“For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
Comfort… that is what hope in the long-awaited Rapture of the faithful is meant to bring. How can we instill that hope in those around us, so that we may truly comfort one another, in a generation plagued by despair, evil, hatred, and violence? Exactly as Saint Paul told us to… “with these words.” With the words that describe our Lord’s descent from Heaven to rescue us from this wicked world, both the dead and living of His Church, before all hell breaks loose on Planet Earth. This message brings a believer lasting peace and serenity in an ever troubled world that is filled with chaos. It reminds us – in the midst of rampant evil – that the worse things get, the closer we draw to that glorious day.
That day when our corruptible mortal bodies are transformed into incorruptible immortal bodies, and when we’ll finally get to see our Lord face to face. How could anyone not be comforted with that thought? Unfortunately, today, there appears to be a lot of believers who do not ascribe to the doctrine of the Rapture – who believe we will endure every plague and judgment foretold in the Book of Revelation. They obviously don’t know the God of the Book they claim to believe. Our LORD is a just, faithful, and merciful God. He delights in the righteous, and He rewards those who diligently heed His Word and seek His Face.
When He first destroyed the wicked from off the face of the earth in the Flood of Noah’s days, notice how He preserved Noah and his family on the Ark – keeping them out of global judgment. Remember the two words “out of” going forward, because they’re key to understanding the Rapture. Noah did not endure the wrath of God along with the wicked. Also, think back to the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah, and how the LORD delivered Lot and his family out of it for Abraham’s sake. Lot did not endure God’s punishment along with the wicked.
So, why then are there some believers who think that we will be going through the worst tribulation the world has ever seen – along with the wicked? It doesn’t make sense that God would all of a sudden change the way that He deals with the righteous and the wicked. His Word is clear that He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He tells us that He will never change (Malachi 3:6). The advocates of a Post-Tribulation Rapture have obviously never read the words of Lord Jesus in Revelation…
“Because you have kept the word of My patience, I also will keep you from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.” – Revelation 3:10
I said to remember the words “out of,” because (in English translations of the Holy Bible) we read “keep you from the hour” in that verse of Revelation. The word “from” in the Greek is “ek,” which means “out of.” So, contrary to the thinking of my brothers and sisters who expect to go through the seven-year Tribulation, Jesus didn’t mince words when promising that He would keep us out of it altogether. Instead of us boarding an Ark like Noah, or fleeing to another place like Lot, the Lord Himself comes down to evacuate us from Earth before God’s judgments are poured out. I don’t understand how some Christians can read their Bibles from front to back, and believe the LORD would somehow allow us to endure the worst tribulation in human history. He will not.
Besides Christians who think that we’ll be going through the Tribulation, there is also a group of so-called believers who mock the idea of the Rapture and Christ’s imminent return altogether. This group believes we shouldn’t be concerned about the Rapture or Jesus’ return at all, because they say every generation before us believed that they would experience these events and did not. Oh, how I wish that this backslidden group of Christians would read my previous book. In it, I give many irrefutable reasons why our generation is the first in world history to see specific prophecies related to the Lord’s return being fulfilled.
I explained why no generation before 1948 could have had any hope of seeing Christ return, because there had to be a Nation of Israel on Earth for the “Last Days” signs of the Bible to mean anything. Until the spring of ‘48, there was no Israel on the map. There hadn’t been for thousands of years. If you haven’t yet, read The Signs of Our Times. I go into great detail as to why a reborn Israel is central to Jesus’ Second Coming. Don’t listen to Rapture scoffers. They’re too comfortable in this sinful world. Thus, they don’t want to see our Lord return in this day and age. They are actually fulfilling a “Last Days” sign…
“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, where is the promise of His Coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” – 2 Peter 3:3-4
There are also Christians believing that a Rapture of Christ’s Church already occurred, that Jesus has already returned to Earth (spiritually – not physically), and that the Book of Revelation has already been fulfilled. None of these beliefs make one bit of sense whatsoever. Christians believing these things, known as Preterists, have obviously never studied Biblical Prophecy.
First off, millions of believers would go missing all over this world simultaneously during the Rapture. When in world history has that ever happened? The answer is never. Second, the Bible is clear that Jesus’ Second Coming – like His First Coming – would be in the flesh, and that every eye would see Him (Revelation 1:7 – Zechariah 14:4 – Matthew 16:27, 24:30 and 25:31 – Mark 13:26 – Luke 21:27 – Acts 1:11 – John 14:3). It will not be an invisible “spiritual” return. If it were to be, God would have told us so. He did not. Instead, He was clear that Christ’s literal feet will hit the literal Mount of Olives in Jerusalem upon His return to the earth. Read all of the Biblical verses that I listed above, and you’ll find there can be no logical argument for an invisible return to Earth.
Finally, I cannot understand how anyone ascribes to the view that Revelation has already been fulfilled. That’s nonsense. When in history has 1/3 of Earth and 1/3 of mankind been destroyed? When have all men and women of the earth ever worshipped the AntiChrist, as he sat in Jerusalem’s Temple declaring himself to be God? When did the inhabitants of Earth ever receive the Mark of the Beast in their right hands or foreheads, in order to buy and sell goods? When did all nations of the world come against Israel in an attempt to destroy the Jewish State? When did Christ and His Armies come down to save Israel from certain destruction? When did the Jews of the world look upon Jesus and realize that He was truly their Messiah all along?
When was Satan cast into the bottomless pit? When did “New Jerusalem” descend from Heaven? When was Christ’s Kingdom ever set up on Earth, and when did believers of the world rule and reign with Him from the Holy Land of Israel? Can anyone, who believes the nonsensical theory that the Book of Revelation has already been fulfilled, point to a time in history when those events have occurred? Obviously, you cannot – because those prophecies have never been fulfilled!
The groups of backslidden Christians that I’ve addressed are ignoring the numerous “Last Days” signs occurring all around them. Whether due to fear of prophesied End Times events taking place, or due to living unrepentant lives, they do not want to witness our Lord return anytime soon.
They are of the crowd in today’s Church that love to quote Matthew 24:36, in which Jesus said, “Of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels of Heaven, but My Father only.” They use this verse as an excuse to not be looking for, or recognizing, the Latter-Day signs happening all around us. This is dangerous for a Christian to do. Yes, Jesus said that we would not know the “day or hour,” but He also taught that we would know the season. Back up just a few verses in Chapter 24 – to verse 33 – and notice how Jesus said, “When you shall see all these things, know that I Am near, even at the doors.”
He also said, in the Book of Luke, “When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth near… So likewise you, when you see these things come to pass, know you that the Kingdom of God is near at hand” (Luke 21:28-31). What things was He referring to exactly? The signs of His return. If we are not to be concerned with His return, because “no one” knows the day or hour, then why’d He ever bother giving us signs to watch for in the first place?
The reason why He said no one would know the exact day or hour of His return is because days and hours differ all around the globe. 2:00 am in Israel is 7:00 pm in the northeastern U.S., 6:00 pm in parts of the southern U.S., 4:00 pm in the western U.S., and 12 noon in Britain. Due to different time zones across the world, days and hours can never be the same. So, there is no way anyone could ever predict the exact date and time of the Second Coming. They would have to give multiple days and hours in order to fit their prediction into every time zone. That is why Lord Jesus has commanded us to be ready at all times, especially when the signs that He gave begin to occur – and they have undoubtedly begun.
This is why I believe the Spirit called me to write my books – because the time of our redemption draweth near, and sleeping Christians need a wake-up call. I pray that the books will sound an alarm in the hearts, souls, and minds of all believers. It is high time to awake out of sleep, to give heed unto the Word of God, to listen attentively to His Holy Spirit, and to look up, because the King is coming! Our King is coming!
ARE YOU READY?
“Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep (die), but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we (which are alive) shall be changed.”
– 1st CORINTHIANS 15:51-52
This was the Introduction for the second book in the “Signs of Our Times” series. If you enjoyed this, then be sure to read the rest of the book (along with books 1 and 3 in the series) today! Grab them by clicking on the image below.
BIBLICALSIGNS.COM 