Numerous critics of the pre-tribulation Rapture of the church of true Believers in Christ simply label the imminent event as nothing more than an escapade from an increasingly difficult world. They fail to understand the implications that not only concern the ones that are taken out of a fallen planet, the plight of those left behind has not been given adequate attention!
A close examination of Romans 2:7-8 does explain the differentiation:
“eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honour and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness – indignation and wrath.”
Verse 7 is all about the folks like us who keep looking up amidst an ominous backdrop of darkness that is engulfing the whole world. We are simply content in doing good, not because we are earning a place in heaven – that has been settled the moment we gain salvation through accepting Christ as our Saviour. We are simply choosing an unadulterated option with no room for accommodating others, which creates blemishes. We do not act selfishly, create dissension and use foul language because it does not fit the path we walk in. In short, doing good comes naturally to those who wholeheartedly choose that selfless path of righteousness.
Are we doing it blindly and aimlessly? Not the case, because it is not simply about avoiding the unending torment which goes on forever. There is more to it! We will attain immortality without footing a single dime – an immortality beyond our wildest dreams. A body free of disease and malfunctioning organs – that is, once we don an imperishable, resurrected form. The new mind will not know stress, worry and depression. Fear and death will then be nonexistent. So will it be for past hurts, disappointments and failures – these will be permanently erased from that new mind. I cannot help but picture what it is like to have all the nasties associated with the current madness forgotten in a fraction of a flash when eternal life commences!
Verse 8 speaks of the other side of the coin. While the Rapture serves as a blessed hope coming to pass for the righteous, it is more than a scourge for the self-seekers who rebel against their Maker. All the years of downplaying could soon get a startling rebuff. Indeed, the current pandemic serves as an indicator of that which would reshape multitudes – there is no turning back from there. Do not imagine what the world would be like when it catches about every disbelieving soul by surprise. Because if you do, you cannot be counted amongst the fainthearted. It will be as if a button has been pressed for all of Hades to encapsulate the planet. Rightfully so when the Restrainer of all evil is removed from the face of the earth. Lives will never, ever be the same again.
Can there be peace from then onwards? The violence, insanity and rampant chaos we are now beginning to see is just a mere fraction of that which will plague every corner of the globe once peace ceases to exist.
It can only worsen with each passing day as the reality of the Tribulation more than takes root. The aggregation of all sorrows during the worst moments in human history will reek of the unimaginable, the unspeakable and the unthinkable. This is when God’s wrath is poured out to all flesh that rebels. It does not just end there; a reprieve from the guillotine, meant for those who eventually turn to Christ, is guaranteed eternal damnation. This is all one gets for turning against his or her Creator!
We can only say that the Rapture has a reward element for the steadfast believer and a punitive aspect for the unbelieving. God will deliver on the promise that it will happen, and happen soon. God’s promises are a hundred percent to the letter because there is no other like Him!
John 3:16-18 speaks of the choices and the consequences that go with that which we choose.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
The choice is there for the taking, except that the time allocated for doing so is ticking away very quickly.
Maranatha
Edwin
Contactable at edwinuk13@gmail.com