Two Biblical Proofs Favoring Pre-Tribulation Rapture

04 Thursday Sep 2014

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Bible Study

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Abraham, biblical pattern, Blood of Christ, Body of Christ, Bride of Christ, brothers and sisters in Christ, correct, crucial, end-times, escape, essentials, eternal life, fair, God's wrath, Household of Faith, judge, Judgments, just, justified, Noah, radical, rapture, rescued, righteous, sanctified, saved, theological perspective, wicked

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Biblical Proof Number One—from the Old Testament:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Biblical Proof Number Two—from the New Testament:

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

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

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

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

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

~ and ~

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

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

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

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

BUILDING OUR OWN FAITH!

31 Friday Jan 2014

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Spiritual

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atrophic or developed, determine, distress, evaluate, fake or true, flabby or firm, judge, measure of faith, mustard seed, pain, physical exercise, powerless or powerful, soreness, spiritual exercise, spiritually healthy, spiritually strong, unpleasantness, weak or strong, weather the storms, working out

And Jesus, replying, said to them, Have faith in God [constantly]. Truly I tell you, whoever says to this mountain, Be lifted up and thrown into the sea! and does not doubt at all in his heart but believes that what he says will take place, it will be done for him. ~ Mark 11:22-23, AMP

For by the grace (unmerited favor of God) given to me I warn everyone among you not to estimate and think of himself more highly than he ought [not to have an exaggerated opinion of his own importance], but to rate his ability with sober judgment, each according to the degree of faith apportioned by God to him. ~ Romans 12:3, AMP

Therefore, my dear ones, as you have always obeyed [my suggestions], so now, not only [with the enthusiasm you would show] in my presence but much more because I am absent, work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ). [Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight. ~ Philippians 2:12-13, AMP

In order to remain spiritually strong and spiritually healthy, we must EXERCISE our individual spiritual Faith muscle! It’s our responsibility to build our own Faith muscle! If our own Faith is weak, flabby, atrophic (wasting away, withering), or false, then it is our own fault – NOT God’s!

It is so sad but so true that most people strongly dislike exercising—they have an acute aversion to physical workouts. Even though they know that physical exercise is “good” for them, because it will strengthen their muscles, strengthen their bones, improve their mental health, improve their mood, control their weight, and etc., they often put off exercising primarily because they know that in order to obtain their goals they first must allot plenty of time and expect to experience much bodily pain.

Now it appears that the abovementioned reasons for why most people put off exercising (too time consuming and too painful) are not only the same reasons why many of God’s children have an intense distaste for physical exercise and, thus, will avoid doing it, but also the reasons why they often have no desire to engage in spiritual exercise. Too many people who say they are followers of Christ Jesus seem to have no desire to devote the time nor any desire to endure the pain it will cost them to do what it takes to increase the strength in or gain more power for their Faith muscle. This, however, is the undeniable truth as to why their spiritual Faith muscle repeatedly fails them in their times of need, and why they repetitively are asking/begging God to give them more Faith or to increase the strength and power levels of their Faith.

The above-stated physical and spiritual exercise analogy is why this blogger does not understand why so many Christians keep teaching and preaching that WE should ASK God to INCREASE and/or STRENGTHEN our Faith, or give our Faith MORE POWER. The Divine Truth is that God already has given each one of us OUR own measure of Faith (the degree of Faith apportioned by God), which is our individual portion of His Faith! For this reason, He doesn’t need to increase or strengthen or empower our individual Faith any more than He heretofore has done, because He has given us ENOUGH Faith to make us born again believers, to make us victorious saints, and to make us powerful followers of Christ Jesus—powerful enough to literally move mountains, which means that even if our measure of Faith is as small as a grain of mustard seed It still is strong enough and powerful enough to remove a mountain from where it is located on land and throw it into the sea (see Mark 11:22-23 also Matthew 17:20)!

Furthermore, God’s Word tells us that our mountain-moving measure of Faith automatically INCREASES and/or gets STRONGER and becomes more POWERFUL when we put our own measure of Faith to use—when we EXERCISE our own measure of Faith by WORKING OUT our own Salvation (see Philippians 2:12-13), and by evaluating our God-given ability with sober judgment in accordance with our own measure of Faith (see Romans 12:3). Once again, God gave all of us who are His sons and daughters everything we need to live holy, righteous, and victorious lives on this Earth (see 2 Peter 1:3), and that EVERYTHING includes more than enough Faith!

Let there be no doubt about it. It is our responsibility to live out our God-given Faith in Christ Jesus, even more so during the many storms of life that come our way! Unfortunately, it is sad but true that the painfulness we encounter that causes most of us to have an aversion to working out our own Salvation happens every time we EXERCISE our own spiritual muscle of Faith while we are facing the various kinds of storms that frequent our individual lives.

Oddly enough for many believers in Christ Jesus, it is because most of us frequently can’t understand why God didn’t keep us from the soreness, distress, and other unpleasantness we suffered in our past storms that we often stop exercising our Faith, while we are in a present storm. This very poignant and unquestionable truth is why we all need to understand this also very frustrating yet undisputable Truth: God allows us to weather the storms (to be all right in spite of experiencing great difficulties and/or serious problems) that come into our lives so that we realistically can evaluate (judge, appraise, determine) just how fake or true, weak or strong, flabby or firm, atrophic or developed, and/or powerless or powerful our own Faith is in the God we say we love, we obey, and we TRUST! Our evaluation definitely will show us just how spiritually strong and spiritually healthy we are, as well as point out how important it is for us to continue with our Faith’s spiritual workout regime.

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

Judge Not Lest You Be Judged

11 Wednesday Feb 2009

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Bible Study

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biblical principles, biblical rules, biblical standards, condemn, criticize, determine, evaluate, Holy Spirit's teachings, illuminator, judge, Pharisees, questionable behaviors, questionable practices, rebuke, Scribes, Sermon on the Mount, sin, unrighteousness, white-washed tombs

Have you ever been on the receiving end of someone’s “Judge not, that ye be not judged” comment, and immediately realized that this person, in essence, was using Christ’s words to scare you into backing off from addressing that person’s inappropriate action(s) or sinful lifestyle? Indeed, many religionists, atheists, agnostics, believers, public figures, friends, enemies, and/or family members are very quick to say: “Don’t you judge me, because Jesus says, ‘Judge not, that ye be not judged.’” The people who especially are most fond of using this Scripture are the ones who are trying to defend their inappropriate actions, questionable practices, or sinful lifestyles.

Christ’s “Judge not, that ye be not judged” Sermon on the Mount words often have been abused just as frequently as they have been quoted. Most of the time, this verse is taken out of context and misused by people who need to prove that the Holy Bible supports their “questionable” practices/behaviors.

However, when we study the full context of Jesus’ “Judge not, that ye be not judged” statement, we will see that Christ makes this comment after He publicly has rebuked the Scribes and the Pharisees for their hypocrisy: for being white-washed tombs (having an outward appearance of “righteousness”), when inwardly, in their hearts/human spirits, they were rotten to the core (cf. Matthew 5:20ff; Matthew 23:27). Thus, passing judgment on the Scribes and the Pharisees “unrighteousness” is the main theme of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. As Christ publicly deals with the Scribes and Pharisees’ “unrighteousness,” He makes it clear to His Jewish audience that these religious law experts and teachers’ self-righteousness never would be permitted in the Kingdom of Heaven. For sure, the end result of every person’s self-righteousness is “condemnation.” That’s why today’s people should not get it twisted, by assuming that Christ’s “Judge not, that ye be not judged” pronouncement means that NO ONE has a right to judge!

As a matter of fact, when Christ says in Matthew 7:1 “Judge not, that ye be not judged,” He is continuing His STRONG rebuke of the Scribes and the Pharisees’ blatant hypocrisy, for Christ declares, in the verses that follow Matthew 7:1, that the same standards, rules, principles, etc., they (the Scribes and the Pharisees) use to judge others’ sins/unrighteousness will be used to judge their own sins/unrighteousness. The Scribes and the Pharisees’ unrighteousness, then, should be the reason why they should pay more attention to finding out how they can extricate their own sins (beams in their own eyes) before they try to judge other people’s sins (specks in other people’s eyes) [cf. Matthew 7:1-5].

Thus, in Matthew 7:1-5, Jesus is teaching us today that judging another is wrong when our judgment is hypocritical—when we, like the Scribes and Pharisees, strain our water so that we will not swallow a gnat, but then we swallow a camel! Without a doubt, Christ’s message to us is that He does not want us to be like the Scribes and Pharisees who wear their righteousness on their sleeves. Once again, these religious hypocrites are, as Christ says, “…whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean” (Matthew 23:27, NIV). For this reason, our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of hypocrites, or we, like them, will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!

Now, there also are some people who would like to argue that because we are “called” to be fishers of men—called to show others the way to Christ—that we have no right to judge others, because, after all, Christ says to “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” Fore sure, God through Christ has given us the responsibility to help others see the Light, but He also has commanded us to lovingly correct people when they sin, or when they engage in “questionable” practices/behaviors. Thus, when Christ says “Judge not, that ye be not judged,” He is NOT saying that we are NEVER to judge people, because right after He finishes His condemnation of the Scribes and Pharisees’ hypocritical judgments Christ then commands His Jewish disciples to make a judgment. He tells His Jewish followers to not give what is holy to the dogs and to not cast their pearls before swine (cf. Matthew 7:6). Now, how would the disciples know who is a “dog” or a “pig,” unless they make judgments about who is or is not a “dog” and/or a “pig”?

Then, in Matthew 7:15-20, Christ once again commands His disciples to judge by being observant. They were to be on the lookout for false prophets, whom Christ says His disciples will know by the “fruits” the false prophets produce. Once again, there is no way anybody could watch out for false prophets, who come dressed in sheep’s clothing, which hides the fact that they are actually ravenous wolves, if a person is not permitted to make judgment calls about who is a false prophet—judgment calls that are based on biblical standards, rules and principles that confirm whether or not the “fruit” a false prophet is producing is the genuine God sanctioned spiritual fruit!

Indeed, in Matthew 10:12-15 and Acts 13:42-46, the Word of God teaches us that we must judge between those who are “worthy” and those who are, figuratively speaking, “dogs” and “pigs.” This command to judge, however, often is tough for us to follow, especially when people try to intimidate us with Scriptures like “Judge not, that [we] be not judged,” in the hope that they will succeed in getting us to back off, which is just what many of us do when we have no in-depth understanding of the context in which Christ spoke His “Judge not, that ye be not judged” statement.

For sure, it would be impossible for us, “who are spiritual” to “gently” restore those who have been “caught in a sin,” if we do not have the right to judge both who is spiritual/righteous and who has committed a sin (cf. Galatians 6:1). What’s more, before we can ever become true fishers of men who have been sent to make disciples of the unsaved people, we first have to be able to make a judgment call about who is a lost sinner or a saved believer. There is no denying that even today, as it was for Christ’s original disciples, where the Body of Christ’s spiritual matters are concerned, in order for us to teach today’s lost sinners we have to be able to determine (judge, evaluate) who is lost and who is not.

What is the bottom line? The bottom line is that it is NOT biblically correct to say that NO ONE has the right to ever judge someone else, for there are numerous examples in the Holy Bible that confirm that believers have the right to make judgment calls. However, what believers are cautioned against doing is making hypocritical judgment calls.

Since born again, saved people have been made righteous by Christ, and since the Holy Spirit has been put in them to mature them, spiritually speaking, through His progressive sanctification process (if individuals are cooperating with Him), and since the Body of Christ/CHURCH has many spiritually righteous believers in it, then, certainly, righteous people can make righteous judgment calls that are based on established biblical standards, rules, and principles. The Apostle John confirms this statement to be the truth when he also tells believers to “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24, KJV).

Moreover, for example, in those cases where the Holy Bible is not clear or exact about how to deal with certain behaviors or activities, the Holy Spirit is the illuminator as well as the judge. Indeed, the Apostle John tells us that we “…have an anointing from the Holy One, and [we all] know the truth” because “…the anointing [we] received from him remains in [us], and [we] do not need anyone to teach [us]. But as his anointing teaches [us] about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit…” we are capable of making righteous judgments as long as we remember and apply what the Holy Spirit “…has taught [us]…” and “…remain in him” (1 John 2:20 and 27, NIV). Then in 1 John 4:1, Apostle John tells us to “…not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (NIV).

Finally, “Judge not, that ye be not judged” is not applicable to everyone. For sure, there will be times in believers’ lives when judging the sinful lifestyles of others will be absolutely necessary. In those times, believers should never shrink from their responsibility, just because someone is trying to bully them into backing off. Instead, believers should know what the whole Word of God says about judging, and then govern themselves accordingly.