After the Rapture – Part 6
I received an email response to article #4 that I feel was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Thomas from Wisconsin writes his concerns for those left behind (both sheep and shepherds) in his area, where many of the local pastors are not teaching their flocks about the end-times and tribulation to come.
This situation exists worldwide where Satan’s spirit has taken its place in church pulpits to exalt the devil’s “gospel” above the Most High’s; and many of the pastors and congregations are tricked and deceived by this, thus are buying into Satan’s scam. This fuzzy pink “teaching” does tickle the ears of the vulnerable into a feel-good state of mind. And Satan is very good at mind games!
We hear and learn about the prosperity gospel which has turned many a good church into a social country club. For example, the pastor and church council decide that since the Wednesday night Bible study isn’t popular and not drawing a large enough crowd, it will now be changed to a co-ed volleyball league night. If that doesn’t work out then they can always try a bingo night. Let’s just all go to church and have fun!
A fundraising chili supper is fine if the funds are used to expand the Kingdom of God, and not using the money to sponsor a co-ed slow pitch team.
The overwhelming sin of the prosperity gospel, folks, is they want you to find happiness while still on earth. They don’t have their priorities in proper order. True complete happiness is in heaven with God. So if you want to preach “prosperity,” then preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and going to heaven. That place will be full of all kinds of prosperity.
And I hope that those of you who are putting together a left-behind box will leave out the volleyballs and stacks of bingo score cards. The volleyball, bingo, etc., needs to be left to the local Lions Club, while the business of a Holy Ghost inspired church is the salvation and afterlife of its congregation. Period.
Now let’s touch on the subject of how the sheep can teach and guide the shepherd. This is a big international problem that needs to be fixed NOW with what little time we have left! It surely won’t get much fixin’ after the rapture.
First, you must unite in prayer for your pastor to ask the Holy Spirit to deliver a kindly smack upside the pastor’s head to get his attention. More than likely the pastor wasn’t always a prosperity preacher but was fully devoted to the perfect Word of God in his early years of preaching. But Satan slowly but surely caused him to drift from being a Godly pastor into a recreational and activities director. And sometimes it takes a flock of sheep to get the pastor back where he ought to be. After all, we don’t want those pastors left behind either, because they will most likely drag members of their congregation down with them.
I don’t want you to think I am picking on all pastors because that is surely not the case. There are many good pastors doing the Lord’s work, but Satan has been very successful in reducing their numbers in order to get his satanic-inspired message to come from the pulpits and Christian media airways.
One way to confront a drifting preacher’s message might be as follows: get it started by getting together a group of like-minded church members to meet outside the church to form a “proper directions” committee. And then approach the pastor as a group with a request for him to change his pulpit message to something more urgent like the end-times tribulation period. If you send one individual, don’t expect much positive results. But a group of people should get his attention.
Next, give it a week or two to see if he changes his message. If he does, that’s good and your prayers were answered. But if there is no change, its time for step #3.
That weekend the whole group doesn’t show up for services. And better yet, don’t show up for bingo night or the volleyball tournament. Empty pews, an empty plate and an empty volleyball court will get his attention quickly. Now he is wondering if he will be replaced as their pastor in the very near future.
And if he doesn’t get with God’s plan of salvation, he definitely needs to be replaced (Matthew 24: 3-4, 11).
Meanwhile your group can meet elsewhere for prayers and planning. Your normal tithes can be placed in escrow, but don’t put them in the collection basket. And if you tithe by check, I’d suggest you not make the check out to the church. Leave them blank just in case.
If the pastor shapes up, turn the tithes over to the church. If not, use the money to form a new Bible-based church or home church and Bible study group.
You don’t need a fancy church building. Think of the early centuries of the church age and our pioneer days here in America. They didn’t have air conditioning or central heating. They just opened and closed windows and doors. Jesus taught on mountainsides, in fields, on seashores, etc., and He had no problem drawing a crowd. Just repeat what He has written and taught.
But most of all, DO SOMETHING.
So many good Christian people go to church on Sunday, hear another fuzzy-warm sermon, gripe under their breath and exit the church building only to return again the next week, sit in the same pew, hear another feel-good sermon and continue to gripe under their breath. It’s time for them to do something in the Name of the Lord rather than putting their stamp of approval on Satan’s message by their presence and attendance.
Don’t just sit there and complain. Either you change the pastor or you change and move to a different church. We are running out of time on earth. God doesn’t want just you to go in the rapture. He wants you to take a few souls with you! And those few souls just might be in the pulpit and in the pews.
So a worldwide revival needs to start NOW because we are running out of time. If your pastor won’t get with God’s program, then your committee needs to either replace him or select a guest pastor to give the weekly homily. And INSIST that the current pastor sit in the corner during services and LISTEN. I know this sounds harsh but the tribulation period and eternity in hell is also “harsh.”
The congregation will be listening to the guest speaker also. Some won’t come back the next week because the message was offensive to them and made them feel “uncomfortable.” I just wonder how “uncomfortable” they will feel if they spend an eternity in hell.
But the ones that do return are there because of the soul-saving message, and it is your duty to see those messages are taught on a regular basis. And when the word gets around in your community, I’d bet you pick up a few new souls that are hungry for the true and complete Word of God.
Don’t worry about a small turnout (Matthew 18: 20).
And you don’t have to be an ordained minister and a graduate from some Christian seminary to speak in a pulpit. Being a lay teacher, you can also be the “guest pastor.” Surely you have a list of Sunday school teachers who would fill the bill in this effort. You have a committee to help you to insure your message is what needs to be said. Work together on this project just like the twelve apostles worked together after Christ’s resurrection (The Book of Acts).
An increasing number of seminaries today spend more time teaching future pastors about fundraising than they do about the Bible. This is a proven fact from researcher’s studies.
I’d like to see a revival such as this start IMMEDIATELY as we are running out of time before the antichrist (the lawless one) crashes onto the scene. When he is here and his gestapo is quickly formed, this revival will be reduced to some small groups in the woods holding their own Bible study and prayer meetings in small, cold hand-dug caves.
And if you agree with what I have written here, I suggest you print off copies and present it to them either by mail or, better yet, in person by the committee.
On another subject, over the years I have heard comments that there will be no Holy Spirit on earth during the tribulation period. Those skeptics usually say something like “the raptured saints possessed the Holy Spirit so when they departed from earth, the Holy Spirit departed with them.”
I don’t believe that for a minute because the Holy Spirit is omnipresent, and you can’t put limitations on Him. He is everywhere even, I believe, in a room full of demons. That is basically saying “God is here but He isn’t or can’t be there.” That room full of demons won’t seek out the Holy Spirit as they follow Satan. But the Holy Spirit is there. And they can only have one master.
The millions who will be left behind after the rapture would have no hope at all if it weren’t for the Holy Spirit. All of those Bibles and other teachings of God’s Word we leave in our left- behind boxes would be absolutely worthless if the Holy Spirit wasn’t present to guide the new Bible students towards God in heaven.
I have gotten quite a few email responses where they seem to have given up on the left behinders. They seem to say collectively that if you don’t go in the rapture, there is no hope for you at all.
Some of the left behind will accept the 666 mark of the beast because they haven’t accepted the Holy Spirit’s guidance, while others will reject the mark and even face beheading or other forms of cruel death because they are following the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Just like these pre-rapture days, God still gives those left behind a choice to where they will spend eternity, heaven or hell.
Many interpret Titus 2: 13-15 to only be directed at those looking upward for the rapture, but I believe it to include ALL who seek to be in the eternal presence of Jesus Christ. If this were not so then there would be no “blessed hope” for the left behind, as all would be condemned to hell after the rapture.
If that were so, there is no need for a tribulation period or for the antichrist’s 666 marking system to sort out Satan’s followers from God’s followers. There would be no need for the 144,000 witnesses or the two prophets who spend 3½ years witnessing on the streets of Jerusalem to the entire world, to be seen on TV, the internet, etc. What is the point of spinning one’s wheels for nothing? Under this incorrect belief ALL Gentiles are condemned to hell along with many of the Jews.
You can refer to it as “a second chance” if you want. I would rather call it “the first chance delayed!” After all, a lost person is born once and dies twice while a saved person is born twice and dies once.
So don’t fall for this false teaching that those left behind are forever lost. Keep stocking and filling that left-behind box. Fact is, I bet some of you already need to get a bigger box. After all, you can’t take it with you.
Here are a few more bits & pieces for your information and to think about:
First, we know that the only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ. He is the ONLY mediator between man and God (1 Timothy 2: 5) but many false religions of the world teach there are other ways.
So it is with Islam. Their false version of Jesus, whom they call Isa (only a messenger, only a human, not the Son of God, wasn’t crucified but just ascended to paradise), will be sent back by their Allah to fight the antichrist and cause unbelievers in Islam to die. He will die 40 years later after marrying and having children. He will be buried next to their esteemed prophet Muhammad.
I am requesting that you google the word “taqiyya” from their “holy book” the Koran. It defines in detail how lying to all infidels (non-Muslims) is acceptable and encouraged in the Koran. They have no idea of what God’s commandment concerning “bearing false witness” means (Exodus 20: 16).
Also in their Koran is the word “kitman” which ties in with taqiyya. Also the words “tawriya” and “muruna.” These words command constant lying to all infidels (us) along with other male Muslims. It even covers when it is acceptable for a Muslim male to lie to his Muslim wife.
Secondly, here are a few more items for your left-behind box:
A generous supply of large trash bags (preferably the 30 or 33 gallon sizes). They will have all kinds of uses around your hideout. You shouldn’t have a lot of trash or garbage, so don’t use them for that. But they would come in handy if you put a few in your bug-out bag. You can make a pup tent out of them, use as a wind breaker, make a rain suit, add to the warmth of a good night’s sleep, etc.
I carried a professional motorcycle racing license for four years, and one of my best friends was rolls and rolls of duct tape. It seems like at places like Daytona International Speedway everything on your race bike wanted to vibrate off. Same is true in wilderness survival. There will always be a need and use for duct tape.
Thirdly, Final Prepper released another fine article recently entitled “Are you ready for any crisis?” which you can pick up off their website (www.finalprepper.com). The first thought that popped into my mind when seeing that title was “the rapture is NOT a crisis but the tribulation period surely is.”
They spend time talking about couch potatoes who, on very short notice, have to leave the comforts of home and hike (or run) into the wilderness. Some might lose their breath trotting out to their mailbox in the morning! If they aren’t in very good physical shape, or they are elderly, or handicapped, etc., the appearance of the antichrist on the scene could be a problem for them.
They also wrote about having to leave your home on short notice where you have everything in closets, garages, etc. The bug-out bag would be a must. And suggestions on how to develop a “gut feeling” in these difficult times.
Fourthly, I’m sure most of you are faithful Rapture Ready readers, so you might have already read these articles. But in case you missed them, they are excellent for your left-behind box.
“Preparing the Tribulation Saints” by Matt Leasher is a must read and copy piece that is near the top of my left-behind stack. Besides your own box, this article should be printed off and distributed as a tract.
Alice Childs finished her 11th and final installment of her Tribulation Chronicles entitled “Return of the King.” The whole group is excellent for the left-behind box, but this 11th edition gives the Bible student a long list of chapters and verses on where to look inside the Bible and study subjects like the rapture. This would really be valuable when you are cramped together with your small group’s Bible study in that cold, damp, hand-dug cave.
Daymond Duck did it again. His January 1 article is entitled “History, Curses, Lies and Retribution,” and it is pretty sobering.
Don’t forget to check out “The Rapture Index” section on this www.raptureready.com website. I especially like to scroll to the end for the list of definitions for end-times events.
Fifthly, antichrist’s gestapo will be in charge of all the left-behind police and military equipment worldwide. This includes the massive security camera system of eyes that doesn’t allow for much privacy anymore anywhere.
In the proper hands they are useful for stopping and solving crimes. But in the wrong hands, many Christians will lose their heads. That is why, after the rapture, those left behind should flee the cities, towns, suburbs, etc. Security cameras and related equipment is scarce in the countryside and the wilderness. Soon to follow there will be security cameras nearly everywhere patrolling the skies via drones. And antichrist will now take over control of all the drone manufacturing companies.
The same is true with many police procedures. Can you imagine a Muslim terrorist member on antichrist’s gestapo squad stopping a Christian and reading them their Miranda rights, and then providing them with a free public defender lawyer?
That is one of the reasons why the antichrist is referred to as “the lawless one.”
Finally, I mentioned near the start of this series how I bought paperback KJV Bibles (Old & New Testament) for $1.00 each when I bought a case of 50. Well, their prices went up a bit. The source I used was Christian Book, and they send me a different catalog every two months. I just got the January-February 2018 catalog, and they list their “KJV Economy Bible” for $1.67 in a case of 24 which amounts to $39.99 a case.
They are listed on page 12 and the case item is #AE63325CS. If you buy less than a case, they are $1.99 each.
You can get a free catalog by contacting them at www.Christianbook.com or call their toll free number: 1-800-CHRISTIAN (1-800-247-4784).
Dick Ainsworth
PO Box 156
New Franklin, MO 65274