The Rapture
Distractions and deceptions are rampant everywhere! We read about or watch videos about UFO’s and the like; and for some it is Ghost hunting or there about. And for some of us, we wonder about the validity of these things. In other words, are they real? Or are we getting our collective leg pulled? My usual answer is to ask the question, “What does the Word of God say?”

Most will reply with, they do not have time for reading the Bible; they have more important things to consider. Others will say that there are too many mistakes in the Bible, and then they will begin to expound on such dribble. And yet, when asked about the validity of their position, they have little to talk about; it is usually, “Well we believe this or that.” Their knowledge based on their own position is a wreck, to say the least.

I have noticed a somewhat uptick in these sort of stories and beliefs; and that is the reason for this article. First, let’s take to the Word of God on these matters and see what it says.

Luke 21:8 “And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.“

Matthew 24:11 “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.“

Matthew 24:24 “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.“

What are we talking about here, with all this “false Christs, and false prophets?” We already know that some very strange and ignorant people will tell others about such things and that a great many will believe them, specifically because they have never opened the Holy Word of God and read the Truth therein. Here’s the crux of the matter. We all enjoy a good story, but we must know whether or not that story is truth or not, or if it’s for a joke to be told. And yet we see everywhere around us, in today’s times, far too many people believing in garbage. And by the usage of ‘Garbage,’ I mean anything that is not in the Word of God.

Before I was saved, I liked the stories of ‘Ghost Hunting’ and the like. It was titillating to think the spirit of people hung about after they died. And many are deceived because they hate the idea that their loved ones are truly gone. They say things like, “We’ll simply call on their spirit,” and dabble in Séances and the like, or visit a ‘Psychic or Spiritualist.’ It is so wrong because the Word of God tells us:

Deuteronomy 18:9-12 “When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.”

Wow! That is a serious rebuke, if ever I have read one in the Holy Word of God…am I correct? Having read this, I am not to consider anything of the Like: UFO’s or Ghost Hunting or anything associated with them. I am to read the Holy Word of God and believe that alone!

So, the question now is, why are we not to believe these things? The answer is the reason for this article, especially in these days and times. We are now in the “Last Days…The End of Times!” Think of it this way: I remember when I was young and in school. I would be told that I will have a test tomorrow, let’s say in Science. Tonight would find me “Cramming” till I would fall asleep at my desk. How is this an example?

As we already know, Satan and his ilk are super busy, endeavoring to change the hearts of people everywhere into believing anything but the Word of God. They don’t want you to consider the Truth of God’s Word! They hate God and anything to do with HIM…most of all they hate YOU. The reason for that is this: God created us in HIS Image. We are told that, before the Tribulation they will see:

Matthew 24:24 “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.“

2 Timothy 3:13 “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.“

1 Timothy 4:1-2 “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.”

2 Thessalonians 2:2-5 “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. 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. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?”

This last passage of Scripture defines the deceptions of Satan and his ilk to the point that, if it were not for the Holy Word of God, the elect would be deceived as well. That is such a strong statement! Do the things we see, like UFO’s or Ghosts or some other deception, really matter? The obvious answer is Yes! This is simply the beginning of Satan and his ilk…working harder and harder…to deceive everyone! Essentially, they are “Cramming” because the Rapture is so very close! The Lord God Almighty is about to prove HIS Holy Word as Truth to the entire world, and Satan and his ilk are working to disprove that.

Know this, my Friends. Once the Rapture of the Church of Jesus Christ takes place, only the lost will remain. Then the Spiritual battle for whoever is left behind begins. And again, the Holy Word of God tells us that there will be those that come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ after the Rapture. Problem is, these individuals will come to Jesus Christ at a great cost indeed. They will be tortured and killed!

Conclusively…we must get the Word of God out to all that are willing to listen, before the Rapture takes place! This is the mission of all Born-Again Believers in Jesus Christ; and we are presently living in these “The Last Days.” “The End of Days!”

Time is short, my Friends. There are many that say, “Well…HE hasn’t come yet; what makes you think time is so short, before the Rapture?”

2 Peter 3:3-4 “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.“

The deception will be great, my Friends! And we have a duty to the Lord God, as believers, to prepare the others for this deception. We have a great deal of work to do to get others to understand the effects of Sin in their lives and how the times are changing…mostly to their detriment. As you are able to understand, these Passages of Scripture are fervent…plainly spelled out…telling us that the time is short! The Prince of the air is going to open up new things to make the world wonder and be deceived. We must be prepared and willing to fight these actions at every turn. The spirits of the Lost are in the balance.

I am going to say it again and again…Time is short Y’all…Jesus Christ is coming for HIS own! The question then is…who will go and who will be left behind? Are there any that belong to you – Family and Friends that you care for…Truly care for? And as we stand before the Lord Jesus Christ, will we be able to say, I did my Best to give them the information on Jesus Christ and HIS Love? Or will you stand there, with your eyes lowered and stare at the ground, ashamed? Just asking y’all….!

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.“

All Scripture comes from the King James Version of the Bible

 

I have been thinking lately of that saying in the Scriptures about the End Times, The Last Days. It tells us that we need to be “Watchers on the Wall” and that we must be “Sober and Holy in our thoughts.” It says this is what we are to be doing as we go about our lives in what we already know ARE the Last Days!

I know there are many that sort of sit back and say, “Well…I’ll just sit back and wait on the Rapture.” Yet the Word of God asks us, is this how we should be in these, the Last Days? I must say, it is not! Trust me when I say, it is very easy to stop looking around ourselves at this decaying world and do nothing but wait on the Rapture. Yet there must be more to this time we are living in than just waiting. The following passage of Scripture tells us exactly how we should be:

1 Peter 1:13-16 “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ (Think Rapture here); As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

Ahh! Is this Wisdom of the Lord that we are hearing? We need to be “Sober, Holy, with Hope unto the end.” I can safely say we are very close to THAT Particular END, as in the End Times; am I not correct? As you and I look about ourselves, we see that our particular times are as the times were in the Days of Noah, just before the Great Flood. Obviously, the Word of God has some serious words concerning these last days. Please read Luke Chapter 21. You will find the issues of the day for us. I would be remiss if I did not reiterate to be SOBER of mind.

It is very obvious that these times in the Last Days are going to be tough on all of us, and in some countries, deadly. That being the case, the Word of God is very explicit. Again Luke 21. When we read “Sober of Mind,” we need to understand that it means to be Sober in our Thoughts, mostly to everyone around us as well as ourselves. We need to be about our Father’s business.

What does that mean for us?

Being that the world will be hostile in many ways and to many people, we need to be Benevolent to others, forgiving and Loving. It would be safe to say that would require us to go outside of our comfort zone…right? Again, I see where it would be easier for us to sit back, be quiet, and simply wait on the return of our Lord and Savior. But the Scriptures do not bear that aspect out for us. LUKE 21 shows us that we need to “be calm and clear headed,” and we must strive to be forgiving of others and how they treat us.

These times will prove to be more than complicating in everyone’s lives what with the Wars and Rumors of Wars, and decadence and rampant Evil at every turn. It means that our Love and Benevolence will have to match the onslaught of anger and frustrations of others. We need to be talking and witnessing more and more with those that do not know the Lord. They know they are lost – maybe not in those exact words, but they know something is wrong; something is off. I am sure you have already come across some of those situations with people. We need to take heart!

We, the Born-Again, already know where our home truly is; so when we look at others, we already know that far too few know the exact same thing. Thus our Forgiveness and Benevolence, right? In other words, we will be attacked and ridiculed more today than at any time before! Thus, the Strength of the Lord will be needed even more, Through us. HIS strength will be our strength!

Matthew 6:14-15 “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.“

Like I said before, doing so in these days and times will be tough; but again, we will have the Lord’s Strength to depend on. As I have stated in previous articles, things are not going to get easier – not by a long shot. They will get worse! How fortunate we are that we have such a Loving Father to go to when we are weak, when we need to be forgiven, when we need HIS Strength! We have a great deal of work to do in these, the Last Days. And considering how bad everything will be lends us to understanding how much we will need our Lord and Savior.

We can no longer quietly sit and pray for calm and Peace! The only time that Peace will come is when the Lord Jesus Christ comes, bringing that Peace with HIM. We must understand that because of the Influence of Satan and his ilk in these final days, we are going to be needed even more… people are Lost! Only Jesus Christ and HIS Blood from the Cross will save them! They need to know this!

Matthew 24:37-39 “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.“

In Noah’s day and time, things were no different than they are today. Evil was great in the lands and so was the Violence. God had had enough of it; thus, the Great Flood. We know that, every time we see a rainbow, there is knowledge that the Lord God will never destroy the earth by flood. Yet when HE does destroy the earth, it will be worse than in Noah’s time…it will be with everything…that no one has ever seen in all of History!

The Lord God is going to cleanse the earth. We know this from reading our Bibles, yet the majority of the world has no clue! They know something is going to happen, but exactly what that will be…they have no idea.

Going back to the beginning of this article, we see the need for us to read the Holy Word of God. We must be SOBER of Mind, Holy and willing to help those that are Lost. That, my Friends, is what is expected of us in these Last Days. Just a question here… If we fail at this task, how will we explain that to the Lord God? Will anyone be allowed to give any Excuse whatsoever?

If we say that we Love the Lord and then fail in this task, is our Love for HIM True…or are we lying through our teeth? Just saying, y’all.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.“

All Scripture comes from the King James Version of the Bible.