"Behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with me, to give every man according to his work shall be." (Rev 22:12)
In the last couple of weeks, Abba has been speaking in my spirit, "Get ready, prepare." And as I tuned my heart toward Him, even more than before, He started to teach me and showed me the secrets of His heart for His church. And this morning, He asked me to share this with you, hence this writing.
With what's going on in the world right now with the coronavirus pandemic, many cannot help but to wonder if the end of the world is here, believers/ Christians included. And many of you are likely to re-read or start reading the book of Revelation to figure out where we are in terms of timing and sequence of events. But get this, the book of Revelation is one of the few books in the Bible that is explicit yet implicit at the same time. If you are reading it merely from your intellect and not through the Spirit, you will not be able to perceive it.
It is of utmost importance that we read the Bible with our heart and through the eyes of the Spirit, instead of using our intellect. It is with our heart that we believe. We call this faith. And without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). But if we approach His Word like little children, with open heart, humility, and simple faith, He will reveal.
Seven seals, seven trumpets, seven vials/ bowls
What you believe of rapture, that is the snatching of believers from this world to Heaven as Lord Jesus comes in His glory in the clouds, depends on a few things: your walk with God, teachings you have heard so far, and what you have learned of the book of Revelation yourself.
To simplify, the events in the book of Revelation is divided into three major parts: seven seals (pre tribulations), seven trumpets (mid tribulations), and seven vials (great tribulations).
Many ministers believe that at the moment we are in the seven seals part (pre tribulations) and many believe the rapture will happen soon during this time, before mid tribulations (the seven trumpets), which means before anti Christ and mark of the beast being revealed. They said that God will protect His people from great tribulations. But there are also some who believe that the great tribulations that are being talked about here (the seven vials) shouldn't be referred to as great tribulations but great wraths of God, that they are two different things.
And I acknowledge that there are many different teachings about the timing of rapture, if it is before tribulation (pre-trib), during tribulation (mid-trip), or during and even after great tribulation.
I have come across all of those different views, and they were shared by ministers whose teachings and fruits are good so far. So, like me, you're probably confused: which one is right? (Of course there are others who took on the other side and ask not to care about the timing, claiming that after all Jesus Himself said no one, not even angels, but only God the Father knows the timing.)
Let me clarify one thing. I actually never asked Abba about the timing of rapture and I never really put too much thoughts about this. But yet, amazingly, as I focus on caring about His heart, He's the One who revealed it to me.
So when is rapture?
Last Friday morning, the Holy Spirit woke me up at five am and led me to read the book of Revelation. Now, up until that time, I have read that book for a few times, but have never really understood it. So when He led me to read it, I was hesitant. Yet, in obedience, I did as led.
For the next one hour, it was like watching the whole scenes in the book of Revelation come to life. It's almost like watching a movie. Everything became so clear. No more confusions over the many sevens there: seven Spirits, seven stars, seven churches, seven angels, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven vials!
And as I read Revelation chapter 14:14-20, my spirit bore witness within me: that's the rapture! As I read that passage, I straight away was reminded to Matthew chapter 13:36-43 where the Lord explained the parable of tares. And true enough, as I checked on the referenced verses on the side of the passage, I saw the passage in Matthew 13 there.
The rapture is there, so explicit and yet so implicit at the same time. And over the next few days after that, I went on to listen more teachings on rapture and I even tried finding on the Internet if any ministers have linked Revelation 14 to the rapture and I found none. I was confused. That really troubled me. Yet I knew the Spirit was trying to show me something.
What the Spirit revealed to Paul concerning rapture
Yesterday, He woke me up and told me, "Read Thessalonians." And I did, not understanding why. But again, the same amazing thing happened! I found myself reading the entire first book effortlessly. I was not bothered by the chapters and verses there, but rather I read it as a letter, because actually it was what it was: a letter.
In his first letter to the believers in Thessalonica, Paul was expressing how he's greatly comforted after knowing that they, despite going through persecutions, stood steadfast in the faith and the teachings that Paul and team taught before. After that Paul was addressing the rapture after hearing from Timothy that they were questioning the benefit to be a Christian if one dies before Christ returns. And here's Paul's answer:
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them who are asleep, that you sorrow not, like others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus dies and rose again, even so they who sleep in Jesus (that) God will bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them who are asleep.
For the Lord Himself shall descent from Heaven with a shout, with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
"All that is good, Abba, but it didn't really say when.." so I told Him.
This morning, the Spirit told me to continue reading: the second book the Thessalonians. And having read the first book and truly understood it, reading the second book (or letter in this case) was a breeze (you need to read the first letter to fully grasp the second letter). This second letter is basically a continuation of his first letter and again Paul was addressing about rapture. And then there it is!
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him, that you are not soon shaken in mind, or troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that day of Christ is at hand.
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition (destruction); Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4)
You can read the next verses (yes, this will be a good time to grab your Bible and read it if not yet), which basically the events that will take place in the last days as told in the book of Revelation. But let's zoom into verse three and four, that speaks about the anti Christ. Where then in the book of Revelation that the anti Christ will be revealed? It's on chapter 13, which is after the seven trumpets, which is after pre tribulations time. In other word, it's during the mid tribulations.
What does this mean for us?
Some of you might wonder, "So what's the deal? What does it mean for us? Why should I care?"
Here's why you should care.
First, the Bible is Jesus in print, it is God's Word, and it's all true. If He says that there will be rapture, there will be rapture. And just as Paul told the believers in Thessalonica not to be ignorant, Abba is telling us now, "Don't be ignorant!". But this rapture for Christ's bride will not happen until anti Christ and the mark of the beast is revealed. That means, we will go through those things and if our faith is not strong in the Lord, we will not be able to stand during those days.
If you notice, I keep using the word "bride" instead of "church" and I have a reason for that. You see, Jesus will come for His bride, the rapture is a picture of Christ as the bridegroom coming to pick up His bride, because there will be a marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19). While the bride is part of the church (or the body of Christ), not all members of the body is a bride. That's why Jesus gave the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25.
As believers, we are liken to virgins because when we believe and receive Christ to be our Lord and Saviour, our sins are washed away and we are made whiter than snow - a picture of a virgin. Yet in that parable, there are ten virgins and half of them fell asleep to the point they runs out of oil, go out to buy, and in doing so, miss the coming of the bridegroom.
And I find it very interesting that in verse 12, the bridegroom answers the five foolish (unprepared) virgins, "verily I say unto you, I do not know you". Doesn't this remind you of Matthew 7:21-23:
Not every one that says unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father, who is in Heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name? And in Your name have cast out devils? And in Your name done many wonderful works? And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, you who work iniquity (wickedness).
It's all about our relationship with God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit
Preaching or performing miracles in Jesus name or leading worship does not give automatic entry to Heaven. And surely it doesn't mean we are a bride. Out of the ten virgins, half do not make it. Jesus is clear about that. You can be doing all those things and yet, not knowing Him.
Don't miss the boat! It's all about our knowing Him. Christianity is not a religion, it's a relationship with God the Father and His Son Jesus, and with His Holy Spirit. And in that relationship is where we care about what He cares about, listen to His heartbeat, obey His instructions, and worship with everything that we are and we do.
It's about pouring our love for the One who's worthy all along. God wants your heart above all else, ministry included. Remember Mary vs. Martha.
Stop treating God as an ATM machine. He knows your needs and yes He cares for your need and He will take care of you. Go back to your first love! Spend time finding out what pleases Him, what makes Him sad, what He wants to talk about, and what's important to Him. After all that's what you do in a relationship, right (remember when you're chasing your spouse during courtship?).
Take heed of what He's saying here. Abba loves you so much, and that's why He's been asking me to share this with you.
Jesus is clear about who will not be part of the new heaven and the new earth:
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake of fire and brimstone, which is the second death. (Revelation 21:8)
For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loves and makes a lie. (Revelation 22:15)
They who have ears to listen, let them listen.
In the next blog, I will talk about the bridal preparation we must do to be a worthy bride of Christ. Stay tuned.
Note:
For those who still prefer to believe that rapture is going to take place pre tribulations, my question to you is: what if it's not? What if you are still here during mid tribulations? Will you be able to stand those days with what you have now in terms of your faith and your relationship with Abba? Isn't it wiser to prepare for more than to be caught unprepared? Jesus told His disciples to walk two miles when being asked to walk for one. It's a principle. Do more for God for what He asks of you. Most of the time, it's a test for our hearts.