ready ahead of time, because no one knows exactly when the “catching away” will happen) also is the apostle Paul’s focus, which is why his coming and going language in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 is the reason why his use of the Greek word apantesis ISN’T in the technical sense. The same also is true of Jesus Christ’s use of apantesis in His 10 Virgins parable. Therefore, apostle Paul, like the Lord, also is relying on people’s knowledge of how and why the Bridegroom is coming back. That certainly must be why ALL of the movements—the Lord (Bridegroom) descending, the dead in Christ’s bodies resurrecting and then ascending, the alive in Christ ascending after the dead in Christ, and the instantaneous glorifications—obviously depict the abduction of the Bride of Christ, which is why Paul’s coming and going language is NOT the “technical” understanding of what the Greek word apantesis means—neither how Paul intends for it to mean in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, nor how Jesus Christ uses it in Matthew 25:6. (More on the use of apantesis later.)

Right now, it is important to mention that, based on the understanding of how the ancient Greek city-states summoned their individual ekklesia, informed people should understand that the same way those earliest assemblies were convoked, which was by a herald’s trumpet sound, also is going to be the same method God Himself has chosen to summon Jesus Christ’s Bride. In other words, there is one meaning of the Lord’s Bride being “called out” of the world, which as previously mentioned was because God “called Her out” of darkness into the Kingdom of Heaven’s marvelous Light, for the purpose of building His Kingdom on Earth, as it is in Heaven (see 1 Peter 2:9-10). However, the Lord’s Bride also is going to be “called out” of, taken out from, or summoned out of various places (dwellings, rooms, sites, localities, and so forth, that are all over this world) so that the Bridegroom can gather (assemble) His Bride (Body) together in the clouds, after His Bride MEETS Him in the air. Once again, this in-the-air meeting includes both the gathering of the resurrected dead in Christ and the gathering of the raptured alive in Christ!

So then by changing or rather by insisting that in this day and age the ancient fundamental meaning and the modern day literal meaning of ekklesia BOTH just mean “church,” countless believers in Christ have missed the importance of the true meaning of the Greek word ekklesia—the meaning Christ Jesus first uses in the New Testament—which supports the New Testament’s Rapture doctrine. Thus, there can be no doubt that God Himself has inspired the apostle Paul, a Jew and a Greek, to teach via his letter to the ekklesia in Thessalonica (Thessaloniki) that the Lord’s Bride (the children in God’s Household of Faith) is representative of His firstfruits who, in the end times, will be “called out of” or taken out from, or summoned out of numerous places in many geographical areas so that they can be gathered together for an in-the-air meeting, and so that they then can continue to ascend into Heaven.

Perhaps the above truths are why it is important to note here that God is not always clear as crystal about EVERYTHING that is presented in His Word. Perhaps His repeated lack of transparency, especially with the biblical subjects that have varied interpretations, is why people have a hard time discerning the appropriate meanings for certain Hebrew and Greeks words, especially the Holy Bible’s original Hebrew and Greek words that consistently have proven to be difficult to communicate (translate) into the English language. Possibly this difficulty also is because, over time, the more present etymological meanings for these original Hebrew and Greek words have changed from their earliest meanings, which seems to be the case with ekklesia. Sometimes this change is a good thing, and sometimes it isn’t.

Still, it would be wonderful if readers would consider what this blogger believes is the primary reason why so many professed Christians have so many dissimilar interpretations for the same Scriptures. There is no doubt that the main reason there are diverse interpretations for the same Scriptures is, to a certain degree, because of believers’ understanding of what some crucial original Hebrew and/or Greek words in those differently interpreted Scriptures actually mean in English. Therefore, this blogger believes that the chief reason why these varied interpretations happen, and are continuing to happen, is because God Himself obviously has included several words from the original languages of the Holy Bible which, on the surface, seem to be interchangeable when the truth is that these words have distinctly different denotations and/or connotations. This reason is specifically true, when similar yet significantly dissimilar words appear to describe the same kinds of events or groups of people (or absolutely are understood to be describing the same kinds of events or groups of people).

The point here is that perhaps God’s lack of clarity is intentional. Maybe His ambiguity is nothing more than His Way of showing His love for multiple possible meanings—a love He graciously shares with His Children. Then too, maybe His opacity is God’s Way of making sure that His Children in His Household of Faith always give their complete trust to (put their whole Faith in) Him by relying totally on His Holy Spirit to reveal, teach, and empower them INSTEAD of putting their trust in bible/prophecy scholars’ academic prowess or in the extraordinary number of hours these scholars claim they have spent in research and study! There’s no doubt that God knew human beings, especially those living in these last days and end times, would “think” that they wouldn’t need to depend on the Holy Spirit’s supernatural assistance, because they are “smart” enough to figure the truth out on their own—so intelligent that they only need to trust in their own “superior” research and analytical efforts!

Evidently God inspired the men who penned the Holy Bible’s verses to use the poles-apart words that are found in the Word of God’s original Hebrew and Greek languages. Once again, these poles-apart words, on the surface, often appear to have the same meanings. God no doubt had His inspired writers to create this very problem, primarily for the purpose of distracting or misleading the ones God didn’t want to know the truth! For example, God definitely would want to keep Satan and his demonic forces ignorant about and unaware of the real truth about these differently understood and diversely interpreted biblical events, people, descriptions, prophesies, and so forth.

Maybe this last truth is why, for example, every once and a while, there are some Greek words that have been problematic, where translating/communicating God’s Divine Truths accurately into English are concerned. These obvious prize pearls (God’s Divine Truths) have been hidden from sight under those Greek words that, again, initially appear to mean the same thing but, when people dig a little bit deeper, these words turn out to mean completely something else. The following is proof positive that Greek words have very different meanings, yet they are translated as the same English words: AGAPE, EROS, STORGE, and/or PHILIA, which often are translated as “love”; THUMOS and ORGE, which often are translated as “wrath”; EKLEKTOS and EKLEGOMAI, which often are translated as “elect,” “choice,” “selected,” and/or “chosen”; PAROUSIA, EPIPHANEIA, and/or APOKALUPSIS, which often are translated as “coming,” “presence,” and/or “arrival”; and HARPAZO, ANALAMBANO, and/or EPAIRO, which often are translated as “taken up,” “snatched up,” and/or “caught up.”

Having said that, it is important to note here that sometimes Greek nouns are translated as English verbs. Case in point, where the alive believers’ “in-the-air meeting” is concerned (their Rapture, which is a noun), most English translators of various English versions of the Holy Bible translate as the verb “to meet” the Greek noun apantesis. Now the Greek verb, which means “to go to meet,” “to meet,” “to meet with,” “met,” and “to come face to face,” is apantao. The point here is that both Jesus Christ and apostle Paul use the Greek noun in Matthew 25:6 and in 1 Thessalonians 4:17—not the Greek verb.

In neither case (either Matthew 25:1, 6 or 1 Thessalonians 4:17) does the English verb “to meet” truly capture the real meaning of the Greek word apantesis, as both apostle Paul and Christ Jesus are using it. Once again, neither Christ Jesus nor Paul is conveying the original Greek “technical” meaning of apantesis, which refers to the whole undertaking of sending a welcoming party, as a show of honor and respect, out of its city to greet/meet a visiting dignitary (king, governor, magistrate, or some other important person), and then that group of representatives immediately escorts this dignitary back into their city—the very city he was coming to visit.

Now, seeing how God has a knack for presenting things turned upside down, it’s no wonder that instead of apantesis carrying the ancient/traditional meaning, the apostle Paul literally has turned the technical sense upside down. He has done so by using apantesis in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 in such a way as to say that the Lord Himself not only has reversed the direction from horizontal to vertical, but also He is the One who has made the U-Turn (has changed His descending direction).

Furthermore, this turned upside down reality suggests that, instead of the noble Lord being met by a lowly greeting party, it is Jesus Christ who is doing the greeting! He is greeting His ambassadors (the Lord’s followers who have been in the world but not OF the world). In other words, just like Jesus Christ became the servant, when He washed His disciples’ feet at His Last Supper, at the time of the Rapture, the Lord will have become the escort (protector and guide) for His Bride who has been elevated to the status of a VIP. She, thus, only has been visiting (pilgriming; archaic verb) on the Earth, until Christ Jesus, as prophesied, comes DOWN from Heaven to the clouds, waits on the clouds “for a meeting” with Her, and then turns right around and escorts Her back with Him into Heaven, where He eventually will show Her the love, respect, and honor She has earned (cf. John 17:13-19; 2 Corinthians 5:20; Ephesians 5:27).

Now Pre-Tribulation Rapture naysayers would have people to believe that there is no way Christ Jesus is going to make a U-Turn and take His raptured Bride back into Heaven, since the “technical” gist of apantesis is that the welcoming party (in this case, the Bride of Christ) escorts the king, lord, governor, magistrate, and so on (in this case, Jesus Christ), back to the city out of which the welcoming party has come (in this case, possibly Jerusalem). However, this interpretation of how the apostle Paul is using apantesis STILL would mean that someone or somebodies would have to make the U-Turn! Therefore, these Pre-Tribulation Rapture skeptics, who obviously just want to turn the apostle Paul’s Rapture images into a picture of Christ Jesus’ physical, bodily Second Coming, by saying that there only is one time He will return to Earth and that will be at His glorious appearance, when every eye will see Him, have just failed to understand that Jesus Christ wouldn’t be descending from Heaven to the clouds and then to the Earth to be a “visitor” anywhere on Earth, and especially NOT in Jerusalem!

Where the Bride of Christ is concerned, first of all, She is NOT going up to meet the Lord from any one particular city. Secondly, She never is depicted as escorting Her Groom (the Lord) back to any place on Earth, but rather She is described as participating in His Second Coming, when His feet touch down on the Mount of Olives, by being with Him YET following Him (cf. Revelation 19:14). His Bride is never depicted as accompanying Him, for the purposes of honoring, respecting, protecting, and guiding Him, which is what an escort did, and still does. Thirdly, as previously mentioned, He is not coming back to Earth as a “visitor.” At His Second Coming, when His feet actually touch down on the Mount of Olives, He is coming back as the Lord (Owner) of the entire Earth, as the Savior (Redeemer) of the entire world, and as King (Conqueror and Ruler) over the entire world. Therefore, at the time of the Rapture of His Bride, it makes more sense that the Someone who is making the U-Turn is Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom, who also is returning to Heaven for His Coronation.

There are other reasons why the above Pre-Tribulation Rapture cynics’ interpretation of apostle Paul’s use of apantesis is faulty, and why this faulty interpretation in NO way supports the notion so many Rapture cynics about there being no such thing as a Rapture. First of all, Scriptures support the idea that it is the Lord who is coming as the Bridegroom for His Bride and that after He meets Her in the air He then immediately TAKES Her back into Heaven, where He has spent all these years preparing a place for Her (cf. Matthew 25:1, 6; John 3:29; John 14:2-3; Ephesians 5:25, 32; Revelation 19:7). Secondly, ancient Jewish Wedding customs teach an important message about the bridegroom being the one who builds the bridal chamber (living quarters) in his father’s house, and NOT in the father of the bride’s house! Thus, there is no way that the 5 wise Virgins are going out to meet the Bridegroom ONLY to escort Him back to the father of the Bride’s house. Thirdly, according to ancient Jewish Wedding customs, the bridegroom FIRST takes his bride back to his father’s house to consummate their marriage, which consists of spending seven days behind the closed “bridal chamber” door. Fourthly, Scriptures support the idea that it is the father of the bridegroom who hosts the wedding supper/wedding feast, and NOT the parents of is the bride (see Matthew 22:1-14). In other words, it is Father God who hosts the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, and He is in Heaven!

Thus, based on all of the above reasons, it is obvious that the apostle Paul has proven that it is Christ Jesus who makes the U-Turn. Apostle Paul does this by turning the traditional horizontal images of a visiting dignitary approaching a delegation that has come out of its city to escort him back through the earthly city’s entrance INTO the non-traditional vertical image of the Lord descending to greet His deserving of honor and glory genuine Bride. After She meets with Him face-to-face, He then turns and begins to ascend with His Bride until together they reach Heaven (cf. Ephesians 5:26-27; Revelation 19:7-9).

Now, if true believers’ Rapture naysayers claim that there is not going to be a raptured Bride, at least not before the Tribulation Period begins, but teach instead that the Lord’s Bride only will serve as a welcoming party for His Second Coming on Earth, then again their “coming” of Jesus the Christ (as the visitor) still is NOT His Second Coming. As previously stated, at Christ Jesus’ Second Coming, the Word of God makes it clear that the crowned Jesus Christ will return as the Lord (Owner) of the entire Earth, as the Savior (Redeemer) of the entire world, and as King (Conqueror and Ruler) over the entire world.

The bottom line then is that Jesus the Christ, at His Second “Coming,” when His feet really touch down on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, will be “coming” back to Earth as the triumphant Lion of Judah, who defeats God’s enemies and then establishes His own millennial Kingship! Therefore, as previously stated, Jesus Christ is NEVER coming again to Earth as a visitor or pilgrim!!!! That is why when His ekklesia (Community of believers not of this world; thus, an allegorical visitor or pilgrim) meets Her Bridegroom (the Lord) in the air, it is going to be the Bridegroom (Christ Jesus) who will reverse His direction—He will go back up into Heaven instead of continuing downward onto Earth!

For all of these mentioned reasons, it should be clear by now that by changing ekklesia to “church,” the authorized King James Bible translators have affected too many believers’ whole approach to understanding the meaning of the Body of Christ/Bride of Christ, because the original intent of ekklesia always has been and continues to be relational, while the original intent of “church” always has been and continues to be institutional. Put differently, the early Christians who gathered together in their ekklesia did so for the purpose of sharing, fellowshipping, edifying, encouraging, discipling, equipping, and getting to know each other as a WHOLE family so that each member truly could become ONE. The sad truth then is that the English word “church” totally destroys this relational intent. Furthermore, by changing ekklesia to “church” the authorized King James Bible translators also have guaranteed that innumerable people will miss the main reason why Jesus Christ’s Bride is His truly “called-out group” (His genuine ekklesia).

Now, in the New Testament, there is only ONE ekklesia of the mentioned seven ekklesiae (the called-out groups or assemblies of believers) in the Book of Revelation who receives the taken out or raptured promise. This truth means the Pre-Tribulation Rapture involves the ONLY ekklesia that Scriptures say is HIDDEN in Heaven’s Bridal Chambers (cf. Revelation 3:10; see also Isaiah 26:20-21 and Zephaniah 2:3). Therefore, this ONE of the seven mentioned ekklesiae—the ONLY ekklesia what is hidden in Heaven’s Bridal Chambers—ONLY can be the Bride of Christ, and this Bride is the redeemed ONE Jesus Christ is describing as the pearl of great price (cf. Matthew 13:45-46, see also 1 Corinthians 6:20).

It is important to note here that if the idea of a group of people being “called out” is grounded in (if there is clear evidence found in) the Old Testament, then that would mean that the idea of New Testament believers being a called-out group is a sound biblical doctrine. Likewise, if the idea of a Rapture is grounded in (if there is clear evidence found in) the Old Testament, then that would mean that the idea of New Testament believers being raptured is indeed a sound biblical doctrine, as well.

For the record, in the King James Version of the Old Testament, there are three Hebrew words translated as “congregation” (as in the basic concept of an assembly). These words are as follows: 1. Moed (an appointed time, place, and meeting/assembly/congregation; found 223 times, of which it is used 150 times as “congregation”); 2. Edah (an assembly, company, band, herd, people, multitude, swarm, and/or congregation; found 149 times, of which it is used 124 times as “congregation”); and 3. Qahal (an assembly, convocation, company, multitude, congregation; found 123 times, of which it is used 86 times as “congregation”).

An interesting nugget is that in the Septuagint or LXX manuscripts, the Greek word ekklesia is used in several verses of the Old Testament, mostly in the translation of the Hebrew word Qahal. The point here is that the Septuagint manuscripts’ translators were using the same Greek language to translate the Hebrew Old Testament that is found in the early Greek New Testament manuscripts. In essence, from Genesis to Revelation, God has given the same “called-out group” name to His faithfully righteous children—ekklesia! As previously mentioned, from the beginning to the end of mankind Father God apparently has intended that EVERYONE who is His faithfully righteous son and daughter would be His ONLY true “called-out group” or ekklesia. The fact that ekklesia is used throughout the New Testament and in the LXX manuscripts for the Hebrew word qahal verifies the previous statement. Bottom line: There is ONLY ONE true ekklesia, especially since both Jews and Gentiles ONLY have one Redeemer, and because God ONLY provides one single plan of Redemption!

Keeping these last points in mind, it should be noted here that unlike the Old Testament, which has three Hebrew words that mostly are translated in the King James Version as “congregation,” in the King James Version of the New Testament there only is one Greek word that denotes the basic concept of an assembly or a “congregation,” and this word is ekklesia. In the New Testament, ekklesia is used 115 times. Of these 115 times ekklesia is used, 112 times it is translated into English as “church,” and 3 times it is translated as “assembly.”

Furthermore, this New Testament Greek word, ekklesia, has at least four important meanings, one of which is the same meaning used in the Old Testament to describe Israel’s appointed meetings/assemblies/congregations. These four meanings for the New Testament word ekklesia are as follows: 1. An assembly or gathering of people (as in Israel, the people as a whole, who were gathered in the wilderness [cf. Acts 7:38]; or a regular group of gathered citizens [cf. Acts 19:39]; or a group of believers gathered for religious worship [cf. Hebrews 2:12]); 2. An assembly or gathering of professed Christians in local dwellings in various earthly regions/cities (cf. Acts 8:1, 3; Acts 11:22, 26), and in the plural sense as ekklesiae or groups of professed Christians in numerous local gatherings primarily found throughout Turkey/Asia Minor or at several locations in a particular city (cf. 1 Corinthians 16:19; Galatians 1:2); 3. All professing Christians, wherever these Christians might be found; this meaning clearly is a reference to Christendom, as in a global Body of Believers located anywhere (in any city, village, and etc.) and united as ONE (cf. Acts 12:1; Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 15:9; Galatians 1:13; Revelation 2:1-3:22); and 4. The Body of Christ, which has been Holy Spirit baptized into ONE united called-out group to whom Father God via Christ Jesus has bestowed as human gifts to the entire Body of Christ, and these human gifts are to function as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:13-28; see also Ephesians 4:11-12).

Certainly, it would be hard for anyone to deny that in the Old Testament Israel was the “called-out group” who was summoned to meet God at His appointed times and in His appointed places. Moreover, what is interesting is that with each of the three Old Testament Hebrew words that most commonly are translated as the English words “congregation” and “assembly” (Moed, Edah and Qahal), there is no denying that in every situation the One “calling” or summoning His chosen Jewish people is Father God. Since Father God via Jesus Christ is the One who also is “calling” or summoning the New Testament’s born again, saved, and being sanctified believers (Jews and Gentiles), there should be no surprise that the Greek word ekklesia is the New Testament word frequently used to mean a gathered together “congregation” or “assembly” that is meeting with God.

Right here, it must be stressed that NEITHER the Old Testament’s “called-out” Israelites NOR the New Testament’s “called-out” first-century followers of Christ were summoned just to fill seats on the Sabbath Saturday or on Sunday. In other words, neither group of people was “called out” just to assemble together, according to the modern congregational idea, which simply means to gather in a building for the sole purpose of participating in “church” programs and ministry opportunities.

On the contrary, both the “called-out” Israelites and the “called-out” first-century followers of Christ were summoned to meet with God so that they could get prepared to engage their world, as they knew it, and then govern it. After all, in the ancient Greek culture, an ekklesia was the ruling body that governed its polis or city-state. Now since Christ Jesus is the One who first uses the Greek word ekklesia, there can be no denying that He definitely understood this common political term and, thus, it can be no denying that what He knew about an ancient Greek ekklesia is the reason why He uses ekklesia to describe His disciples and their future impact, which was to represent the Kingdom of Heaven and Father God’s Perfect Will on Earth in such a way that they would end up turning the old world’s order upside down (cf. Acts 17:6).

This turning of the world upside down no doubt is the main reason why the Israelites weren’t given a direct route to take to the Promised Land. Evidently God knew they were not prepared to war against the “giants” who lived in the Promised Land. After all, only two ostensibly grasshopper-sized spies agreed with God that they could defeat the “giants” in the Promised Land! So, all of the Israelites wandered in the wilderness until all of the older generation that came out of Egypt had died! Put differently, God first had to get rid of all of the naysayers before He could prepare His faithful children to enter the Promised Land and eventually battle the “giants” in it!

In comparison, this turning of the world upside down no doubt is the chief reason why the first-century disciples had to be born again, saved, and filled with the Holy Spirit. This process was their necessary preparation (equipping) that would enable them to transform their local communities, wherever each ekklesia had been established. In other words, God first had to baptize Christ’s disciples with His Holy Spirit so that they would become prepared faithful children who first would go throughout the Promised Land and silence their “giants”—the naysayers—by leading other Jewish people to Christ for salvation, as well as eventually battle the “giants”—naysayers—throughout the world, as they knew it then.

So then the point here is that there is a world of difference between Jesus Christ’s idea of building His ekklesia and “church” leaders’ congregational idea of building an edifice in which people assemble together. It is dumbfounding to think about the many believers today who fail to comprehend the difference between an ekklesia AND a “church”!

Now, there is something else that cannot be denied, and that is that in the Old Testament there are examples of Raptures/Translations of godly righteous people, specifically Enoch and Elijah. Yes, a faithful and righteous Noah and his family remained on Earth, but they were safe in the Ark, while the Flood was happening. In other words, they never were in any danger! However, in the end times, the only ones who will not be in any danger of persecution or death are the 144,000 Jewish men (the elect or chosen faithfully righteous ones). They are NEVER hurt or harmed during the Tribulation Period, because ONLY they have the seal of God!

The point here is that, just like it cannot be denied that God is the One who “called out” or summoned Israel, His elect or chosen people, to meet with Him, it also cannot be denied that God is the One who “called out” or raptured/translated Enoch before the Flood started, and Elijah before Israel’s Babylonian captivity started. Therefore, if God “snatched” out of this world His faithfully righteous people, long before the first major global catastrophe AND before the captivity of His beloved Israel, then His Son, Jesus Christ, also will do something similar.

Jesus Christ says that He only does what He has seen His Father do (cf. John 5:19). For this last reason, as previously mentioned, it cannot be denied that in the New Testament the Body of Christ or Bride of Christ is the Lord’s “called-out group,” who has been called out of darkness into the Light, for the purpose of building Father God’s Kingdom on Earth, as it is in Heaven (see 1 Peter 2:9-10). Likewise, it cannot be denied that the Body of Christ or Bride of Christ is the Lord’s “called-out group,” who will be called out of, taken out from, or summoned out of various places (dwellings, rooms, sites, localities, and so forth, that are all over this world) so that as the Bridegroom He could gather (assemble) His Bride (Body) together in the clouds, after His Bride MEETS Him in the air (see 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17).

Right here is where the difference between the Rapture, which happens at the Lord’s in-the-air “coming” or Parousia, and the Lord’s Second Advent, which happens at the Lord’s feet-touching-the-Mount of Olives “coming” or Parousia, Apokalupsis, and Epiphaneia. Parousia, which means a “coming,” a “presence,” and an “arrival,” when used in context with the Rapture of the Bride of Christ also always means His personal “presence” at, or His personal “coming” to a specific place, at a specific time, for a specific meeting or gathering (cf. Matthew 24:3, 27, 37; 1 Corinthians 15:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:15; and 2 Thessalonians 2:1). Thus, it is clear that the Parousia, which is used in context with the Rapture of the Body of Christ, precedes any end-times Parousia (Second Coming, as in His globally visible physical bodily return), which happens together with an Epiphaneia (epiphany) and an Apokalupsis (apocalypse).

The Parousia, thus, that is used in context with the Rapture suggests that Jesus Christ already is present. Indeed, He is present now within born-again believers’ spirits, which is what the apostle Paul means when he states that every physically dead believer’s spirit automatically is home with the Lord (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:8)!

For the above-stated reasons, when Apokalupsis is used in context with Jesus Christ’s Second Advent, Apokalupsis literally means an uncovering, unveiling, or revealing of the manifestation (Epiphaneia) of His presence (Parousia), which is His Glory and His Holiness—a shining forth that everyone on Earth will see. In a general sense, Apokalupsis also refers to the Lord’s Second Advent, when He comes back to Earth to physically fight in the Battle of Armageddon (the Apocalypse) and then afterward establish His millennial Kingdom (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:7; 2 Thessalonians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:7, 13 and 1 Peter 4:13).

That so many people, believers included, constantly confuse the Rapture Parousia with the Parousia, Epiphaneia, and Apokalupsis that are used in context with the Lord’s Second Advent only points to this obvious likelihood, which already has been mentioned, and that is: God evidently is using three words that have distinctly different denotations and connotations. He no doubt uses these three often misunderstood Greek words, specifically for the purpose of keeping the unbelieving world, the careless unprepared and unwatchful professed believers in Jesus Christ plus Satan and his demonic forces, ignorant about and unaware of the exact time when God’s ultimate plan of Salvation (His promised rescue of His righteous children; His “snatching away” of the resurrected dead and alive Bride of Christ) would be fulfilled. Thus, while at the Rapture Parousia the Lord will come down from Heaven, His feet will remain in the clouds in the air. It is while He is in the air that the loud shout or cry of command, the sound of the archangel’s voice, and the sound of God’s trumpet are made (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:16), BUT none of this “noise” is for the benefit of the unsaved world. In fact, though these loud sounds will be booming, so much so that they awake the dead in Christ and arouse the alive in Christ, these sounds will NOT be heard by the unbelieving, unsaved, wicked world, because these no doubt spiritual sounds will be inaudible to their natural ears!

Case in point, in the Parable of the Ten Virgins, ONLY the Ten Virgins heard the Bridegroom’s midnight cry. There is no mention of their parents nor other wedding party members hearing this cry. Moreover, even though all of the 10 Virgins could hear and are awakened by the Bridegroom’s midnight cry (cf. Matthew 25:6-7), the deeper and, thus, harder truth here is that ONLY 5 of these 10 Virgins actually took Oil (symbolic of the Holy Spirit) in their vessels (symbolic of their individual born-again spirits that are being sanctified)! It is evident that the clear understanding here is that the 5 foolish Virgins had NO supernatural OIL (the filling or Baptism of the Holy Spirit, who is the anointing or Oil of the Word—the Spirit of Divine Truth, Holiness, and Wisdom). This missing Oil points to the inability of the Holy Spirit to perform all of His mighty Workings inside these foolish yet born-again believers’ spirits/hearts (cf. Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 2:6-15).

Now since parable is a word that means to “lay one thing down by another,” it is important to note here that Jesus Christ impressively is sharpening His hearers’ fundamental understanding about life in God’s eternal Kingdom by presenting a useful illustration of a heavenly Truth that is operational in the Kingdom of Heaven, which He then compares to a very familiar and well-comprehended earthly principle, or earthly narrative, or earthly fact that is operational either in nature or in humanity. Basically, His parables are true to life figurative narratives that are designed to convey, through analogy, some specific spiritual truths relative to Kingdom of Heaven living.

In other words, in the 10 Virgins Parable, Jesus Christ is comparing the Kingdom of Heaven’s spiritual preparedness of the 5 wise Virgins with the worldly spiritual unpreparedness of the foolish 5 Virgins. The Kingdom truth is that ALL 10 Virgins are saved, because the term “virgin” signifies the defining characteristics of the 10 Virgins—they ALL are pure or holy, justified or righteous, and consecrated or devoted. In other words, the word “virgins,” according to the way Christ Jesus uses it in His parable, which is in an allegorical sense, does NOT mean bridesmaids. They are not the Bride’s helpers, or cousins, or other family members, or friends. They are believers—followers of Christ(Jews and Gentiles). However, even though all 10 Virgins are believers in Christ Jesus, ONLY 5 of these 10 Virgins are truly wise AND prepared Virgins! Now, why would the Lord make this distinction, if it wasn’t an important distinction to make?

The Divine Truth, thus, only can be that the 5 wise Virgins were wise because they not only understood that at the moment they were saved, they immediately were given the gift of the Holy Spirit who came to live inside of them, bringing with Him an initial Supply of Oil, but also these 5 Virgins were wise because they understood that they had to totally surrender to their Lord and to His Gospel message concerning the Holy Spirit’s Baptism (additional empowering and endowing; a subsequent gift—a Baptism in the Holy Spirit). There is no other explanation for why, after all of the 10 Virgins had heard the Bridegroom’s cry, had gotten up, and had trimmed their Lamps of profession (Faith), that ONLY 5 are the wise Virgins who took enough Oil to refill their reservoirs (individual born-again spirit).

This Oil in these Virgins’ reservoirs, thus, implies they not only were indwelt by the Holy Spirit but also filled with Him. That is to say, the initial gift of the Holy Spirit, who lives inside them, came with some Oil. This Divine Truth is very clear, because in the Lord’s parable it is obvious that all 10 Virgins ran out of their Oil about the same time—around midnight. Therefore, the Oil the 5 wise virgins had in additional flasks they kept with them points to a supernatural refilling of the Holy Spirit, who, after His first filling, refills, and refills, and refills, and refills, etc., His Oil in those believers who not only have poured out (or used up) their initial portion of the Holy Spirit’s outpouring but also who will seek Him for His subsequent Oil (power) refillings.

The Lord, thus, is making a very crucial point with the extra oil symbolism. This point is that the 5 wise Virgins’ extra Oil was not to be found within their individual inner spirit beings. Their extra Oil of Light was provided, as needed, by an external Source—by a supernatural Source that was outside their spirit and beyond the ability of the 5 Wise Virgins to produce, which is why this extra Oil was separate from the Oil they had within the lamp of their own spirits. In other words, the Holy Spirit’s supernatural filling is why, at the moment the 5 wise Virgins heard the Bridegroom’s midnight cry, they had enough Oil to pour into their lamps’ reservoir from which they then were able to draw that Oil up through their inserted Wicks (symbolic of that supernatural Connectivity that causes the inward Light of Christ to brightly shine outwardly). Together, the Source (Holy Spirit) and the Connectivity (the Lord, who is the Wick that draws the Oil) ensured that the 5 wise Virgins’ lamps of professed Faith would be able to burn a clean and bright flame not only so that these 5 wise Virgins could be lights in a dying sin-sick world, but also so that they would have enough of their Lord’s Light shining on the pathway that leads to that open Door (the Bridegroom; Christ Jesus; the Way).

Perhaps the following example better explains what Christ Jesus is saying: On the ships of old, it was the lamp trimmers’ responsibility to repeatedly trim the lamps’ wicks (extinguish the lamps’ flames, cut off the wicks’ used burnt parts so as to leave the clean unused wicks that, after the lamp trimmers had refilled their lamps’ reservoirs, they then could relight). The end results always were steady, clean, and bright flames.

Where Jesus Christ’s Parable of the Ten Virgins is concerned, the spiritual implication He is making about each Virgin’s lamp ALSO is that each lamp symbolizes the triune nature of each believer in Christ Jesus. That is to say, just like each one of the 10 Virgins has a physical body, soul, and a spirit, every one of their lamps also has three parts: 1. an open bowl (symbolic of the lamp’s body), which had a pinched end that formed another smaller opening or groove through which a cotton or flax wick could be inserted; 2. the bowl’s inner reservoir (or the lamp’s inner spirit), down into which olive oil (symbolic of the Holy Spirit) was poured and over which a lid often is placed; and 3. an inserted wick (symbolic of the lamp’s soul).

Furthermore, the spiritual implication here is that the 10 Virgins clearly represent 10 believers in Christ Jesus to whom Father God has given His Lamp Trimmer who is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the One Who is responsible for making sure that their wicks (souls) repeatedly have been trimmed (Whose Mighty Workings include, but are not limited to, making sure that the used burnt portion of their souls, which no doubt had been affected by the cares of this natural world, have been cut off, and making sure that their low or emptied reservoirs have been refilled) so that these believers could have their lamps of faith relit by the Word of God (cf. Psalm 119:105; Matthew 5:14-16; John 8:12).

Once again, Jesus Christ’s parable is about Who the ultimate Source of the Oil is that is within believers’ born-again spirits/hearts and Where that Source originates, which is from Heaven. As previously stated, the extra supernatural Oil the 5 wise Virgins had with them didn’t come from any human source. This Oil neither was already stored up within the hearts/spirits of the 5 wise Virgins, nor were the flasks they had to have been carrying attached to their actual lamps.

For sure, the parable’s significant spiritual message of the Oil that emptied out of the 10 Virgins’ hearts or spirits versus the extra Oil that was in the 5 Virgins’ flasks, which would be poured into the 5 wise Virgins’ lamps, is that Father God is both the ONLY Source and ONLY Supplier of believers’ light, for in Him there is no darkness at all (cf. 1 John 1:5; see also James 1:17). Certainly, in this sin-darkened world, Father God is the ONLY Source and the ONLY Supplier of heavenly or godly spiritual Light, and His Light primarily manifests itself through His Word, as well as through His Holy Spirit Who uses God’s Word to reveal the spiritual knowledge of and spiritual understanding about Father God that help believers see the Way Father God has prepared for them.

This Divine Truth is why Jesus Christ, with His spiritual reference to an olive oil lamp and its wick, is teaching a valuable heavenly or spiritual truth; that being, because “darkness” exists, His followers must constantly remain prepared so that they ALWAYS not only will be able to know in which direction they are going but also will be able to SEE the Way that is ahead of them. No doubt, this Divine Truth is why the Lord depicts in the Parable of the Ten Virgins that it ONLY is after the 10 Virgins’ burnt wick parts are cut off (trimmed), that a noticeable difference between the Virgins could be understood.

What becomes evident is that ONLY the 5 wise Virgins were prepared or had enough Oil (a supernatural refilling of Father God’s Holy Spirit) that would fill up their reservoirs (born-again spirits), and it is this Oil (God’s Power Source) that would enable their wicks to be relit in time for them (the 5 wise Virgins) to respond to the herald’s shout: The bridegroom is coming. Now clearly, in the apostle Paul’s Rapture verse, he is filling in the blanks by providing information that is missing from the Lord’s Parable of the Ten Virgins, in which He only mentions a “midnight cry.” From the apostle Paul’s imagery, the picture becomes clearer, as believers can begin to understand that the herald’s shout would have been followed by the voice of an angel, which would have been followed by the trumpet of God, all of which would be calling the 5 wise Virgins (Bride of Christ) out of this world; cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:16). It then is, after the Lord and His Bride gather together for an in-the-air meeting, when the Lord makes His U-Turn and begins to ascend into Heaven with His Bride. Then the Door to Heaven closes (cf. Matthew 25:10-11). This spiritual understanding is why, the parable’s shut door symbolizes that the opportunity to miss the time of testing (the Tribulation Period; the worst ever DARKNESS), which God repeatedly says in His Word is coming upon this Earth, has passed.

Yes, this blogger is saying that even Christ Jesus is depicting the Bridegroom as coming to get His five wise Virgins AND immediately returning back to His heavenly Home for the wedding celebration, as per custom (cf. Matthew 25:10). People who know the order in which each part of an ancient Jewish Wedding transpires would know that unlike how most English translations word Matthew 25:10, the WYC, GNV, KJV, AV, DRA, NLV, NKJV, JUB, and CEB English versions’ wording is more on point. In these English versions, the 5 wise Virgins entered in with the Bridegroom to the wedding or the marriage, which means here that because being betrothed meant they already were married without the benefits of intercourse, then these 5 wise Virgins were entering their bridal chamber with their Bridegroom to consummation their marriage. Contrary to popular opinions, the 5 wise Virgins were NOT entering with the Bridegroom to their wedding feast! That’s right! The Jewish wedding or marriage is different from the wedding feast.

Now, with most modern day earthly weddings, in which the engaged couples waited until the completion of their marriage ceremony before having sex, the marriage consummation usually takes place AFTER the wedding celebration or reception. After the wedding ceremony, where vows are exchanged, the married couple usually would take photos and then go to eat and drink with their guests. After their wedding reception, the married couple typically would then go into their honeymoon suite, where they would consummate their marriage.

In contrast, according to ancient Jewish Wedding customs, the wedding celebration or reception (the Wedding Feast; Marriage Supper) does not precede the consummation of the wedding or the marriage. In other words, according to Jewish Wedding customs, after the bridegroom returns from where he built the living quarters (bridal chamber), which he built in his father’s house, the bridegroom would “steal away” his bride and take her to the bridal chamber in his father’s house. There, behind closed doors, for seven days they would consummate their marriage. After being hidden behind closed doors for seven days, the bride and the bridegroom would come out and then join their family and friends at the wedding feast, which in the Jewish Wedding customs represents The Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

Because of the well-known Jewish wedding customs, there is no doubt that Jesus Christ uses the Parable of the Ten Virgins to teach in part about His Bride being abducted and taken to Her Wedding Chamber and about the Wedding Supper of the Lamb, because there can be no doubt that He knew His figurative narratives (parables) all had multiple layers—numerous meanings—which ONLY the very wise would realize. Thus, since the Lord’s parable of the 10 Virgins is a figurative narrative that most people will take literally, one of the spiritual implications of this parable is clearly that only the Holy Spirit-filled Virgins will be the spiritually wise believers who will realize the deeper spiritual allegory and symbolism in this parable, as these figurative languages relate to the Bridegroom (Christ Jesus) who comes to get His Bride (the Lord’s ekklesia; His “called-out group”), who has been “called out” of the world for a meeting with the Bridegroom. Moreover, only the Holy Spirit-filled Virgins will understand that it is after the Lord’s ekklesia gathers together in the air with Him that He then immediately escorts His Bride (ekklesia) back to His Father’s House to be secluded in safety far away from the promised seven-year Tribulation on earth.

Furthermore, the Parable of the Ten Virgins’ allegorical Door that shuts is Jesus Christ, who is the Way to Heaven. In fact, Jesus Christ is the ONLY One who is called both the Way and the Door. The Door that shuts, additionally, is the door to the “marriage”—the Door to the Bridal Chamber where the Bridegroom and His Bride’s marriage finally is consummated. That Door, once shut, actually will open for no one, until seven days are up, at which time the Bridegroom comes out to let His Best Man know that the marriage is official. The Door that opens in the Lord’s parable is figurative language, which also describes a kind of judgment that the Lord has issued, which basically is that He did not know the 5 foolish Virgins; thus, the image of the 5 foolish Virgins not being able to enter into the Bridal Chamber is nothing more than the continuation of the 5 wise and 5 foolish Virgins spiritual comparison the Lord has been making!

It is so sad that many believers in Christ maintain that this parable cannot be about any Pre-Tribulation Rapture, because there are judgment and punishment in it. In other words, to these believers, judgment and punishment would mean these 10 Virgins represent the “Church” going through the Tribulation Period. However, those who maintain this nonsense have forgotten, or never knew, that none of the believers, whether wise of foolish, will be judged for their sins, neither at the time the true Bride is raptured, nor during the Tribulation Period, and not at the end of the Tribulation Period. In other words, the 5 foolish Virgins who are left behind are not left behind because of their sins. They are left behind because of their unpreparedness (just like the Israelites had to stay in the wilderness for 40 years, and why many of them had to die in their wilderness; again, it primarily was because they were NOT prepared to enter into the Promised Land). Additionally, the 5 foolish Virgins are left behind, because they were slothful servants who did NOT use EVERYTHING God has provided for their Salvation and spiritual growth. In essence, they buried their talent, which is symbolic of the spiritual riches God has made available to them (cf. Matthew 25:24-25, 29-30).

There also are those individuals who maintain that the 5 foolish Virgins actually bought Oil, and therefore, should have been allowed to enter the wedding chamber, but the Word of God does not say that. How could they buy this Oil, when this Oil (Baptism in the Holy Spirit) is an additional spiritual gift from God freely given to each individual believer who seeks this exceptional baptism? As also discussed in this article, this Oil ultimately comes from Father God who is the ONLY Source and ONLY Supplier, and He freely gives the refillings by way of His Holy Spirit.

In other words, this Oil of the Holy Spirit neither could be sold nor transferred. That is why the 5 wise Virgins COULDN’T give the 5 foolish Virgins any of their reserved Oil, because if they could that would mean the 5 wise Virgins, at any time, also could siphon off a portion of the Holy Spirit inside of them and gift that portion to someone else.

Surely the Word of God clearly says that: “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow” (James 1:17, NASB). Therefore, this Divine Truth is why it virtually was impossible for the 5 wise Virgins to give even the smallest portion of their God-given spiritual gift (Oil of the Holy Spirit) to the 5 foolish Virgins who, from the beginning of their Salvation, didn’t see the necessity of having by way of seeking their own EXTRA portion of Oil, which comes from the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.

The bottom line then is this: The 5 wise Virgins are wise, because they understood that ONLY the Holy Spirit is sold out for Christ Jesus believers’ true and faithful outside Supply and eternal outside Source of the Oil of anointing for Salvation AND empowerment. The Hanukkah story best demonstrates this same Divine Truth, which again is that the abundant external Supply of Light is within the eternal and almighty Father God. Thus, in the 10 Virgins’ case, it is God alone who is the One who fills the lamps of born-again believers’ inner human spirits via His Holy Spirit, and His provision is without end!!!! However, all believers will need to seek and ask Him for their refills.

Not only through Paul but also through Peter, whose Day of Pentecost sermon begins with a reference to a prophesied promise of God (the outpouring of the Holy Spirit or the Baptism in the Holy Spirit), God promises to give His children EVERYTHING that comes with Salvation. This EVERYTHING includes the Holy Spirit’s subsequent Baptism. Peter also makes it clear that this promised Baptism is available to ALL of God’s Virgins (the pure or holy, justified or righteous, and consecrated or devoted believers in Christ Jesus; cf. Acts 2:14-18, 39).

The apostle Peter’s declaration that the Holy Spirit’s subsequent Baptism IS available to all believers (Jews and Gentiles; male and female, and so forth) is why, in His Parable of the Ten Virgins, the Lord, who earlier makes it known to Peter that He would use Peter to build His spiritual ekklesia (cf. Matthew 16:18), makes it clear that all of these Virgins, as a group of “called-out believers,” had been awakened so that they could go out for a meeting with their Bridegroom. Again, the spiritual implication here is that the Bridegroom’s Father already had provided His Holy Spirit (Oil of Salvation) AND the Baptism in the Holy Spirit (a never-ending Supply of His Oil or spiritual empowerment) to all of these Virgins way ahead of time, and by doing so had ensured all Virgins that His Oil of Salvation (Eternal Light) and His Oil of Empowerment (dunamis . . . supernatural, miraculous power) were available to the Lord’s entire Body of Believers.

However, as illustrated in the parable, it is only the 5 wise Virgins who actually are the Lord’s truly empowered Bride. This Divine Truth is evident, because when the midnight hour starts (that time right before the prophesied time of global deep darkness falls) it is ONLY the 5 wise Virgins who demonstrate that they are the Lord’s truly empowered Bride. They are the only ones who are able to answer the “call,” which actually is a summons to come out of this world for a meeting with their Bridegroom or Lord, who, according to what Paul writes, is in the air and waiting for them in the clouds.

The above truth is why, according to Jesus Christ’s teaching in the Parable of the Ten Virgins, which is about being spiritually alert AND spiritually prepared for the Lord’s “come up hither” call, it should be clear to true believers in Christ that they must be just like the 5 wise Virgins in the Lord’s parable. His ekklesia must take the time to prepare for His “coming” way ahead of time, because the Lord’s imagery in His 10 Virgins parable absolutely paints this vivid picture: It is ONLY the 5 wise Virgins who make the necessary spiritual preparation ahead of an anticipated time of profound darkness—ahead of the promised time of trial and testing (The Tribulation Period). As a result, they get the chance to go into the Bridal Chamber, the Door shuts, and, according to many other Scriptures, the Bride rests safe and secure during the seven-year Tribulation Period.

Once again, knowing that their own lamp would fail them somewhere down the line, these 5 wise Virgins made it their priority to obtain a supernatural Supply of Oil that is outside of themselves. In essence, their extra flasks of Oil were, to them, their necessary ‘midnight-cry oil.’

The hard to swallow truth here is that ONLY those wise truly born again, saved, righteous believers in Christ Jesus who, with the aid of the Holy Spirit’s refilling, are walking with God by Faith and not by sight. As a result, they will hear AND be prepared for the “call” (summons; command) to come out of this world. Put differently, the 5 wise and prepared Virgins definitely symbolize the alive professed last-days Christians (ekklesia) who, according to apostle Paul, will be caught up to be with Christ Jesus in the clouds, after the resurrected dead in Christ Jesus believers ascend and receive their glorified bodies into which is put their born-again spirits that have been with Christ Jesus since their physical deaths. Yes, this truth is hard to swallow; nevertheless, it is still true—ONLY the resurrected dead in Christ and the raptured alive in Christ will see their promised Bridegroom (will be in His physical “presence”) before the Tribulation Period begins. They will be the ones in glorified bodies who, while in the air, are gathered around their Bridegroom—they will be the saints the apostle Paul says will be honored in Heaven as a glorious Bride (ekklesia) that has NO blemishes or spots (cf. Ephesians 5:27-32).

Now, concerning the establishment of a sound Rapture doctrine first in the Old Testament, and then in the New Testament, there is no doubt that the prophet Micah is prophesying that there will be a Rapture of an ekklesia (the firstfruits’ Rapture of the holy and righteous Bride of Christ), because only that kind of huge event would be the most logical reason for why the Judah that Micah is prophesying about (evidently the left-behind Jews) will be bemoaning, exclaiming “Woe is me.” There can be no doubt their lamenting is because of a major event that has taken place, which has startled these Jews. It must be a most important occasion, because whatever this incident is it obviously has awakened the spiritually asleep Jews and finally has stirred their jealousy of believing Gentiles to the point that this Judah Micah speaks of, which is around during the Tribulation Period, is desiring Jesus Christ (these left-behind Jews are ready to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior)!

The prophet Micah writes:

Woe is me! For I am
Like the fruit pickers, like the grape gatherers.
There is not a cluster of grapes to eat,
Or a first-ripe fig which I crave.
The godly person has perished from the land,
And there is no upright person among men.
All of them lie in wait for bloodshed;
Each of them hunts the other with a net. ~ Micah 7:1-2, NASB

Micah obviously is describing the prophesied Firstfruits’ harvest of last-days souls, when the born again, saved, justified, and sanctified Bride of Christ “vanishes,” which is a better translation of the word “perished,” off of this Earth. Thus, in verse 2, Micah is not saying that “good” people have “died.” The English word translated in this verse as “perished” is from the Hebrew word ‘abad, which in English also is translated as “vanished.” For sure, Micah is prophesying that in the last days godly people will “disappear” off of the Earth (will be raptured), just like what happened to Enoch and Elijah, who were translated (raptured).

Then too, it would seem that a major prophet, the prophet Isaiah, who lived at the same time as Micah, also prophesies about this future last-days Rapture. Isaiah writes:

These verses often are used to explain why babies, young children, and righteous adults have died at a relatively early age. While this understanding might be applicable, based on the context (Isaiah 56 and 57 are one complete message), it is clear that the prophet Isaiah has had a vision of the future last days and end times, when God’s Salvation and Righteousness in the form of Christ Jesus is about to be revealed. Put differently, the prophet Isaiah has had a vision of the times prior to and during the Tribulation Period, when there would be a snatching away of the truly saved by Grace righteous and faithful people.

Thus, Isaiah obviously is speaking about the resurrection of the dead (the righteous in Christ Jesus who perish), the Rapture or removal of the Bride of Christ (the faithfully prepared righteous who are taken away; who disappeared), and the hidden away Bride who peacefully is resting on Her beds in Heaven’s bridal chambers, which is every upright (made righteous by Jesus Christ) believer’s blessed hope—EVERYTHING that eternal Salvation provides. Indeed, eternal Salvation also includes the Lord keeping His promise to rescue His Bride from the time of testing that is to come upon this Earth (cf. Luke 21:36; Revelation 3:10).

According to Isaiah’s prophesies, the faithfully righteous believers in Jesus Christ will be removed/taken off of the Earth. Only the corrupt officials and the corrupt global nations will be what is left behind. Put differently, Isaiah is prophesying that the individuals who are left behind after the Rapture of the Bride of Christ will be mostly Israel’s (the nation of Israel as a whole) wicked religious and political leaders—shepherds and watchmen—and the wicked nations of the world, who attack Israel’s defenseless flock like dogs (cf. Isaiah 56:9-12)!

The rest of the left behinders are chiefly those “…sons of a sorceress, offspring of and offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute” who have been conned not only by Israel and many other nations’ corrupt officials/leaders but also these left behinders have been hoodwinked by the ever-present global Babylonian systems, which largely are religious, political, and economic in nature (cf. Isaiah 57:3-8), and as such these left behinders not only will NOT notice (will not take it to heart; will not think seriously about) the disappearance of the most faithful of righteous people (those who died in Christ and eventually will be resurrected) nor the raptured (the alive in Christ believers who just disappeared). In other words, the masses of these left behinders will not notice that the genuine believers who have been “called out” of this world have been gone for some time!

In Isaiah 57:1, the word that is rendered in English as ‘swept away,’ or in other translations as ‘taken away,’ is the Hebrew word ‘acaph, which mostly means the faithfully righteous were gathered together or were removed from the evil (calamities, wars, pestilences, earthquakes, and etc.) that will be happening on this Earth during the Tribulation Period. In context, the prophet Isaiah no doubt is alluding to said “evil” as being those same calamities, wars, pestilences, earthquakes, and etc., which Jesus Christ predicts in His Olivet Discourse would come to pass during the Tribulation Period, and specifically more intensely during Daniel’s 70^th Week, as judgment of and punishment for the “evil” behaviors of the unbelieving masses, as well as for those who have rejected Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. For these reasons, it should be obvious that Isaiah 57:2 also is a picture-perfect description of the promised FirstFruits harvest of last-days souls, of which Jesus Christ was the first—the FIRSTfruit of the faithfully righteous sinless people to be resurrected from the dead and then taken up to Heaven. Therefore, Isaiah 57:1-2 verses really have more to do with the Pre-Tribulation Rapture than anything else!

This last statement is true, because the prophet Isaiah earlier prophesies in Isaiah 26:20 that at some future time the Lord’s Bride will be hidden in the rooms He has prepared for Her (see Jesus Christ’s promise to His disciples; John 14:2-3). These chambers or rooms are the appropriate nuptial hiding places, where the Bride of Christ will dress Herself in Her white linen robe and will wait there to be presented without spot or blemish to Her Groom. These Pre-Tribulation Rapture and Hiding in Bridal Chambers images are definitely what Isaiah is revealing, because he also prophesies in Isaiah 26:21 that there also is a future time that will be the time of God’s Wrath. Therefore, it should be clear that the Rapture and Hiding in Bridal Chambers will be before the time of God’s final judgments and punishments (before the Tribulation Period begins; before God pours out His final Wrath).

During this coming Tribulation Period, especially Daniel’s 70^th Week, the prophet Isaiah makes it clear that the Lord’s Bride will enjoy peace, while She is resting on Her “beds” in the “rooms” He has prepared for Her. For sure, this time of resting is the promise the Lord makes to the Philadelphian ekklesia. He promises to keep these believers from the hour of testing (the Tribulation Period), and Isaiah lets believers everywhere know that the Lord will keep His promise.

Even King David seems to be prophesying about the last days’ righteous ekklesia being raptured (prophesying about the disappearance or vanishing of the righteous and faithful Bride of Christ). The central theme of Psalm 12 is that God Himself promises to rescue (to make safe) His godly people—to protect them, by keeping them away from the world’s most treacherous (evil, dangerous, and unrighteous) people. If Father God does that for His chosen Jewish people, then Father God also will do that for the Lord’s Bride, because Father God is immutable! David writes:

Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases to be,
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.

…

‘Now I will arise,’ says the Lord; ‘I will set him in the safety for which he longs.’ ~ Psalm 12:1, 5b; NASB

King David also writes: “…I have not seen the righteous forsaken/Or his descendants begging bread” ~ Psalm 37:25, NASB. Clearly, the Word of God makes it obvious that during the Tribulation Period there will be numerous people who will be literally begging for bread!

The final bottom line here is that in the Old Testament there is plenty of evidence that supports a Pre-Tribulation Rapture of Christ Jesus’ Bride, and in the Old Testament there also is plenty of evidence that supports an ekklesia that is not in any way like a “church.” Again, no matter how anyone tries to spin it, the word “church” only defines a “place,” mainly a physical building, and NEVER a people; whereas, the chief way ekklesia is used in the Scriptures is as a congregation, convocation, or an assembly of PEOPLE—the ones who have been “called out” and/or set apart. Now, even though a group of people might go to a “church” building to worship, God never “calls out” any “church” building! In other words, NO “church” building is ever “called out” of darkness into God’s marvelous Light. Some of the people in each “church” building, however, could qualify as God’s “called-out group.”

In summary, if in these last days the alive believers in Christ Jesus are going to be alert AND prepared for God’s promised last-trumpet summons, which will “call” them to come up hither (rapture them), then it is vital that every one of today’s believers in Christ Jesus takes part in the process of recapturing the first-century followers of Christ’s cultural commission of going into the world, as they knew it, to both evangelize their world and disciple all its NATIONS. For the Word of God is crystal clear about this display of a global influence being exactly what God intends for every one of His Household of Faith children to achieve.

Furthermore, let there be no doubt about it. The only way that God intends for His sons and daughters to globally influence today’s world is by “churchgoers” as a whole understanding that they must accept God’s original meaning of ekklesia, which from its inception primarily means a “called-out group”—His sons and daughters who not only are supposed to engage this world but also are supposed to govern it while they are still on this Earth. This truth is why when the Lord returns back to this Earth with His host of saints, at the end of the Great Tribulation, the Scriptures make it very clear that these raptured and now returning back to Earth with Christ saints are the ONLY saints who will rule (govern this Earth once again), but this time right along with their Lord and King!

A word to the wise Virgins should be sufficient! Shalom . . . .

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

01 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Bible Study

≈ 1 Comment

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144000 Sealed Jewish Evangelists, appointed, Body of Christ, Bride of Christ, choice, commissioned, Day of the Lord, ekklesia, eklegomai, eklektos, elect, God's wrath, Great Tribulation, interpretive mistake, Jacob's trouble, Judgment Day, Olivet Discourse, The CHURCH, The Rapture, Tribulation's survivors

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

God Is Reawakening Believers’ Interest in the Lord’s Ekklesia

23 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Faith and Wisdom

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

chirche, CHURCH, cirice, Community of believers, ecclesia, ekklesia, heavenizing, kuriakon, kuriakos, Leaven, Light, Middle English, Old English, reawakening, salt

Called-Out Ones/Community of Believers

‘I also tell you this: you are Kefa,’ [which means ‘Rock,’] ‘and on this rock I will build my Community, and the gates of Sh’ol will not overcome it.I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.’ ~ Matthew 16:18-19, CJB

And he told them yet another parable. ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with a bushel of flour, then waited until the whole batch of dough rose.’ ~ Matthew 13:33, CJB

It seems that almost every month there are well-known spiritual leaders in various mega churches who are praying either for a real move of the Holy Spirit (a real move of God) or for some kind of revival. It seems odd to this blogger that these spiritual leaders just keep praying for something God already is doing on this Earth with the Lord’s Body of believers.

For sure, God definitely is moving in His children via His Holy Spirit, and God absolutely is coordinating a revival to beat all revivals. The move of the Holy Spirit (or move of God) and the revival that God is doing on this Earth involve Father God reawakening His children to the first-century believers’ deep-rooted understanding of and genuine desire to be obedient to the Lord’s intent for His Ekklesia. Put differently, God clearly is restoring His sons and daughters’ interest in and/or their attitude about the Lord’s Ekklesia.

Now, contrary to today’s popular opinions about “The Church,” there truly are distinct differences between the conventional sense of “The Church,” which indisputably is a man-made organization, and the original intent of the Lord’s Ekklesia. These differences between today’s institutional “church” and the Lord’s perception of His Ekklesia are evident from the moment that Christ Jesus says to Peter:

…‘you are Kefa,’ [which means ‘Rock,’] ‘and on this rock I will build my Community, and the gates of Sh’ol will not overcome it.I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.’ ~ Matthew 16:18-19, CJB

In the above Complete Jewish Bible’s version of the quoted verses, the English word Community is the equivalent translation for the Greek word Ekklesia. Thus, it should be noted here that, throughout the New Testament Scriptures, it is obvious that the Lord intended for His Ekklesia to be a Community of believers—to be a Tabernacle of God, which means a Temple not made by human hands. Without doubt, this Temple not made by human hands is exactly what the Lord intended for His Ekklesia, because He says:

…‘I will destroy this Temple made with hands; and in three days I will build another one, not made with hands.’ ~ Mark 14:58, CJB

For sure, even though it was the Lord’s enemies who conspired to have Him crucified, none of His enemies could have crucified Him if Christ Jesus Himself did not allow it to happen—if the Lord had not surrendered His Will to the Perfect Will of Father God. So then, in the above-cited verse, Christ Jesus is saying that, even though His enemies’ hands would be responsible for destroying His Temple or Body (His sacred edifice or sanctuary), which He has to allow to happen, His Father’s spiritual hands would be responsible for resurrecting His Temple or Body (His sacred edifice or sanctuary). Put differently, He is saying that by His resurrection He would become the new Temple of God, which was not made by human hands. In other words, Christ Jesus is, and always was, the true Tabernacle of God!

Furthermore, because of the Lord’s atoning sacrifice, His burial, and His resurrection, all believers in Him receive new life, salvation, sanctification, and glorification. More important, all believers in Christ Jesus also have become the Tabernacle of God, because for the first time since the beginning of mankind God now tabernacles inside of His children (inhabits their physical bodies), in the person of the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul confirms this Divine Truth, for he writes:

Or don’t you know that your body is a temple for the Ruach HaKodesh who lives inside you, whom you received from God? The fact is, you don’t belong to yourselves; ~ 1 Corinthians 6:19, CJB

Now concerning the differences between the institutional “church” of today and the Lord’s original intent for His Ekklesia, the truth is that, first off, the early assembly of believers didn’t have any clergy who were distinct from the rest of the Body of believers. Clergy with titles and authority was foreign to the early believers in Christ Jesus, because no one was having a power trip.

Secondly, just as foreign to the early assembly of believers is the idea of worshipping and fellowshipping in a sacred building—in a House of God. Perhaps this foreign idea is why the New Testament Scriptures NEVER describe any sacred buildings in which born again, saved, and being sanctified Christians are worshipping and fellowshipping. In fact, it wasn’t until after Emperor Constantine ordered the construction of the great sacred worship building, the old Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome, the construction of which started around 324 A.D., that other physical structures in which believers would worship God and/or fellowship with one another began to be built.

The bottom line is that no one can find in the Greek New Testament Scriptures any descriptions of any “churches” with steeples, stained glass windows, sanctuaries, pews, foyers, baptisteries, choir rooms, class rooms, bathrooms, offices, banks, spas, gymnasiums, or reception halls. Why is that? Well, the Divine Truth is that nowhere in the New Testament Scriptures is there any reference to a “church”—neither a building nor an institutional “church” organization!

Furthermore, the late Greek word “kyriDakon,” which is transliterated as “kuriakon” (literally meaning “the lord or master of a property”), cannot be found anywhere in the Greek New Testament, and yet many word scholars claim that the term “church” comes from “kuriakon”! The Greek word that is found in earlier New Testament manuscripts is “kuriakos” (the possessive form of the root word kurios). Thus, it is from “kuriakos” and not “kuriakon” that the Old English language gets the word “cirice,” and it is from the Old English word “cirice” that the Middle English language gets the word “chirche.”

Then too, the modern English word “church” descends from the Middle English word “chirche,” which is from the Old English word “cirice.” As already mentioned, word scholars claim that the modern English word “church,” which is used in the King James Version of the Holy Bible, descends from the late Greek word “kyriDakon” or “kuriakon,” because supposedly this Greek word is a derivative of “kuriakos”—a Greek word that originally was used to describe “things belonging to the Roman Emperor.”

Now, if “kyriDakon” or “kuriakon” is NOT in the Greek New Testament, then how could “kuriakon” be used for the Greek word ekklesia, especially since the King James Version of the Holy Bible does not translate the Greek word “kuriakos” as “church”? “Kuriakos” loosely means “belonging to the Lord,” and in the only 2 places in the Greek New Testament Scriptures where “kuriakos” is used this Greek word is translated as “Lord’s”: 1. in1 Corinthians 11:20, as in the Lord’s supper; and 2. in Revelation 1:10, as in the Lord’s Day.

The hard truth is that of the 112 times that the New Testament Greek word ekklesia is translated in the English versions of the Holy Bible as “church,” ekklesia never suggests the idea of a “church” building or an institutional “church” organization. While the late Greek word “kuriakon,” from which “church” supposedly is derived, pertains to a physical building or physical property, the Greek word ekklesia never is used to describe a physical building in which believers worship and fellowship.

The true sense of the Lord’s Ekklesia either describes the “called-out” ones of Christ Jesus, or the Community of believers, or the special assembly of God. Once again, ekklesia never is used anywhere in the Greek New Testament to describe today’s “church” buildings, and ekklesia never is used to describe an established religious system! Bottom line is that the Greek words “kuriakon” and ekklesia are not synonymous; these Greek words do not mean the same thing, so it is reprehensible to replace ekklesia with the word “church”!

Furthermore, based on how the Greeks used ekklesia and how the Romans used ecclesia, it appears that the Greeks and the Romans had similar meanings for their words. By ekklesia, the Greeks meant a ruling body, which governed a city, territory, or nation. By ecclesia, the Romans meant that the called out Roman citizens would go into a conquered territory and teach the defeated people the language and culture of Rome, until everyone in said territory walked, talked, and behaved like the Romans.

Based on the Greek and Roman meanings for ekklesia/ecclesia, there can be no doubt that the way Christ Jesus uses the word Ekklesia, when He declares to Peter that the Lord would be the foundation upon which Christ Himself would build His Community of believers, is to express His original intent for His Ekklesia. That original intent for His Ekklesia is that the Lord expects every Ekklesia to be a Community of believers—disciples who not only are concerned about the world, from a Christ-like perspective, but also are representing the Kingdom of God on this Earth in such a way that they are causing the entire world to conform to the culture of the Lord’s Ekklesia. In other words, Christ Jesus’ original intent for His Ekklesia is that each Community of called-out believers would be changing the world until everyone in the world begins to walk, talk, and act like true believers in Christ are supposed to walk, talk, and act.

Additionally, the Lord’s original intent for His Ekklesia is that each Community of called-out believers would be like Kingdom of Heaven’s Leaven, as well as like Kingdom of Heaven Salt and Light. The Lord says:

…‘The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with a bushel of flour, then waited until the whole batch of dough rose.’ ~ Matthew 13:33, CJB

AND

You are salt for the Land. But if salt becomes tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except being thrown out for people to trample on. You are light for the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Likewise, when people light a lamp, they don’t cover it with a bowl but put it on a lampstand, so that it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they may see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven. ~ Matthew 5:13-16, CJB

What the Lord is declaring in the above verses is that everyone in each one of His Ekklesia is responsible for heavenizing this entire Earth. In other words, every one of God’s Household of faith children is expected to be in a participatory Christian Community that has intimate, open, unscripted, and spontaneous gatherings, as opposed to His children being in an aloof, closed, predetermined, and planned gatherings that take place in the spectatorial-like Christian “churches.”

What’s more, everyone in each one of the Lord’s Ekklesia would have all things in common (would demonstrate a spiritual oneness in their witness, worship, and fellowship or koinonia). Therefore, each believer not only would be winning lost souls for Christ in every city, state, and nation, but also each believer would be discipling saved souls so that the entire Body of Christ, believers in every Ekklesia across this globe, would be witnessing to, influencing, edifying, and encouraging people in every nation. For sure, heavenizing the entire Earth—being the Kingdom of Heaven’s Leaven, Salt, and Light—actually would accomplish the witnessing, the winning of souls, and the discipling responsibilities.

The bottom line is this: The differences between an institutional “church” and the Lord’s Ekklesia are more than a mere word change. Certainly, unlike a “church’s” congregation, which gathers together either for the purpose of worshipping and fellowshipping in a sacred building designated as the Lord’s House, or for the purpose of finding peace from the environments the “church’s” congregants live in, the Lord’s Ekklesia NEVER gathers in a sacred building designed for worship and fellowship; more important, the Lord’s Ekklesia ALWAYS directly challenges its environments’ existing cultural, social, economic, religious, and governmental/political issues.

Then too, while a “church’s” congregation requires everyone to be committed to and involved in either that “church’s” Saturday or Sunday programmed activities and/or ministries, the Lord’s Ekklesia expects every believer in its Community of witnessing, worshipping, and fellowshipping believers to represent the Kingdom of Heaven in all walks of life. Additionally, a “church’s” congregation only trains its congregants for “church” life, which pretty much amounts to teaching them how to look and speak “churchy” and how to behave during “church” services, but the Lord’s Ekklesia disciples every participatory believer in its Community for a global ministry, which would include spiritual warfare, evangelistic responsibilities, and outreaching deeds. Furthermore, while a “church’s” congregation affects a change in one individual congregant at a time, the Lord’s Ekklesia affects a change in the entire Community all at once!

Finally, based on the Lord’s original intent for His Ekklesia, it is ONLY the Lord’s Ekklesia that has a vision for everyone in every one of His Communities of believers. Then too, it is ONLY the Lord’s Ekklesia that develops a worldview, which from a Christ-like perspective means each Ekklesia would be prepared to influence and change every kind of environment. It also is ONLY the Lord’s Ekklesia that fulfills the Lord’s Great Commission of discipling whole nations, while focusing on serving others and stewarding the entire Earth. Lastly, it is ONLY the Lord’s Ekklesia that is truly One with Christ Jesus, One with the Holy Spirit, and One with Father God. More important, it is this ONEness that prevents obstacles like denominational and doctrinal differences and wrong interpretations of God’s Word from keeping one of the Lord’s Ekklesia from connecting with every other Ekklesia!

All of these stated differences between the Lord’s Ekklesia and the institutional “church” are why God is restoring His sons and daughters’ interest in and/or their attitude about the Lord’s Ekklesia. This restoration is the present ongoing move of the Holy Spirit (or move of God). There can be no doubt that Father God wants to revive the Lord’s intent for His ekklesia, which got lost centuries ago.

God always has wanted the Lord’s disciples (His past, present, and future believers) to heavenize this entire Earth with their heavenly Leaven—to cause the whole world to walk, talk, and behave like genuine Christians are supposed to be walking, talking, and behaving. Thus, there can be no denying that centuries of people who have called themselves Christians have failed to achieve this goal.

Then too, God always has wanted the Lord’s disciples (His past, present, and future believers) to heavenize this entire Earth with their heavenly Salt and Light—to witness to the whole world by demonstrating Christ-like characteristics, thinking, and living. Thus, there can be no denying that centuries of people who have called themselves Christians have failed to achieve this goal.

The Divine Truth is that the ONLY way this desired heavenizing can be achieved is if the Lord’s disciples (His past, present, and future believers) are participating in Communities of witnessing, worshipping, and fellowshipping believers. In essence, all believers must be actively involved in and committed to the Lord’s Ekklesia, which is NOT now, and never has been, a “church” or “The Church.” Amen.

For additional information about the Lord’s Ekklesia, please read my blog entries: Too Many “CHURCHGOERS” Are Spectators Instead Of Participants, The False Pretense Of Being Divided By FAITH, and Ekklesia Says It All: Christ Will Call His Bride Out of This World!

Resurrection-Rapture Believers Are Hated And Ridiculed

09 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Bible Prophecy

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

apostates and infidels, Bride of Christ, ekklesia, epistrpho vs. harpazo, gift of prophecy, hated and ridiculed, institutional church, mass and social media, Pre-Tribulation Rapture, Resurrection-Rapture, The Great Snatch

From Hal Lindsey’s There’s A New World Coming Comic Book; Illustrator: Al Hartley

Watch out! Don’t let anyone fool you! For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will lead many astray. …At that time you will be arrested and handed over to be punished and put to death, and all peoples will hate you because of me. At that time many will be trapped into betraying and hating each other, many false prophets will appear and fool many people; ~ Matthew 24:4-5, 9-11, CJB

There can be no doubt that the apostles Paul, John, and Peter all received the supernatural gifts of prophecy and spiritual discernment from God, which made them able to foresee and shrewdly illustrate why genuine born again, saved (justified), and progressively sanctified full of the Holy Spirit pre-tribulation Resurrection-Rapture believers would be hated, in the last days, by fake Christians. No doubt this last days’ hatred is the reason why God also inspires these abovementioned apostles to use their spiritual gifts of foreknowledge and preternatural acumen to explain accurately why in the last days the authentic ekklesia in their day would become the institutional “church” of the 21^st century. This institutional “church” would be so corrupt that it not only would be opposing what God’s truly called, anointed, appointed, equipped, and sent men and women have been preaching and teaching from the divinely inspired unadulterated Word of God and in Christ Jesus’ name, but also they (these fake Christians in their local “churches”) would be opposing what Christ Jesus Himself taught, while simultaneously insisting that they are faithful to the Lord (cf. Matthew 24:9-10; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 2 Timothy 4:2-5).

Because of the above-stated reasons, these aforesaid apostles are warning even today’s true believers that they diligently must watch out for those fake Christians who would be attempting to transform a sacrilegious world into what they believe is the Kingdom of God on Earth. For example, what these apostles specifically predicted was that modern day fake Christians, after commandeering the institutional “church,” not only would reject the biblical Truth about the pre-tribulation Resurrection-Rapture but also, as earlier stated, they would hate the true believers who unequivocally have the God kind of faith in the pre-tribulation Resurrection-Rapture to boldly practice their faith in the last days by unashamedly preaching and teaching that the Resurrection-Rapture will take place just before prophet Daniel’s 70^th Week begins. In other words, these faithful believers would be preaching and teaching about the forthcoming Resurrection of the righteous dead in Christ Jesus and the imminent Rapture or catching up of the living, real Bride of Christ (see Matthew 24:40-42; 1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17).

Now the Divine Truth is, logically speaking, that the last days of this current institutional “church” Age only can be brought to an end by the pre-tribulation Resurrection-Rapture! Why? Well, because only the pre-tribulation unanticipated and unexplained disappearance of countless believers could produce an environment most fitting for the prophesied Antichrist’s rise to power and his created global economic chaos and fear, which happen primarily during the Great Tribulation Period. The apostle Paul supports this last statement about when the Resurrection-Rapture and Tribulation Period are likely to take place, for he writes:

But you have no need to have anything written to you, brothers, about the times and dates when this will happen; because you yourselves well know that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. …But you, brothers, are not in the dark, so that the Day should take you by surprise like a thief; for you are all people who belong to the light, who belong to the day. We don’t belong to the night or to darkness, so let’s not be asleep, like the rest are; on the contrary, let us stay alert and sober. People who sleep, sleep at night; and people who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us stay sober, putting on trust and love as a breastplate and the hope of being delivered as a helmet. 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 5:1-2, 4-10, CJB

From Hal Lindsey’s There’s A New World Coming Comic Book; Illustrator: Al Hartley

Certainly, since most of the people in this present world don’t believe in any kind of Rapture, including many of today’s “churchgoers,” this is the main reason why the next-to-happen prophetic event will be an unanticipated and unexplained disappearance of the true Bride of Christ. More important, as suggested earlier, the pre-tribulation Resurrection-Rapture is going to be both the resurrection of every never seen on Earth again dead in Christ believer, whose eternal spirit and soul are united with his or her decayed body that has been resurrected and glorified, AND the removal of the still living, never has seen physical death true Bride of Christ.

Right here is where a very relevant point about the “elect” should be made. It is important to know that the Holy Bible differentiates between those pre-tribulation resurrected-raptured saints and those left-behind saints who are called the “elect.” Because the Scriptures refer to both of these saints as Christ Jesus’ “elect,” this is the main reason why the New Testament Bride of Christ’s saints or the “elect” Body of Christ, which is both resurrected and raptured, is not resurrected nor raptured mid-tribulation or post-tribulation.

First, where the mid-tribulation Rapture beliefs about the “Church” are concerned, the only prophesied resurrections and raptures in the Holy Bible that pertain to Christ Jesus’ “elect” or saints being resurrected and/or raptured at or near mid-tribulation, as well as sometime after the start of the second half of the seven-year Tribulation Period, are as follows: 1. the raptured 144,000 sealed with the Holy Spirit Messianic Jewish evangelists, who never experience a physical death (see Revelation 14:3b-5); 2. the resurrected and raptured two witnesses/prophets who are seen alive again on Earth after they died a physical death and remained dead for 3½ days. These dead saints receive life again in their expired physical bodies, after which they are raptured off of this Earth alive (see Revelation 11:7-12); and 3. the resurrected, martyred Tribulation saints, who are beheaded for refusing to accept the Mark of the Beast (see Revelation 7:13-14 and Revelation 20:4-5). Please notice that the “Church” or Bride of Christ is not included in these resurrections and raptures!

Secondly, concerning the post-tribulation Rapture beliefs about the “Church,” based for example on Matthew 24:29-31 and Mark 13:24-27, the word “elect” specifically refers to those Tribulation survivors who are gathered (as translated from the Greek word, epistrpho) at the end of the Great Tribulation by the Lord’s angels. This “elect” clearly is not the same “elect,” which also is known as the Body of Christ/Bride of Christ, who is resurrected AND raptured/caught up (as translated from the Greek word, harpazo) to meet Christ Jesus in the air.

Put differently, at the time of the pre-tribulation Resurrection-Rapture, Christ Jesus comes alone on a cloud, and He is unseen by any earthly humans. This supernaturally hidden by the clouds Christ Jesus calls out to the dead in Christ and to His living Bride for them to come up and meet Him in the air.

In contrast, at the end of the Great Tribulation, all of the people living on the Earth will see Christ Jesus coming on a cloud and displaying all His power and great glory, which will be such an impressive wonder to see that “all the tribes of the earth will mourn” when they see Him (cf. Matthew 24:30; see also Revelation 1:7). After the Lord returns to Earth with His armies of resurrected and raptured saints and defeats the Antichrist and his armies of apostates and infidels, Christ Jesus then will command His angels to gather all of the Tribulation survivors. It is from these gathered alleged sheep and/or supposed wheat that the Lord will separate the sheep from the goats, and His angels will separate the wheat from the tares (see Matthew 13:38-43; Matthew 24:31; Matthew 25:31-32; Mark 13:27).

There can be no doubt, therefore, that the “elect” mentioned in Matthew 24:31 and Mark 13:27 only refers to those AFTER the pre-tribulation Resurrection-Rapture individuals who are those left behind deceived apostates and those lifelong infidels. The former represents those left behinders who have been snatched from the fire just in time to become believers in Christ Jesus once again (cf. Jude v.23), and the latter represents those left behinders who become born again and saved at the 11^th hour, as it were (cf. Matthew 20:6). Both of these believers make up the Great Harvest of the Lord’s Harvest, which takes place at end of the Age of Grace. By the way, the Age of Grace began with the death of the innocent and perfect Sacrifice—Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God.

For the above stated reasons, there can be no doubt that these tribulation survivors are those sheep that have been separated from the goats, and those wheat that have been separated from the tares. In other words, these end-times believers are those tribulation “elect” or saints who will have their natural physical bodies. These tribulation survivors are the ones who will repopulate this Earth during Christ Jesus’ millennial reign.

Be that as it may, additional proof that the living Bride of Christ is raptured before the mid- and post-tribulation is the fact that John the Revelator foresees twenty-four elders, who represent both the dead in Christ Old and New Testaments’ resurrected saints (“elect”) AND the alive in Christ New Testament’s saints (“elect”), who have been clothed, crowned, and enthroned before the first judgment ever is sent upon the Earth (see Revelation 4:4). Then too, there is the fact that the word “church” never is mentioned during any of the seal, trumpet and/or bowl judgments, and that is because these judgments are mainly meant for spiritually blind Israel—the country and her people!

Now, the apostle Paul is not the only one who describes a time when Resurrection-Rapture believers will be hated. So do Christ Jesus and the apostles John and Peter.

As alluded to earlier, Christ Jesus predicts that, in the last days, His disciples (not just His Jewish followers but also His Gentile followers) will be hated, which is why they must be careful not to give anybody the opportunity to deceive them. In the below passages from His Olivet Discourse, the Lord makes His prediction, and He gives very clear commands. Christ Jesus says:

Just as the Lord predicts that there will people in the last days who will hate His disciples, the apostle John teaches this same truth to the believers he is discipling. John cites the Lord as being the One who says this divine Truth: “If you belonged to the world, the world would have loved its own. But because you do not belong to the world — on the contrary, I have picked you out of the world — therefore the world hates you” ~ John 15:19, CJB.

In another passage written by the apostle John, he once again quotes Christ Jesus, but this time on how true believers who have received and correctly understood God’s Word, even the Word that pertains to the Resurrection-Rapture, are hated by those individuals who are not real believers. John writes:

I have given them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world — just as I myself do not belong to the world. I don’t ask you to take them out of the world, but to protect them from the Evil One. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Set them apart for holiness by means of the truth — your word is truth. ~ John 17:14-17, CJB

For the record, fake believers are people who publicly profess that they are Christians, but they act like they really are infidels. In other words, they act the same way as those lost souls who still are in the world!

Lastly, the apostle Peter also teaches about apostates’ desire to hate and ridicule genuine believers who have faith in God’s divine Truths, including His divine Truths about last-days Rapture and end-times judgment. The apostle writes:

For the Messiah himself died for sins, once and for all, a righteous person on behalf of unrighteous people, so that he might bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but brought to life by the Spirit;and in this form he went and made a proclamation to the imprisoned spirits,to those who were disobedient long ago, in the days of Noach, when God waited patiently during the building of the ark, in which a few people — to be specific, eight — were delivered by means of water. ~ 1 Peter 3:18-20, CJB

~ AND ~

First, understand this: during the Last Days, scoffers will come, following their own desires and asking, ‘Where is this promised ‘coming’ of his? For our fathers have died, and everything goes on just as it has since the beginning of creation.’ But, wanting so much to be right about this, they overlook the fact that it was by God’s Word that long ago there were heavens, and there was land which arose out of water and existed between the waters, and that by means of these things the world of that time was flooded with water and destroyed. It is by that same Word that the present heavens and earth, having been preserved, are being kept for fire until the Day of Judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed. ~ 2 Peter 3:3-7, CJB

The hatred for born again, saved (justified), and progressively sanctified full of the Holy Spirit Resurrection-Rapture believers is ever so evident these days. There are so many mass and social media contributors, and even Christian pulpit preachers and classroom teachers who not only are denying the concept of a Resurrection-Rapture but also these deniers are bashing those true believers who have given their total trust (faith) to God and, as a result, earnestly do believe that the Resurrection-Rapture is indeed imminent. With so many people vehemently criticizing and scoffing at the Resurrection-Rapture, and its believers, it is almost fruitless to try to explain or defend said biblical doctrine to the unsaved as well as many of the saved children of God.

Yet, regardless of the number of Resurrection-Rapture detractors, the Great Commission’s commands are still applicable today. So then, born again, saved (justified), and progressively sanctified full of the Holy Spirit 21^st-century believers even now must go into all the world, lead the lost world to the Lord through the preached Gospel of Christ Jesus, and make disciples of everyone the Lord saves and the Holy Spirit indwells and infills (see Matthew 28:19-20a). Additionally, it wouldn’t hurt to pray to God, asking Him not only to prepare the unsaved but also the saved hearers’ hearts so that the sown Seed will fall in “fertile” ground and so that the hearers will understand the Word of God and produce spiritual fruit that yields “…hundred or sixty or thirty times what was sown” (Matthew 13:23, CJB). Amen.

Church Is the Globally Recognized Spiritual Body of Christ

19 Monday Jan 2009

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Faith and Wisdom

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

assembly, called out assembly, ekklesia, global, kuriakos, lordship, political term, spiritual body, summoned, universal

There are many definitions for the English word “church.” According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “church” is defined as:

(1) a building for public and especially Christian worship; (2) the clergy or officialdom of a religious body; (3) often capitalized: a body or organization of religious believers: as a: the whole body of Christians, b: denomination <the Presbyterian church>, c: congregation; (4) a public divine worship <goes to church every Sunday>; (5) the clerical profession <considered the church as a possible career>. (Merriam-Webster Online)

These different definitions of the word “church” are why this English term is a poor choice for the New Testament’s original Greek term, which is the word “ekklesia,” a transliteration of the Greek word “ejkklhsiva.” “Church” is a poor translation of “ekklesia,” because this original Greek term doesn’t mean any of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary’s “church” definitions.

During the time of the Greek city-states, “ekklesia” was understood to mean a “called out assembly of citizens.” These people were ‘called out’ of their homes (summoned) to meet in a designated public place where they would discuss what to do about their corrupt government. Even in the time of Christ, the Romans and the Hebrews understood that “ekklesia” was a political term.

Not once in the one hundred and fifteen times “ekklesia” is used in the original New Testament does “ekklesia” denote or connote any religious meaning. The New Testament’s “ekklesia” always means a group of individuals assembled together for a particular purpose or cause. However, from the context in which “ekklesia” is used in the New Testament, the different kinds of assemblies can be determined. For example, in Acts 2:47, the English word “church” means an assembly (“ekklesia”) of fellowshipping believers to which Christ daily adds new believers. Indeed, in most of the New Testament places that “ekklesia” is used, the reference is to an “assembly” of believers in Christ who meet in rented halls or in believers’ homes. That’s why the word “assembly” is the best word to use for “ekklesia” instead of “church.”

Moreover, the word “church” (from the Old English “cirice” and the Middle English “churche”) has its origin in the meaning of lordship, which is derived from the Greek term “kuriakón” (transliterated as “kuriakos”), of which the root is kurios. Since Christ is Lord and the foundation upon which His New Testament “church” is built, and since the British monarchs considered themselves to be Lords over their kingdoms, of which included the Anglican Church, perhaps these are the reasons why the authorized King James Version’s translators substituted “church” for the original Greek word “ekklesia.” Whatever the reasoning, the result is that in one hundred twelve of the one hundred fifteen places “ekklesia” is found in the New Testament, “ekklesia” now is translated in English as “church.” Oddly, though, in the remaining three places “ekklesia” is found, the English translation is “assembly” (see Acts 19:32, 39, 41).

Furthermore, the Greek word “kuriakos” is found only twice in the original Greek text of the Holy Bible (once in 1 Corinthians 11:20, and once again in Revelation 1:10). In the first referenced Scripture, kuriakos refers to “the Lord’s supper,” and in the second referenced Scripture, kuriakos refers to “the Lord’s day.” For sure, the word kuriakos never is used in God’s Holy Bible to mean our contemporary definitions for “church.”

Lastly, although modern-day believers use the word “church” to mean any or all of those aforesaid Merriam-Webster Dictionary’s definitions, in every context in which “ekklesia” is used, the people who have assembled together always are only believers in Christ. Furthermore, even though in various Scriptures these assembled believers also are referred to as either Christ’s Body, or Body of Believers, or Holy Temples, or Gospel CHURCH, or New Testament CHURCH, theologically speaking, the real truth is that these assembled believers are a spiritual building that human hands did not make.

Our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ “called out” every born again, saved believer so that He could assemble each of them together into ONE spiritual body by perfectly fitting each of them in place (in local assemblies) according to each individual’s spiritual gifts and assigned function (e.g., apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher, and so forth). The Word of God confirms this last point, for the Apostle Paul writes that, “Under [Christ’s] direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love” (Ephesians 4:16, NLT).

What then is a more accurate definition of the word “church”? I am glad you asked. The “church” is the “called out” Christians who globally are recognized as the spiritual body of loving, caring, born again, saved believers in Christ over whom Christ is the Head and the Lord, which means Christ has the authority and the power to add new believers daily to His spiritual body of “called out” Christians who are assembling for worship, praise, thanksgiving, prayer, fellowship, spiritual strength and growth, and edification purposes in public and private places located throughout this entire world.

For additional information, please read my blog entry: The False Pretense Of Being Divided By FAITH