| The Rapture - Right Away Pt. 1 |
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| By Bob Klingenberg |
| Tuesday, March 01, 2011 05:43 |
 We in Michigan are in the middle of a long winter. Nothing out the ordinary, though the year numbers have changed, the same ingredients are here as usual. Predictable and long, I have seen it come and go each year for 70 years. The usual dishwater gray skies, and the unending snowscape only varied by a passing animal that marks his hunt for food and survival with a small patch of antifreeze yellow here and there. Thank God that each day we are closer to spring which, however, only exists here for a few days in May. Speaking of seasons, they too have a rhythm which allows you no choice but to dance with them. Summer, fall, winter, spring – summer, fall, winter, spring. One just dances here a bit longer and slower in the winter! Over and over and over and over again! The seasons come and the seasons go, and life year after year takes on a predictable and seemingly unending repetitiveness. It is so easy in all of this to be anesthetized into kind of a same-o, same-o lethargic and presumptuous existence. When it comes to the doctrines of the last things and the end of the world (eschatology), when you are young, which I once was believe it or not, life is too vigorous, energies too high, dreams too exciting, and the future too promising to consider such far out and far off things as the last things. But then on the other end, there are us oldies but goodies. My daughter said to me, “Dad, you're not old, you’re only 70." At which point my grandchild said to me, “Grandpa, you’ve reached the speed limit." Yes I guess I have, though there are days I feel much slower than that.
And when you are older, olding and and just plain old, a crisp and sharp eschatology, a crisp and sharp anything can also tend to be blunted by the dulling of the years. And of course, there is not only time’s dulling, but Satan’s lulling. Sure, you know, his whispering doubts that take the edge off our eternal expectations and certainties, as he lulls us into spiritual and moral sleep, tucks us in, and kisses us goodnight with the kiss of death. Oh no, we religious types may not say it aloud with the world as recorded by the Apostle Peter in II Peter 3:3-4, “Mockers will come with their mocking…and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.’” You know those as well as I do who give no more credence to the “Rapture Lift Off Of Believers” than they do to “Jack And The Beanstalk.” They scoff at the whole thing, or tuck it away with Santa Claus in fantasyland where the usual categories of truth and falsehood don't apply. Just benign and imaginative fun! But when you really think about, it is amazing what the human mind will believe and will not believe. These are the same minds that tell children that their gifts at Christmas were made by merry elves and not underpaid Asians. These same children never hear from their parents about anything eschatological, but they are sure they hear the clatter of tiny hooves on the rooftop each Christmas. No, no, we don’t say it to ourselves and certainly not to others, but from time to time, like gnatty-thoughts flitting silently across our minds, we are bitten with skepticism and unbelief. Yes, even to the point that Jesus seems to be no more than a Superman who, if he is anywhere near in the earth’s atmosphere, may come to our rescue! But he never does come in real life either, except on the AMC Channel. (Yes, even pastors can have their eschatological dull drums.)
THE GOD OF HIS WORD But the Bible truths remain steadfast! Listen: "JESUS IS NOT COMING TO RAPTURE US WHEN HE HAS SOME
SPARE TIME AND HAPPENS TO BE IN THIS PART OF THE UNIIVERSE." Jesus is coming at His appointed time to get us according to His promise to us in John 14:3, "I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am
there you may be also." Thank God also that He tells us in Numbers 23:19, "God is not a man that He should lie...."
Listen: "MAN OFTEN MAKES PROMISES THAT HE DOES NOT KEEP,
AS HIS 'I DO'S' TRAGICALLY BECOME 'I DON'TS'" On the other hand: "GOD MAKES EXTRAVAGANT PROMISES THAT HE ALONE
CAN KEEP AND ALWAYS DOES." If you will: "ALL OF GOD'S I DO'S BECOME I DID'S."
So my friends, look up for your redemption draws near. Count on the return of Christ more than you count on the rising and the setting of the sun.
In the meantime, praise God for His keeping power that keeps us keeping on and believing. Without it we would be toast! I love the old Ziggy Cartoon picturing Ziggy and his even smaller dog standing at the window of their second story apartment and looking down at the busy streets below. Then Ziggy says to his dog, "It's you and me against the world, and I think we're going to get creamed." Thank God for His keeping power, as we read in I Peter 3:5, "Who are protected (kept) by the power of God through faith
for a salvation to be revealed in the last time." GOD'S GRACIOUS DIVINE SUDDENLIES And thank God that He is so faithful as He has His way of being. Out of nowhere, in one of those “Divine Suddenlies,” of which Scripture and life are full, He smacked me across the head with an eschatological two-by-four that has left my head ringing. God slammed me with the reality that one day He is going to in cataclysmic suddenness alter the rhythm and drastically revise history in a way that has never been seen before. He brought me to an article on the internet entitled “Prepare To Meet Your God” by a young lady named Angelica Elizabeth Zambrano who is a student at “Collegio Jose Maria Velazoo Ibarra” in El Canton, El Empalme, Ecuador. To read her article about her real life and death and return-to-life experience, was like reading John the Revelator in the book of Revelation. As I read, I did so with an ever increasing and then racing heartbeat. By the time I had finished, my cup of tea had grown stone cold, and my spirit was was burning with an eschatological fire. Suddenly into my commonplace came the most uncommon revelation about Heaven, Hell and the Rapture of the church, all of which was a “Bible Echo” wherever I read. How did this revelation come about? Angelica Elizabeth Zambrano at age 17 died and left earth’s atmosphere for a period of 23 hours. In that time, the Lord gave Angelica staggering revelations of Heaven, Hell, Rapture, and a post-rapture earth of unspeakable horror. A world from which the Holy Spirit and the Bride of Christ have been removed in the blink of an eye, and all restraints against sin were gone. As the article states, “She witnessed Jesus weeping as He overlooked the multitudes of souls lost forever, a world that had rejected Him, a Church that is mostly unprepared for Him, a people that have stopped witnessing to the lost, and an entertainment industry that even lures children to Satan. She witnessed many of our esteemed cultural icons suffering in the Pit; singers, entertainers, and even a pope."
"Angelica was also shown how the Kingdom of Heaven is all wonderfully prepared and ready, an unimaginable place, where no evil exists. Though Jesus is ONLY coming back for a Holy People, and many of God’s children will NOT be ready on that day, and will be left behind in a world that will fall apart.” THE PROMISED EVENT God in His Word has told us about and promised us this awesome Rapture-Event all along in many places, one of them being the well known words of I Thessalonians 4:16-17,
“For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, and with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first.”
“Then we who are alive and remain shall be CAUGHT UP together
with them IN THE CLOUDS to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.” There you have it! Don't take my word for it, rather, take God's Word for it!
The living hope that keeps all God's children pressing on. The Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ are the "Heart of the Gospel," but the Return of Christ and the Rapture of the Church are the "Spine of the Gospel." They keep us moving on strong, and without the Spine of the Gospel, the arms and legs of our faith become paralyzed, useless and futile.
"JESUS CHRIST NOT ONLY CAME TO EARTH AS US, BUT JESUS
CHRIST IS COMING BACK TO EARTH FOR US." We don't know just exaclty when "The Rapture" will happen! We do know that "The Rapture" will happen even as He says. Hear it: "PEOPLE WHO ARE LAUGHED AT BECAUSE THEY THINK IT WILL
HAPPEN TODAY WILL IN THE END HAVE THE LAST LAUGH." The word RAPTURE itself is not in the Bible. It is simply a word that means “Caught Up,” which is in the Bible. The Greek word for “Caught Up” or “Raptured” is HARPAZO. It can also mean “TO TRANSPORT” or “TO SNATCH AWAY.” That day in which Christ shall catch up and snatch away His bride to the great wedding celebration in glory! When I was a child and read that passage or heard it preached, the catching us up into the clouds gave me the quezzies. I thought to myself, having an oversupply of acrophobia, "Caught up in the clouds, won't we fall through?" But then as I matured, I realized from Scripture that we will be going up in our new spiritual bodies that will be free to soar like the eagles. We will have bodies like unto the glorious, resurrection body of Christ in which He ascended into Heaven without effort. Yes, that day on earth when the police scanners are buzzing, and there are multiplied reports of missing persons as police cars are dispatched to the scenes. So and so has just disappeared, and another and another have just inexplicably disappeared. The phone rings again, and the caller is hysterical. He can’t even be understood, as he cries to the police, “My God, help me, please somebody help me. I was sitting with my wife and son watching television together. And before I could tell, they were gone, vanished disappeared." I remember the words of our Lord in Matthew 24:41, “ONE SHALL BE TAKEN, AND ONE SHALL BE LEFT.”
It may happen in the wee hours of the morning, or at midday, or as the old chorus sings it: “COMING AGAIN, COMING AGAIN, MAY BE MORNING,
MAY BE NOON, MAY BE EVENING, AND MAY BE SOON; COMING AGAIN, COMING AGAIN; OH WHAT A WONDERUL DAY IT WILL BE – JESUS IS COMING AGAIN! And the first time that people hear about it in unbelieving homes could be on GOOD MORNING AMERICA. The co-host with a glassy horrified look in his eyes announces: “LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THERE IS A GLOBAL EMERGENCY, MILLIONS
OF PEOPLE HAVE VANISHED FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH, AND AS SOON AS WE GET MORE INFORMATION, WE WILL GIVE IT TO YOU.” Eventually, as things become clearer, Christ and Christianity are back in the major headlines, even though the world had put Him and it in the obituary column. And Jesus Christ proves that He is not an "UNDERTAKER," but the "UPPERTAKER." Suddenly, news commentators all become post-rapture, too-late theologians. Unimaginable! THE RAPTURE - ONLY FOR HOLY ONES Angelica Zambrano received astonishing revelations about Heaven and Hell and the Rapture, and as I read the long but riveting revelation, one thing stood out among an overwhelming host of other stunning realities, and that was when Jesus talked to her about His coming for His people. Against the backdrop of inspiring Heavenly and numbing Hellish realities, He said to her,
“I WILL COME FOR A HOLY PEOPLE, AND I WILL COME SOON FOR MY CHURCH. DAUGTHER, I TAKE PLEASURE IN WHAT YOU ARE DOING, THAT YOU ARE FULFILLING WHAT I HAVE GIVEN YOU. BUT DO NOT TELL MY PEOPLE THAT I AM COMING SOON. TELL MY PEOPLE THAT I AM COMING RIGHT AWAY.” Jesus continued, “TELL MY PEOPLE THAT I AM COMING RIGHT AWAY, AND THAT I AM
COMING FOR A HOLY PEOPLE. TELL MY PEOPLE THAT ONLY THE HOLY ONES, ONLY THE HOLY ONES WILL SEE ME!...AND DO NOT BE SILENT: KEEP ON DECLARING WHAT I HAVE TOLD YOU.” Who exactly shall fly away oh glory? Jesus repeated to Angelica that He is coming to take up to Himself THE HOLY ONES! Three times He reinforced it! When God repeats Himself it is not "Divine Demetia!" I think we should take seriously what He says in I Peter 1:15-16, “but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;”
“because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
More holy, holy, holy repetition! THE RAPTURE'S PURE AIR Reinhold Niebuhr once said about the earthly church: "THE CHURCH IS LIKE NOAH'S ARK, IF IS WASN'T FOR THE BIG
STORM OUTSIDE, ONE COULD NOT STAND THE SMELL INSIDE." That may be true of the earthly church at times, but it will not be true of "Rapture Church" which will be all of God's Holy People. The "Rapture Church" will have the pure aroma of holiness. There will be no need of aerosol cans or aromatic plug-ins or scented candles in the "Rapture Church."
Why? Because we read in Matthew 5:8, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
Listen now: "THE HOLY ONES ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO CAN SEE GOD
IN THE RAPTURE AND LIVE TO TELL ABOUT IT." God's holiness is like a refiner's fire. and anyone who is impure in his thoughts and desires, God's holiness would burn him to ashes.
Fact: "THE REASON THAT SO MANY GO TO HELL IS BECAUSE THEY
THEY THINK THAT THEY CAN GO TO HEAVEN DIRTY." Using another analogy: "THE SOUL WITH IMPURITIES THAT WOULD FLY TO THE PURE
AND RARIFIED AIR OF HEAVEN, WOULD BE ASPHYXIATED AS SURELY AS A FISH IN THE PUREST AIR." If you will: "THE VERY AIR OF HEAVEN THAT KEEPS THE HOLY ALIVE
WOULD SURELY KILL THE UNHOLY." DENOMINATIONAL FUEL WON'T WORK You say, "Well, I am a good Lutheran, or, I am a faithful Methodist, or, I am a died-in-the wool Pesbyterian," or whatever. That's nice, but there are no denominational airplanes in the Rature. If there were, I would urge you: "FLY ASSEMBLY OF GOD"
Only kidding!!! But anyway, that wouldn't work either. And again, Jesus is not coming for the RELIGIOUS ONES. He is not coming for the CHURCHY ONES. He is not coming for the PEW ONES. He is not coming for the METHODIST ONES. (We may have to hand out Alka Seltzer for denominational indigestion after hearing that announcement.) He is not coming for the ASSEMBLY OF GOD ONES either. (Save some Alka Seltzer for us.) Rather: “HE IS COMING FOR THE HOLY ONES, THE HOLY ONES,
THE HOLY ONES.” If you are going to fly away oh glory, be sure you're not flying in some airplane with the totally wrong fuel that will never make it off the ground. The rapture will be empowered by: "EXTREMELY HIGH OCTANE HOLY FUEL MANUFACTURED BY HEAVEN'S HOLY SPIRIT REFINERY." THE RAPTURE'S EXCLUSIVE SEATING This all means that there will be no pigs in Heaven’s parlors, no fornicators amongst Heaven’s faithful, no adulterers amongst Heaven’s holy array, no hellians in Heavens halls, no perverts in Heaven’s palaces, no sensuality in Heaven’s saints, no gossips amongst Heaven’s glorified, no dividers amongst Heaven’s uniters, no haters amongst Heaven’s lovers, and no takers amongst Heaven’s givers. We read in I Corinthians 6:9-10, “Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers,
nor effeminate, nor homosexuals,” “nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the Kingdom of God.” Then Paul victoriously says to them and to us in I Corinthians 6:11, “And such were some of you; but you were washed, but
you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God.” There it is: "THE RAPTURE SHIP HAS EXCLUSIVE SEATING FOR HAS-BEEN AND ONCE-WERE SINNERS WHO ARE NOW WASHED, SANCTIFIED, AND JUSTIFIED SAINTS." Only those who are washed in the blood of Jesus, purified by the Spirit and the Word, and made righteous in the righteousness of Jesus Christ will be allowed on board. Hear it: “THE RAPTURE IS NOT FOR UNSANCTIFIED DEGENERATES, BUT
FOR SANCTIFIED REGENERATES.” Hear it: “THE RAPTURE IS NOT FOR THOSE TEENAGERS AND ADULTS WHO
GO OUT AFTER DARK AND DEFINE THEIR OWN MORAL CODE.” Hear it: “THE RAPTURE IS FOR THOSE WHO LOVE AND LIVE BY GOD’S
ABSOLUTE MORAL CODE IN THE LIGHT, AND ESPECIALLY IN THE DARK.” AN ALL-SAINTS RAPTURE The Rapture is truly an "All Saints Day," on an "All Saints Flight." For the fact is: "IT IS AN ALL SAINTS RAPTURE ONLY."
You see, church people shy away from this "Saint Title," simply because its demands are too high. They are sinners saved by grace, but we surely are not saints. That is for highly venerated Catholics and extra-special Protestants, but certainly not for us. If you will, sainthood is an exclusive, elitist club.
Then again on the other hand the term in certain cases is used so loosely and too casually. I am reminded of the story of the two brothers who were scoundrels - cheating, stealing, and deceiving everyone they could. One brother died. The remaining brother called a local pastor and asked if he would conduct the funeral service. He told the pastor that there would be a sizeable honorarium if he would conduct the service. Then the brother added, "I have one more request, and that is I want you to refer to my brother as a SAINT in your eulogy of him. Now of course the pastor had a real problem, but he said that he would see what he could do. The day of the funeral came, and at one point the pastor pointed to the casket and said, "We all know that this man was a scoudrel, but I must say he was a SAINT compared to his brother sitting here." NO DIVIDERS OR DISUNITERS ON BOARD Or again, Galatians 5:19-21, “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are immorality, impurity, sensuality,” “idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,” “envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.” These are the ones: “WHO ARE NOT GOING UP, BUT WHO ARE GOING DOWN.”
Listen: "THOSE WHO ARE CHARACTERIZED BY ANGRY OUTBURSTS AND
CAUSE STRIFE, DISSENSIONS, AND FACTIONS WOULD BE NOTHING BUT DEAD WEIGHT IN THE RAPTURE." “THERE WILL BE NO ORNERY, HEAD-BUTTING GOATS IN THE RAPTURE, JUST LOVING AND LOVABLE SHEEP.” Jesus taught us that the first and great commandment is to love Him with all that we are and have, and the second like it is this, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Hear me: “THE RAPTURE IS FOR LOVERS.”
I am reminded of the elderly saint of God as she lay on her hospital bed, her body being very sick and weak, as she longed and waited for the Lord to usher her into Heaven. At the side of her bed was her husband who considered himself a deeply religious man and who prided himself in his boldness in having a “Honk If You Love Jesus” bumper-sticker on his car. The husband reached for her hand in these final moments, but his wife withdrew hers and said with a deep sadness, “Herbert, you are not a believer. Your cruelty and callousness throughout the forty years of our marriage tells me that your faith is an illusion.” Ouch! That hurts! There are some things in life you just cannot fake! Are we sowing seeds of anger, divisiveness, and resentment, or are we sowing seeds of love, peace, and unity. One sowing will make us rapture ready, and the other sowing will surely disqualify us and not allow us to get a 16th of an inch off from the ground. THE RAPTURE RIGHT AWAY Jesus repeated something else to Angelica. He said it twice and told her to tell us: “I AM COMING RIGHT AWAY! NOT SOON, BUT RIGHT AWAY.”
Not soon, right away! That my friend is sooner than soon! If we had to pick between soon, sooner, and soonest, we would have to choose soonest. Trouble is, I don’t think that gets it either, for right away is sooner than soonest. It is now! No delay! Almost sounds like this very instant! Hence the title of this teaching: “THE RAPTURE - RIGHT AWAY”
I love how the old chorus goes:"SOON AND VERY SOON WE ARE GOING TO SEE THE KING,
SOON AND VERY SOON WE ARE GOING TO SEE THE KING, SOON AND VERY SOON WE ARE GOING TO SEE THE KING, HALLELUJAH, HALLELUJAH, WE ARE GOING TO SEE THE KING." I guess it should now be: "RIGHT AND RIGHT AWAY WE ARE GOING TO SEE THE KING."
When my Dad told me to do something "Right Away," He did not mean five minutes later. In fact, he didn't mean five seconds later. He meant "Right Away."
There are many "Post-Death Revelation Experiences" these days about Heaven, Hell, Rapture etc., and then returning to earth to tell everyone possible under Divine order. The Don Piper experience, the Colton Burpo experience, the Hilary Williams experience, the Bill Wiese experience etc. The list is expanding and expanding as I write this. I believe that this is God's last day's doubling of grace to the human race, the last big push to powerfully call all men to repentance and to Jesus Christ. It is all part of the "Right Away Spirit" that is now in the air.
While the modern apostate chruch is training its preachers and evangelists in "Health and Wealth," God is training His preachers and evangelists in "Heaven and Hell."
"Visions and Dream Travels" (Acts 2:17) are good, but after-death "Spirits on Location" are a much stronger witness. God is now educating His evangelists in post-death spirit journeys to the upper-world and to the under-world, and then sending them back to their bodies and to earth to shake the souls of unbelievers and the sedated religious.
Oh how we need it!!! For when is the last time that you heard a Sunday School teacher speak persuasively on the rapture of the church? When is the last time you heard a preacher who is convinced enough of the rapture to be convincing?
Listen to me: “GOD IS NOT A GRAVEYARD SUPERINTENDENT, RATHER, HE IS HEAD OF RESURRECTION AND RAPTURE CONTROL.” God has some rapturous plans for us, and they are right away. God never started something He doesn’t finish, and the climax is right away. To borrow the words of Gabriel Marcel: "WE LIVE IN AN AGE WITHOUT PRECEDENT." These are climactic days, and there is not one prophecy that has to be fulfilled for the rapture to take place right away. No wonder there is a stirring and a restlessness in the air. Do you sense it too? Sort of like those fast-track executives from IBM and AT&T – they never know from one moment to the next when and where they will be transferred to. The great difference between fast-track executives and fast-rapture Christians is that Christians do know where they are going, even though they don’t know when, at least not exactly. But we do sense its NOW RIGHT-AWAY-NESS!
FIRST THE FALLING AWAY The Word of God says to us in II Thessalonians 2:1,3, “Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ, and our GATHERING TO HIM,” “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy (falling away) comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.”
Two things must happen before our BEING CAUGHT AWAY and the GATHERIING TO HIM. First the APOSTASY! The what? The apostasy, or falling away? Who's falling away and away from what? Paul is talking about the church’s falling away from the God of the Word and from the Word of God. Much of modern Christianity is in a spiritual and moral free fall because it no longer believes that God has the last and final word. The apostate church will help to prepare the way for the Antichrist. Listen: “THE FALLING AWAY OF THE FALSE CHURCH MUST TAKE PLACE
BEFORE THE TAKING UP OF THE TRUE CHURCH.” And that is not a denomination, but it is God’s blood-bought, blood-cleansed, sin-defeating, Satan-kicking, demon-chasing holy ones. Yet the Lord says, “Right Away.” Why? Because the apostasy – the falling away is massively under way and out in the open for everyone to see and hear! We have a church handing out condoms to teenagers to prevent STDs! We have the primate (chief) bishop of a very large major denomination teaching that homosexual marriages are of God not only, but she performs them. She teaches that God made homosexuals as homosexuals and God called it very good, not very abominable. We have seminary professors teaching that Evolution is compatible with Genesis, and that little kids are really budding apemen. Moreover, that the Bible only has the appearence of truth, but science has the truth. There are prominent TV preachers and pastors of large churches that now teach that the core of sin is low self-esteem, rather than that sin is low God-esteem. More than that, they teach that the great fallacy of historic Christian Theology is that it has been God-centered and not Man-Centered. This brings into focus that essence of the falling away, and it is: "MAN NO LONGER EXISTS FOR GOD BUT GOD EXISTS FOR MAN - THE FALLING AWAY PRIORITIZES MAN BEFORE GOD." We have today a huge, global apostasy which I personally ran headlong into across Europe, before I sensed it in America. Apostate pulpits where guilt has been replaced by guilt-complex, moral absolutes have been replaced by moral relativism, salvation has been replaced by success, character has been replaced by cash, righteousness has been replaced by riches, reconciliation to God has been replaced by healing of international and human relationships, hell has been relaced by universalism, Mt. Calvary has been reduced to a molehill, the cross of Christ has been shrunk and lowered, and the blood of Jesus has been diluted.
Apostate and proud of it! Heartsong Church in Cordova, Tennessee has invited members of the Memphis Islamic Center to hold Ramadan prayers in their church. And Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Alexandria, Virginia has invited members of the Islamic Circle of North America to hold regular Friday prayers in their building while their new mosque is being built. The United Methodists are also those who welcome practicing homosexuals and lesbians as members. Remember now, we are talking here about “The Apostate Church.” When Paul talks about the falling away, he is not talking about the world, for they have never been near to the heart of God. You can’t fall away from something you have never been near to or in.
When I read and hear and see this stuff and much more, I realize that the falling away has come so fast and gone so far, that it is not even any longer the “Falling Away,” but instead the “Fallen Away.” It’s a free-for-all free fall. To walk on this fallen ecclesiastical landscape is to no longer be able to find rock solid footing for your feet, but rather your "Bible-Gospel Shoes" are being sucked off in apostate muck and mire that is several feet deep. And you long for what the song writer wrote many years ago: “ON CHRIST THE SOLID ROCK I STAND, ALL OTHER GROUND
IS SINKING SAND.” Mind you, a false religion with a false god and a false prophet being invited to worship and pray to their false deity in the “Christian House of God!” This desecration defies description. Yes all in all: "AN AGE WITHOUT PRECEDENT." When I think of this blasphemy of God’s name and the spiritual rape of God’s House, I am reminded of the public gang rape and dismembering of a Levite’s concubine, and I think of the words of Judges 19:30,
“Nothing like this has ever happened or been seen from the day when the sons of Israel came up from the land of Egypt to this day. Consider it, take counsel and speak up.” Yes, speak up! And so we do! And remember this: “THOSE WHO DO NOT SPEAK UP FOR HOLINESS AND TRUTH
WEAKEN THEM, EVEN AS THOSE WHO DO NOT SPEAK AGAINST UNHOLINESS AND UNTRUTH STRENGTHEN THEM.” No wonder Jesus said to the Ecuadorian sister, “Tell my people that I am coming right away!” The falling away is here, and so is His coming. Why?: "BECAUSE THE APOSTASY IMMEDIATLY PRECEDES THE RAPTURE." What great, glorious news for His holy ones in this unholy world and apostate mess. Come Lord Jesus, come quickly, and catch us up to Yourself. Right away!
THE MAN OF LAWLESSNESS Even as the apostasy happens, the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction shall appear (II Thessalonians 2:3), I believe that as the apostasy is here, so the Antichrist could already be here walking on earth. I for one believe that he is! He is Mr. Lawlessness, the quintessential antinomian who will seek to bury and ban God and God’s holy law once and for all. Not just from schools but from churches as well. In fact, from the world! And thereby he is also Mr. Destructo, for with the laws of God made obsolete and of none effect, he will destroy everything that is righteous and moral and decent on earth. It truly will be Hell on earth!!! The Holy Spirit is gone! The Church is gone! The law of God is gone! Which equals a society gone mad beyond precedent. Did you notice what else the inspired writer says Mr. Lawless-Destructo will do? Let’s read it in II Thessalonians 2:4, “who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god and object
of worship, so that he may take his seat in the temple of God, displaying Himself as being God.” Ah yes, right here the Antichrist is finally stripped of all mystique. Satan has been declaring the death of God for years. Some churches seem to prove him right. But when his god-assassin comes on the scene, he will fiendishly come against every god and every object of worship in the world. He will be Karl Marx, Adolph Hitler, Charles Darwin, Madelyn Murray O-Hair, and Bill Maher all rolled into one. But his crosshairs are on the God to end all Gods, the God of the Bible, the great and only God of Heaven and earth. Antichrist will be Satan’s last attempt to pull off his coup d’etat against Heaven’s God. He wants to dethrone the King of kings and Lord of lords and supplant Him. Satanic politics as usual but at the highest and most devlish pitch ever! He is a plain dealer now, with one great passion driving him, and that is to be worshipped as being God. Nothing really original here for Satan! He will do such things as deny that America is a Christian nation, and demand that the symbol of Christ be covered over at a university hall before he consents to preach there. The pieces of God’s prophetic puzzle are snapping into place so fast it makes our heads spin. Our faith and expectation should be soaring at an all time high. But then why don’t I see it? Because God’s Word is no longer believed! I have found this to be an eschatological truism over the years when it comes to Christ’s rapture of the church: “WHEN DESIRE AND EXPECTATION ARE HIGH, UNBELIEF IS LOW;
BUT WHEN DESIRE AND EXPECTATION ARE LOW, UNBELIEF IS ALWAYS HIGH.” IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE The Lord then took Angelica Zambrano to Heaven’s IMAX Theater. She writes:
“WE WALKED TO A PLACE WITH A GIANT SCREEN, AND I SAW PEOPLE IN IT. I COULD OBSERVE THE WHOLE WORLD. THEN SUDDENLY I SAW THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE DISAPPEARING.” “PREGNANT WOMEN HAD THEIR PREGNANCY DISAPPEAR, AND THEY LOOKED LIKE THEY HAD GONE CRAZY SCREAMING. CHILDREN HAD DISAPPEARED FROM ALL OVER." “MANY PEOPLE WERE RUNNING FROM HERE TO THERE, SCREAMING, ‘THIS CAN’T BE, THIS CAN’T BE! WHAT’S HAPPENING?’” “AND I SAW ENORMOUS TRAFFIC, WITH ACCIDENTS. MANY PEOPLE WANTED TO KILL THEMSELVES, BUT JESUS SAID, ‘THEY SHALL SEEK DEATH, BUT DEATH SHALL FLEE FROM HUMANITY. DEATH SHALL NO LONGER BE DURING THAT TIME.’” When reading those last words, I remembered the words of Revelation 9:6, “And in those days men will seek death, and will not find it; and they
will long to die, but death flees from them.”
She continues: “I SAW PEOPLE WATCHING TV AND MAGAZINES THAT READ,
'THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS HAVE DISAPPEARED.’ MANY ALREADY KNEW THAT CHRIST HAD COME FOR HIS HOLY PEOPLE. THOSE WHO KNEW THE LORD, BUT WERE LEFT BEHIND, WENT CRYING THROUGH THE STREETS WANTING TO KILL THEMSELVES, BUT THEY COULD NOT DO ANYTHING.” All of this on a huge screen that revealed to her that all of this is coming right away! Then the screen closed, and Jesus finished by say ing, “I will go for a holy people.” Writes Angelica, “This is all He showed me. After that He brought me back to earth.” What first strikes me here are her words: “THEN SUDDENLY I SAW THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE DISAPPEARING.”
The emphasis there is on how quickly it will happen. Snatched away in a split second or less! We read of that very thing in I Corinthians 15:51-52, “Behold, I tell you a mystery, we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,”
“in a MOMENT, in the TWINKLING OF AN EYE, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." Or again, this quickness, suddenness is described in another way in Matthew 24:27, “For just as the lightning comes from the east, and flashes
even to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.”
He is not only coming for us immediately, but He is coming for us quickly. Let the sudden finality grip you and let it grip me. There will be no time to call a saintly grandmother. She’s already gone. There is no more time to work out those nasty bugs in our personalities, for there is not one grain of sand left in the hour glass. Time has run out! Tick! Not even a Tock! If we only knew and believed that He is here right now, right quick, we would view and live each moment of our lives as climactic unto Him in love, holiness, and righteousness. Or, as in answer to the question, “What do you call soon?” Aslan, the lion figure in the Tales of Narnia, explains, “I call all times soon.”
Allow me to read from Acts 8:39-40, “And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord SNATCHED Philip away; and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing.”
“But Philip found himself at Azotus; and as he passed through he kept preaching the Gospel to all the cities, until he came to Caesarea.”
The Greek word there for Philip being SANTCHED AWAY is again HARPAZO. It is the same word for Christians being CAUGHT UP in the rapture of Christ’s bride, even as we are told in I Thessalonians 4:17, “THEN WE SHALL BE CAUGHT UP – HARPAZOED – IN THE CLOUDS
TO MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR, AND SO SHALL WE EVER BE WITH THE LORD.” Philip had just baptized the Ethiopian eunuch. They were coming up out of the waters of baptism, and as they were coming up and out, Philip was HARPAZOED-SNATCHED AWAY. If you will, instantly, immediately relocated, traveling a lengthy space-time journey in a hiccup. Philip literally became: “THE FIRST DISAPPEARING EVANGELIST"
And we read, “The eunuch saw him no more.” That is exactly how it shall be for God’s holy and pure people. Only, we shall not be snatched away horizontally to Azotus. Rather, we shall be snatched away vertically to the Lord in the air. and the earth sees us no more. And so shall we ever be with the Lord in glory. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Yes: “COME LORD JESUS – COME QUICKLY – RIGHT AWAY!”
(Please go to THE RAPTURE – RIGHT AWAY Pt. 2) |