Unsaved Disciples

Fish Out of Water

Romans 4:

² For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.

³ For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

⁴ Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

⁵ But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

There is and always has been a great deal of talk within Christendom about the Second Coming of Christ, starting in the New Testament... and technically in the Old Testament as well. Even the Apostle Paul was looking for it (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 1 Corinthians 15: 51-52). Jesus did not give us any sort of specific time that He would be returning, but He did give us some things to look for, both in the Gospels and in the Epistles, through His apostles.

Interestingly, the Bible describes two events that will be associated with the second coming of Christ. The first one that will occur is the Rapture of the Church. It is imminent, meaning that it could happen at any time; there is no prophecy that yet needs to be fulfilled for it to happen. The second event, often referred to simply as the Second Coming or Glorious Appearing, does not occur until at least seven years following. I will include a link explaining the timelines here in more detail, which will also demonstrate that they are not the same event, as some folks [often good and well-meaning] seem to somehow think that they are. I will briefly say, however, not dogmatically, that I do believe that these two separate, but very closely connected events will be occurring relatively soon, as there is so much taking place in the world right now that certainly seems to be setting the stage for the fulfillment of many of the prophecies that surround the events leading up to the Second Coming, again, which does not happen until at least seven years pass after the Rapture of the Church.

The focus of this post has most to do with the Rapture of the Church, which I will simply refer to as the Rapture for the remainder of this writing. This is where believers, those who have trusted Christ as Savior and been born again, saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, are snatched away and taken up to Jesus, to meet Him in the air and forever be with Him (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). The term Rapture is taken from the Latin term "rapturo," which is translated from the Greek word "harpazo," which means a catching up, or snatching away. The Rapture will be like no event that has ever occurred before, nor will there ever be an event like it afterward. Again, it could occur at any time, and there is no prophecy that needs to yet be fulfilled for it to happen; again, even Paul was watching for it. When it occurs, a significant number of people all over the world will suddenly disappear (1 Corinthians 15:51-52), probably leaving nothing but their clothes behind... possibly along with the contents of their digestive tracts as well as their blood... which would make the already disturbing event that much more disturbing, but we'll forget about that nastiness for right now. There will be cars and semi-trucks without drivers, airplanes without pilots, teachers and students disappearing from classrooms, inmates disappearing from prisons and jails, probably all small children disappearing before their parents' very eyes, as well as unborn babies disappearing from their pregnant—rapidly becoming unpregnant—mothers' wombs, as well as many other kinds of astounding, horrendous, and frightening disappearances. It is going to be a time of unprecedented terror and confusion for those left on earth; the majority of the population (which will diminish drastically and violently over the following years, leading up to the Second Coming). There has never been anything like it in history, and there will never be anything like it again, after it happens. There is also the very sobering idea that churches, likely a great deal of them, will still have most, if not all, of their congregants, as well as their clergy with them after the Rapture occurs. It is sobering to think that there are rightfully convicted felons who are rightfully sentenced to spending the rest of their natural lives behind bars who have received the free gift of salvation and who are going to Heaven, and men of the cloth with celebrated prestige and numerous notable accomplishments, as well as lots of "nice people" who make good neighbors, who currently stand in danger of eternal condemnation. God is no respecter of persons (Romans 2:11). Salvation is about the finished work of His Son and nothing else.

This brings me to the main point of this article, which is about those who think that they are going in the Rapture, yet will find themselves left behind after it occurs. There are many learned men with lots of letters after their names, who have written many books that would be called Christian books, which contain a lot of interesting and even useful information, even about the Rapture and Second Coming, who do not have the Gospel correct. They erroneously add the requirement of works to the Gospel (sometimes very subtly, sometimes blatantly), which makes it an impotent and false gospel with no power to save anyone. What they wrongly add to the Gospel may sound admirable, noble, intellectual, and spiritual, but it is not biblical. We are look to and trust the reliable Scripture for evidence of our salvation, not our unreliable and deceitful hearts, feelings, and judgements (Jeremiah 17:9). Sadly, many hardworking and learned individuals have crippled their ministries with this dead-end idea. Some of these people even go so far as to make statements that seem to criticize those of us who evangelize in regards to faith and grace alone, as the Bible plainly teaches. Their statements and messages blur the lines between and wrongfully/dangerously mix salvation by grace, which the Bible clearly teaches is free, and discipleship. Discipleship may indeed cost the saved individual, who has received the gift of salvation, everything he or she owns, even his or her very life. Discipleship is indeed important, to say the least, but it is only relevant to the true believer; the person who has already trusted Christ as Savior and received the irrevocable gift of salvation (Romans 11:29); the second birth, which is of the Holy Spirit (John 3, Galatians 5:16, Ephesians 1:13, 1 John 3:9). Judas Iscariot is a prime example of what happens to unsaved disciples (Acts 1:25). Jesus talks clearly about the fate of the multitude of unsaved disciples as well in Matthew 7:21-23; He never knew them. He also, however, makes it clear that He does indeed know those who trust Him (Nahum 1:7). Allow me to point out that Judas Iscariot followed, served, and worshiped Jesus, but never trusted Him; Satan does not care if you follow, serve, or worship Jesus, just as long as you don't trust Him. What a dreadful thought; to discover that you have lived your life as a false disciple, ultimately amounting to complete disobedience of a master who never knew you.

Death is Ugly

People who may have never trusted Christ as Savior, no matter how godly, devout, and spiritual they may seem, are not part of the true Church, meaning the Body of Christ, and are not going to be taken in the Rapture. I don't care what position in their prestigious church organization they may hold, what Ph.D. they may hold, how many sermons they may have preached, how many "Christian" books they may have written, or what sacred vows they may have taken. I think that it is safe to say that Judas Iscariot, being one of Jesus' original 12 apostles, held a higher office and position than any of these guys, and he's not in Heaven (Acts 1:25). What saddens me most about Judas is that he felt remorse for his mistake but still never trusted in Jesus' power to forgive him for it. Being sorry for your sins and even trying to make them right doesn't get them forgiven, nor does it save you; the wage of sin is death (Romans 6:23), not being sorry for your sins. Trusting only and completely in the finished work of Christ—His death (the wage of sin; His payment for your sin), burial, and resurrection; taking Him at His word, saves; it's the only thing that saves (John 14:6, etc.). Good works and being sorry for your sins don't even help a little in paying for your sins. The grace of Christ is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9), and He does the job by Himself (Hebrews 1:3). In this regard, He works alone; ALWAYS!

Loon Working Alone

I think that many of these preachers of the lordship "salvation" false gospel and their followers are going to realize what their mistake was, and that we crazy adherents of "easy believism" and OSAS (once saved, always saved), etc. had it right. Incidentally, I am not sure why they call the simple Gospel "easy believism;" they seem to have an extremely hard time believing it... The good news is that they will be able to accept and believe the Gospel, just like now. However, there will not be another Rapture to get them out of their predicament that is going to last for at least 7 years (the Tribulation). Their lives will be hard for many reasons, and likely very short, most likely involving a rather unpleasant death of some sort... lots of possibilities here! :-/ Many of these folks will likely help in spreading the Gospel to others.

I also believe that many of these preachers and their followers are going to be deceived and be pulled away into mindsets that are even further from the truth of the Gospel, and likely lead other astray along with them.

Bottom line: whatever walk of life you may be in; Ditch digger to Doctorate of theology, and everything in between, you are not going in the Rapture, which could take place at any time, if you have not truly trusted in Christ alone. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone with no addendums, no fine print, no asterisk, nor strings of ANY sort attached. Believe it and receive it. You do not want to endure the 7 years of Hell on earth before the Second Coming, and you don't have to, assuming you are that reading this before the Rapture. Even you are reading it after the Rapture, make the decision to take Jesus at His Word. You have everything to lose by not doing so, and everything to gain by doing so.

Please like and share this; it helps to spread the Gospel. Please also take the time to click on the links and read/watch/share and like the other materials contained in the post, especially be sure to read the Scripture passages!

God bless.

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