Rapture Ready?
There is no doubt that evil’s strength is growing daily, with more and more people embracing cultic ways and symbols. The enemy no longer hides his evil schemes, but openly flaunts them in front of the entire world, yet so many people are unaware of the times in which we live, because they have never been taught. When we removed prayer from public schools two generations ago we began our downward spiral that will not end until Yeshua (Jesus) returns to finish the job.
Have you heard about SpaceX’s commercial space module that just returned from its first mission? The name of the spacecraft is Dragon:
“Dragon is a free-flying, reusable spacecraft being developed by SpaceX under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. Initiated internally by SpaceX in 2005, the Dragon spacecraft is made up of a pressurized capsule and unpressurized trunk used for Earth to LEO transport of pressurized cargo, unpressurized cargo, and/or crew members.”
On May 31st Dragon returned from its maiden voyage to great fanfare:
That Dragon's re-entry and splashdown went well marks another significant achievement, as the spacecraft is alone among the automated cargo freighters that service the space station in its ability to carry supplies not just up, but down.
Anyone who has spent any time in the book of Revelation will have quickly noticed the correlation between this event and one prophecy found in the twelfth chapter:
And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Messiah have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time." And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. (Revelation 12:7-13)
It has long been rumored that NASA was nothing more than a public front for the real space program, which has been aided and abided through alien (demon) technology. We now have an unmanned (automated) space craft that not only takes supplies to the International Space Station (ISS), but can also bring materials (live or otherwise, due to the pressurization of the capsule) back from space. Think about the implications of that, while bearing in mind that they have named this craft Dragon. What kind of beings might be brought back secretly, without a single crew member aboard who could potentially blow the whistle on the whole affair? All of this has caused at least one person to ask, “Could this be a sign that the Rapture of the Church is about to happen and that chaos is about to unfold in this world??” I would like to answer that question: No to the first part, and yes to the second. Allow me to explain…
Most of the teachings regarding the rapture center on the teachings of Paul; I would like to be different and look at what Yeshua (Jesus) had to say about this future event, for He did speak of it. However, Yeshua never spoke of the rapture; He spoke of the ingathering of the saints at the end of the age.
"But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.” (Matthew 24:29-31)
Please take note of the order of events listed by Yeshua: first the tribulation, then the signs in the heavens, followed by the Great Trumpet (final trumpet) and finally the saints will be gathered. The sound of the trumpet blast does not precede the tribulation, and neither does the gathering together of the saints of God. Therefore, according to Yeshua our Messiah, the rapture does not precede the tribulation, but follows afterward, at the very end.
Yes, the women spoke of back in Revelation, the one who gave birth to the man-child, is taken away and protected, but that does not mean off-planet as so many seem to assume.
Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days. (Revelation 12:6)
But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. (Revelation 12:14)
This is not the only time in Scripture that we are told the people of God will be taken into the wilderness. Besides the Exodus story, Ezekiel tells us that Adonai will take His people into the wilderness to judge them:
"I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out; and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you," declares the Lord GOD. "I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; and I will purge from you the rebels and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Thus you will know that I am the LORD.” (Ezekiel 20:34-38)
Adonai will protect His people during the tribulation, but only those who have prepared themselves for the event. The preparations we need the most are the ones done in our hearts. Unless we spend time now preparing our hearts to trust in Yeshua’s guidance and protection, we will not be ready to do so when all hell breaks loose and we are truly persecuted. We are called to overcome the world just as Yeshua demonstrated; He was not removed from the pain but endured greater tribulation than we will ever know. If we are to take up our cross and follow Him, then we must be prepared to endure the same kind of tribulations that Paul endured, and Peter endured, and the saints of old endured, as well as the very same tribulations that saints in Africa and Indonesia are enduring on this very day.
Only those who are prepared will enter into the secret place He has prepared for them. Only those who still show compassion for their fellow man (Matthew 25:32-46), and who cry out about the abominations occurring around them (Ezekiel 9:4-6) will be protected.
It’s not time for rapture practice, folks! It’s Time to get our hearts in right standing with Adonai El Shaddai, for His judgments are coming and are true and if we are not careful we might just get caught up in these judgments, becoming captives or even martyrs. Only those who endure to the end will be there to witness His triumphant return; and be counted among the bride of Messiah.
Whatever bitterness we have within, we must find its root and remove it. Unforgiveness for past sins unconfessed, or pains unresolved, can cause a hardening of the heart, which can cause our hearts to lose compassion for those still bound in the curses of sin. Angry and hurtful words, spoken out of the bitterness of our souls, cause soul wounds in others, and the cycle continues until we stand up and break it, humbly seeking God’s forgiveness for ourselves and others who have hurt us. Ignoring problems will not cause them to go away, only to fester until the wound is so great that the only way we can survive is by cutting it out of our heart. We truly are the walking wounded.
Just as the stars hit the gym for rock-hard abs, we need to exercise our faith by daily spending time in the Word and in prayer, not only for ourselves, but for the world around us. Intercessory prayer leads to a softening of the heart, which is why Yeshua taught us to pray for our enemies. It’s not for their sake; it is for our heart’s sake. The world teaches us to harden our hearts and swallow our tears, but Yeshua’s people have soft hearts and they are constantly crying out against the sins and injustice of the world.
Prayer is the key to an intimate relationship with the Most High, yet so many of us fail to take any time at all to pray. Our prayers should rise like incense before the Throne of God; how many of us take the time to offer the sweet smell before His majesty?
When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. (Revelation 5:8)
As the old saying goes, “I’d rather be ready for the Tribulation and be surprised by the rapture, then ready for the rapture and by surprised by the Tribulation!” Rapture ready? No, I don’t think so… I’m working on being Tribulation Ready; my workout regimen consists of daily prayer, Bible study and times of quiet reflection, listening for that still, small voice that leads me and guides me into the path He has set before me. I want to be prepared, ready for whatever trial or tribulation He might send my way, all the while praying that these trials may strengthen my faith in Him. Instead of asking: “Oh, God; why me?” I chose to ask, “What do I need to learn through this?” Usually the lesson learned is to rely more fully upon He who created me and is guiding me through the trials and tribulations of life, strengthening my faith with each step taken.
Won’t you join my walk of faith? Relying upon the Spirit of God to lead and guide is into the safety of the shadow of His wings is much more important than storing up food and other supplies and doesn’t cost us a thing other than time. Can we not sacrifice a little of our time to He who created time? Let us be Tribulation Ready and build our faith muscles by hitting the Book regularly, meeting with our personal trainer (Yeshua) and getting our prayer life back on track. It is the only way to really prepare for the chaos that lies ahead…
Well that’s typical Christian values, finger wagging and villifying anyone who disagrees with their viscious draconian religion. If you want to see a lying evil bastardoes, look in the mirror Christians. “There is no doubt that evil’s strength is growing daily, with more and more people embracing cultic ways and symbols.”
You are the ones ebracing cultic ways and symbols, only Christianity is a death cult. Unlike most other cults that celebrate life, Christianity celebrates death, murders people over the argument of what happens to you after you’ve died. You are also good at lying, stealing, burning people alive, torturing, raping children, kidnapping and selling children, money laundering, lobbying governments, being odiously arrogant claiming knowledge of the unknowable. And viscious with it.
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Your venomous response is precisely the subject of prayer in which the author speaks! It is so easy to be a critic, and natural to attack the truth with cunning and innuendo regarding matters of faith, especially when you’ve been hurt by someone who considers themselves a representative of a religion. By way of assumption, your use of “typical Christian values” reveals much more than you state. It is very sad that you have only met christians (small c) that support/embody your opinions, and not real Christian’s who reflect a life modeled after Jesus through the empowering of the Holy Spirit! I pray you are shown the real love of Jesus in this life through someone who embodies these true values though. Perhaps you may realize that we all live in a “cult” of death everyday in this temporary life! Jesus is THE gateway to everlasting life though. He also said He is the ONLY way to God. Whether or not we like those parameters, Jesus is exclusive to life eternal—no other religions have that opportunity for those of us who experience this temporal life-including you. The best to you!