Dear John, and Doves,
 
    I spoke at a Full Gospel Business Men's meeting some years ago and was given a paper by a man who said that the Holy Spirit instructed him to write down a dream and its interpretation and distribute it to those whom he indicated.  I will quote from his paper later to describe the dream, but the jest of the dream was that there was going to be a partial rapture of the church.  That doctrine was contrary to my belief at the time and I could not immediately accept it.
 
    I told the Lord, "I can't see any reason for a separation in the Body of Christ and cannot accept such a doctrine unless you show it to me in the scripture and explain why you would do such a thing."  Since I won't accept any interpretation of the scriptures which doesn't line up with the character and nature of God, I needed to also know why he would do such a thing.  I chewed on this for ten years as I progressively saw it in the scriptures and finally received his answer of explanation.
 
    Here's the Lord's answer as best as I can relate what he said, "From the beginning of the church, I have dealt with each Christian's death individually and tried to give each person time to repent and prepare to stand before me in judgment.  At the rapture of the church, I will take a whole group at one time so there isn't opportunity to allow each person their individual space to repent.  If I took the whole church unexpectedly at one time, many would enter eternity ashamed to stand before me in judgment.  In my mercy, I am only going to take those that are prepared in the first rapture and give the rest time to repent and become either hot or cold.  That way, they will not have to stand before me in shame because I took them unexpectedly"
 
      I can now see the wisdom of God and the mercy of God in there being a partial rapture of the church.  I hope that I am counted worthy to participate in the rapture, but if not, I had rather be left behind and be given the opportunity to even sacrifice my life for Christ than to unexpectedly stand ashamed before him in judgment.  Since the Apostle Paul was expecting to see the return of Christ during his lifetime, I think that is what he is referring to in Philippians 3:10-14.  He knew that just because he was in the Body of Christ, didn't mean that he had already attained or had already apprehended the right to participate in the resurrection of the dead.  It is a prize for which we should all press toward the mark.  We are repeatedly warned to be ready and watching for a reason!
 
    I personally believe that both of the wedding parables are calling our attention to the requirements for participating in the rapture:  (Matthew 25:4 oil in your vessel and Matthew 22:11 a wedding garment).  We know that oil is a type of the Holy Ghost and Rev. 19:7-9 tells us that the bride's clothes are the righteousness of saints.
 
    Those of us who are alive will need our mortal bodies transformed into immortal bodies at the rapture (I Cor. 15:51-54).  Remember that Christ's own body was transformed upon his resurrection and Romans 8:11 tells us, "If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.  This "IF" is not written concerning salvation, because verse 9 has already clearly stated that if the Spirit of Christ is not in you, then you are none of his.  Verse 11 is calling attention to the requirement for the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit (oil in the vessel) if we want our mortal bodies (i.e.dead bodies in verse 10) quickened (Strongs 2227, made alive, given life).  Just as Jesus' body was transformed at the resurrection, our bodies will need to be transformed at the rapture.  The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit is a definite requirement for the transformation of the body at the rapture.
 
    Romans 8:9-11 is also calling attention to the distinction between the Spirit of Christ and the Spirit of God which is that spirit that raised Christ from the dead.  When a person is born again, he is immersed into the Body of Christ and becomes one spirit with the Lord (I Cor. 6:17), which could be called receiving the Spirit of Christ.  He is then in communion with the Spirit of Christ and senses the witness of the spirit through that communion.  Because of this, much of the church has assumed that they also received the Holy Spirit (the spirit that raised Christ from the dead).  Note that verse eleven is saying to those that have received the Spirit of Christ, that they haven't necessarily received that same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, since God doesn't put extraneous "If"s in his word.
 
     Here is the description of the dream and interpretation as given in the paper by Elder Edmund Hammond Jr.:
            The truths contained in the parable of the ten virgins were indelibly imprinted on my mind by a vivid dream which definitely came from God.  The setting for this dream was a large city (its name was no revealed), having a large theater in which plays were presented.  My wife and I and another couple were traveling by automobile and had occasion to spend a night in this large city.  When we saw an advertisement for the play to be presented at the theater that night we were seized with an overwhelming desire to attend the performance.  However, the hour was late and no advance tickets were available, so we decided to drive to the theater in the hope that tickets could be purchased at the theater door.

            When we arrived at the theater we saw a long line of people waiting to buy tickets at one of the ticket windows; and assuming that these people wished to attend the performance for that night, we took our positions at the end of the line and waited.  The line moved very slowly, and when we finally reached the ticket window the play had already begun.  Upon reaching the window the ticket agent asked the question:  “For which night do you wish to buy tickets?”

            We hastily told the agent that we wished to purchase tickets for the performance that night, but we were promptly informed that we had come to the window for advance ticket sales, and that the ticket sales window for the current performance was around the corner of the building.  Upon receiving this news we rushed to the proper window and found that it had already been closed for the night, and we were thoroughly disheartened and frustrated.

            At this point, I was awakened from my dream and heard the Lord speaking to my spirit.  He asked, “Do you understand why you were unable to buy tickets for the theater performance?”  Then after receiving a negative response from me, He provided the answer, saying, “You were not able to buy tickets because you did not understand the rules by which the theater sold tickets.  If you had understood their rules, you could have gone to the right line and purchased the tickets before the window was closed.  Your ignorance of the theater rules caused you to be locked out.”

            Then he concluded by saying, “Just as your ignorance of the theater rules kept you from gaining admission to the theater, so will ignorance of my requirements for admission to the wedding feast of the Lamb, keep many Christians from being admitted to that ceremony, and on that day, their dismay will be very great indeed.  These requirements are presented in my parable of the ten virgins, for which you have been given an interpretation.  Tell these requirements to as many as will listen, so that those who have ears to hear may not be disappointed.”

 
 
YBIC,
David Robinson