Surprised Christians Left Behind.
Most people do not need to be convinced that the world today is in a mess, which is steadily becoming increasingly worse each day. Much of what is happening seems to be increasingly lining up; setting the stage, so to speak, for the fulfillment of biblical prophecy regarding the events of the end times, specifically those which would usher in the Second Coming of Christ. A few of the things that most often come to mind in this regard are the restoration of the nation of Israel, the ability to go to a fully government regulated cashless economy; which the world seems to be racing toward, the exponential advancing of artificial intelligence, the ability to alter genetics, as well as the ability to implant and integrate nanotechnology and microchips in living organisms; including humans. I will not develop discussions on these topics in this writing, as much has already been written on them, and such a discussion is not the purpose of this post. Nonetheless, as I stated, these predictions are those leading up to Jesus’ Second Coming, where every eye shall see Him (Revelation 1:7). It is key to note that this follows the Rapture of the Church, which must occur at least 7 years prior. The Rapture and the Second Coming are not the same thing. The Rapture is a snatching away without warning; a disappearing of those who trust Christ as Savior; only we, the believers, living and dead, at the time of the Rapture, shall be seeing Him for the first time at that time. A study on Daniel 9, and the book of Revelation will shed more light on this, and much has been written about it. Therefore, for the sake of brevity, I will not engage in a detailed development of that topic here either.
Jesus did not directly discuss the Rapture. The doctrine of the Rapture was a mystery, that Jesus did not reveal during His earthly ministry, but later to the Apostle Paul, who wrote of it directly in 1 Corinthians 15:51-54, and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. The word rapture is a transliteration derived from the Latin term “rapturo,” which is a translation of the original Greek word “harpazo,” which means to be quickly snatched away, which we find used in verse 17 of 1 Thessalonians 4; thus, we do find the Rapture in the Bible, contrary to what some may teach. The Rapture can occur at any time; there are no prophecies that need to be fulfilled in order for it to occur. This is often referred to as the Doctrine of Imminence. This is not the case with the Second Coming. There is much that Scripture tells us about specific events that must happen, and even when, relative to other prophecies, even with specific timing, that lead up to the Second coming. We indeed do not currently know the day or hour, but Jesus tells us that we could know the season (Luke 21:29-31). I will humbly speculate that it sure looks like we are currently in Second Coming season. Remember, the Rapture must come FIRST, and there is no prophecy which must be fulfilled in order for it to occur.
There are many learned scholars who astutely study Bible prophecy and are of great help to many in understanding the prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled. However, studying and understanding prophecies, and even believing them are not any sort of guarantee that you will not be left behind at the Rapture, to endure the Tribulation. I often see videos and read posts on social media that discuss “qualifications” that must be met by Christians, in order to not be left behind at the Rapture. These usually include some sort of “watching and seeking” mindset, having an amply righteous or spiritual mindset, somehow living righteously enough, etc. In other words, it depends a great deal upon you adequately meriting being good enough to somehow make the cut, so to speak. I see many fearful replies of people concerned that they are not going to make this cut, and that they are going to try harder, in order to hopefully be in that category.
There is only one way to make the cut, and that is to believe on Jesus; to trust Him as Savior; this is the only basis of said cut (Please see my blog entitled “Believe, Trust or Love?” for more discussion on this). He will be taking those who have believed on Him; trusted Him as Savior; relying on Him and His finished work ALONE. He will not be taking those who are trying to earn even part of their salvation; their place in the Rapture (Matthew 7:21-23, Romans 11:6, Ephesians 2:8-9, etc.). I have spent a great deal of time writing about and scripturally backing the doctrine of salvation by grace and not of works in many other posts, articles, and in the free e-book: “Angles and Aspects of Salvation.” I would invite and encourage you to look through them.
There will unfortunately be faithful and hardworking religious people, church goers, teachers, elders, pastors, priests, etc.; who have a lot of doctrine correct; including the doctrine of the Rapture, who will be very confused as to why they remain and others of the Christian faith have disappeared, when the Rapture occurs. They will have failed to meet the one and only requirement for salvation; to trust in Christ ALONE as Savior, and be left to endure the horrors of the Tribulation. Unfortunately, many will then be led astray and will not ever be saved. If the Rapture has occurred and you fall into this category, it is not too late. You can still trust Christ as Savior; rely totally upon Him, and inherit eternal life and escape eternal condemnation. However, you will have to endure the Tribulation. If you are still an adherent to Lordship “salvation,” and you are reading this before the Rapture, repent! as in change your mind about needing to somehow “help” Jesus with your salvation, or to earn even part of it. When you do this, you are born again; you receive the sinless second birth (1 John 3:9) which cannot die (John 3, etc.). Lordship “salvation” is rooted in nothing but pride and fear. Jesus has no need for either of these. Please read “Repentance: What does it Really Mean?” found in the articles on this website, for more treatment of this ever so important topic.
Am I saying that Christians shouldn’t be doing good, be in the proper mindset, etc.? Not by any means. We want our works to be approved of and blessed by Jesus when we see Him and He judges our works; not us, as He has already taken our judgement (2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Corinthians 3:11-15). We should be wanting to see as many people taken in the Rapture as possible, and doing the work associated with it. But we aren’t going because of that. We are not going because of anything that may or may not do. We are going ONLY because of what Jesus did for us, not by what we do for Him; we could do nothing for Him before our second birth. We are not going because of any very breakable promises that we could ever make to Him, only because of the unbreakable promises that He made to us.
Please don’t let your pride, or anything else get in the way of you being Rapture-ready; to say that it just isn’t worth it would be an understatement of understatements. Believe the Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4); believe on Jesus plus nothing. Jesus plus something is nothing, Jesus plus nothing is everything. God bless.
Please take the time to look around at the rest of the site. Please feel free to use anything on here for the purpose of reaching the lost and the edification of the saints.
Also, for some very easy listening and informative discussion and teaching about Biblical end time prophecy, please check out and listen to The Prophecy Pros. Below is a link to their podcast. Please also click the button below for the free e-book; I believe it will be a blessing to you.
https://prophecyprospodcast.com/