The Blessed Hope
In I Thessalonians 4: 13 – 17 Paul explains the process
Christ will use to remove the believing Christians or the Body of Christ from
the earth before the wrath of God ( tribulation) starts. But I would not have
you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow
not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and
rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For
this we say unto you by the word of the Lord that we which are alive and remain
unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 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. Paul describes that
when Christ does call for the Body of Christ, those Christians who have already
died will get their new resurrected bodies first and they will come down into
the clouds with Christ and meet the Christians that are still alive in the air,
where they will receive their new resurrected bodies also. Then we all go back up into Heaven with
Christ. Paul further explains this in II
Thessalonians 2: 6 – 8. Paul explains
that the antichrist shall not be revealed upon the earth until the Holy Spirit
of God is removed. And we know that our
bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, so the Spirit is within us. That being known unto us, we also know that
when the Spirit is removed, we will also be removed with him. And now ye know what
withholdeth (is restraining) that he (the antichrist) might be revealed in his time. for the mystery
of iniquity doth already work: only he (the Holy Spirit) who now letteth (restrains) will let, until he
be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord
shall consume with the spirit of his mouth and shall destroy with the
brightness of his coming: There
is also teaching that this refers to the body of Christ being taken only, and
that the Holy Spirit will always be present on earth.
When God destroyed the earth the first time with a flood, he
gave the people of the earth ample time to join Noah. When the time finally came for Noah to enter
the ark, God closed and sealed the door.
As the rain began to fall, it didn’t matter how may people came and
pleaded to get in the ark of safety, there was no mercy shown. No one got into the ark after God sealed the
door. During the tribulation period
though, God is going to show some mercy to the inhabitants of the earth that
refuse to accept the mark of the beast. In the book of Revelations chapter 7
verses one through 4; between the 6th and 7th seal of the
first round in the tribulation events, God’s ordains 144,000 Jewish believers.
Twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes of Israel , and sends them out into the
world to minister the gospel of the Kingdom to any who have not accepted the
mark of the beast. There will be many
saved during the few years that follow, but they will more than likely be
killed almost as soon as they believe. They will lose their lives here on
earth, but their spirits will go directly to Heaven.
The apostle Paul makes it clear, that the body of Christ
will be delivered from the wrath of God coming upon the earth. Now is the time to examine yourself and make
sure your ready spiritually to meet the Lord in the air. Revelations 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will
keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world to
try them that dwell upon the earth.
We also just need to look back in the scriptures and see how
God handled these type events in the past.
God did not allow one drop of rain to fall until he had first provided
safety for those who believed on him. He
removed Noah and his family. God closed
the door and sealed them in the ark, then, destruction came. When God told Abraham that he was going to
destroy Sodom and Gomorrah ,
he first removed Lot and his family, then, did the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
come.
II Thessalonians 2: 1-4
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him. That ye be not
soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by
letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand (the
tribulation). Let
no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come
a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition: Who
opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is
worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself
that he is God. Most writers
of eschatology believe the translation made in the king James to “falling away”
actually should have been “taking away” or removing. The other older
translations of the bible before the King James Version did use the “taking
away” meaning. Reading that verse using
the latter definition, completely lines up with Paul other scriptures listed
above talking about removing the saints and meeting Christ in the air. The last
part of those verses speaks about the antichrist performing the abominations of
desolation. That event happens at the
mid-point of the tribulation.
Mathew 24: 15 When you therefore shall see the abominations of desolation,
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let
him understand)
Daniel 9:27 And he shall
confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he
shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading
of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and
that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
What Christ wants from us, is for us to believe in him and
become one with him. His gift to us will
be to deliver us from this terrible time coming upon the earth, and to bless us
with eternal life with him. This is our
hope.
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