In a number of messages, I have referenced Jesus as being our Shepherd, and true believers as being the flock. Also, I have referenced Jesus as being our Savior – Our Only Savior. To expand on this, John, especially chapter 10, and many verses in Romans hold a wealth of information. (any emphasis mine)
Beginning with John 10:2-5; “But He who enters by the door is the Shepherd of the sheep. To Him, the Gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear His voice, and He calls His own sheep [true believers] by name, and leads them out. When He has brought out all His own, He goes before them, and the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice. A stranger, they will not follow [false prophets], but they will flee from him; for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
There is coming a day soon when our Shepherd will call, and we will hear a trumpet and the voice of an archangel (1 Thessalonians 4:16). As it should be, the dead in Christ will rise first, then all believers who are alive will be caught up with them to meet Jesus in the air. You would think the whole world would see and hear this, but Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:52 that it will be in the “twinkling of an eye.” That is considerably less than one second. The left-behind will know that people have disappeared but will not be participants in our “Glorious Calling.” Sadly, the new world order is already coming up with excuses as to why we “haters” will have left all of a sudden. Some of their reasoning is comical, to say the least. It goes to prove Satan knows his time is getting short, and he’s pulling out all the stops.
John 10:9-11; “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he/she will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy [Satan’s true goal]. I came that they may have [eternal] life, and have it abundantly. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”
John 10:14-16; “I am the Good Shepherd. I know My own, and My own know me; just as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold [Jews]. I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. So there will be one flock; one Shepherd.” Through the 16th verse, Jesus made it known that everyone worldwide is eligible to be saved, if they choose Him as their Shepherd (Savior).
Jesus was not forced to be our sacrifice but came here by His own choice. John 10:17-18; “For this reason, the Father loves Me; because I lay down My life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down; and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from My Father.”
There are people who actually believe Jesus was just a human, created by God. Some say He was a good prophet as was Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah and others, but is not God. He clears this myth for all that believe otherwise in John 10:30; “I and the Father are One.” The book of John begins stating, “In the beginning was the Word [Jesus]; and the Word was with God; and the Word was God.”
People can dispute this all they want, and they can believe all the lies that Satan and his demons try to lay on us, but consider Romans 14:11; “for it is written; as I live says the Lord; every knee will bow to me; and every tongue shall confess to God.” Even though Satan fancies himself equal to God (Isaiah 14:14), he too will be forced to kneel and confess that Jesus is God just before he’s thrown into the Lake of Fire that was created specifically for him and his demons (Matthew 25:41).
Everyone who puts their faith, trust and hope in Jesus has the promise of Romans 8:1; “There is therefore now no condemnation, for those who are in Christ Jesus.” For those who follow Satan, they are considered “in the flesh,” and this is covered in Romans 8:7-8; “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
God promises in Romans 8:11, “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies, through the Spirit who dwells in you.” Once we have received and accepted Jesus as our Savior (Romans 10:9-13), our “forever” is set, and we are His through all eternity. The Holy Spirit will dwell in us while on this earth, and if we pass into death before the Rapture, our souls will be with Jesus right then. Philippians 1:21; “For me to live is Christ; and to die is gain.”
Romans 1:16 states; “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for Salvation to everyone who believes; to the Jew first; also to the Greek (everyone else).”
Romans 2:6-8; “He will render to each according to his/her works; to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, He will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking [the “ME” people] and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness [Satanist], there will be wrath and fury.”
Remember Romans 2:11; “For God shows no partiality.” Everyone has the same choice to make no matter where in this world they are from: Jesus and eternity in Heaven, or Satan and eternity in Hell. Romans 3:29 states, “Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not God of the Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles also.”
The only way we can come to the Father is through His Son. Romans 3:23-24; “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
This ties in perfectly with John 14:6: “Jesus said I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by Me.” And add to that Acts 4:12; “And there is Salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
When we are told that we must have faith and believe, how can anyone expect to accomplish this without any type of relationship with Our Savior? One way is to learn by getting into God’s Holy Word that He has provided for us. Romans 10:17; “So faith comes from hearing [or reading], and hearing through the Word of Christ.”
The day is coming soon when the “fullness of the Gentiles” will have come in (Romans 11:25). By fullness, we understand that to indicate all believers’ time here will be done, and we will be Raptured (1 Corinthians 15:51-53; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). It will include Messianic Jewish people, but that total consists of only about 1% to 2% of their worldwide population. The same verse says that a “partial hardening has come upon Israel.” Verse 26 states that all Israel will be saved but at a very high price. Zechariah 13:8 tells us that about 2/3 of Israel, that will go into the Tribulation, will perish; but at the end, all of Israel will know Jesus as their Messiah.
Today, more than ever before, anything that pertains to Jesus is being turned against. During the 7-year tribulation, God will send a strong delusion so that those who are condemned will believe all of Satan’s lies (2 Thessalonians 2:11). For true believers, we are seeing Bible prophecy fulfilled every day, and we realize the next main event will be the Rapture. It’s there for anyone to study about, but the true word is foolishness to the perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18).
My daily prayer includes asking the Father to touch the souls of all our loved ones so that none are left behind to face the Father’s wrath. He will force no one to call on Jesus, but will accept all who truly do so. We don’t know the day or the hour, but it is evident the time is right at the portal. Events are accelerating at a pace we have never seen before.
Please call today. You will be eternally grateful you did.
Come, Lord Jesus!