There is so much debate, anger and fear over the issue of holiness for the rapture.   And I had a nice conversation with a friend today about this subject.  

And what it boils down to is people are called for a purpose and are prepared for that purpose.    I have had visions of the rapture since I was 7 years old.   My husband who is not saved has dreams of being in Israel during the tribulation and seeing a tremendous war, revival, and supernatural events.    Since he and I are walking down two different paths, I basically say things so he can store them in his mind for later usage.   But I do not harp on him because I know the Lord is going to use him for a mighty purpose, just not the same purpose as me.  

I was called to watch from the age of 7.   Now I do have to say that there were many times in my life where I was not saved and almost died and would have gone to hell, but the Lord called me for a purpose and made my path straight.    He did ask me to repent and turn from sin and get saved which I did.    But the question of holiness was something that started REALLY bothering me listening to many pastors talking about it which struck a nerve in my soul.   At first I was angry about it because I felt these guys were telling me that Jesus death and resurrection was not enough.   Then I felt sick about it because that I would never be good enough and the devil was playing mind games on me.   

But then I figured it out and it came through the Book Pilgrim's Progress.   They are talking about after you get saved/going through the wicket gate, you must WALK your salvation on the narrow path to the Celestial City, overcoming many obstacles.   This is the path of refinement, of holiness, of working out your salvation.   Many people do not have the chance to repent of some sins before they die but they know if they truly had a born again experience.   But we are not talking about death here, we are talking about escaping death like Elijah, so we should really take a look at this man's life....how did he live?    We have to live by example.

This is what I realized personally about holiness.   If you love Jesus with every ounce of your being, you are willing to follow Him no matter what, if you are willing to be obedient if it does not make sense, and you had a born again experience then you are saved.   As you walk down the path in Pilgrim's Progress, there are many things that the Lord will reveal to you to show you deeper sin in your life to get rid of it and purge it.   If you love the Lord eventually you will want to deal with it.   For example if you have say and addiction to smoking and the Lord has asked you 100 times to stop because it is a god to you and you just WON'T do it......that is a totally different thing than say being angry at someone and yelling at them because you were tempted of the devil and then immediately said you were sorry to the person and the Lord.    Even if you died and did not have time to repent of that yelling, you would go in the rapture....you are saved, your heart is in the right place, you sin daily and you keep going.    You are the Lord's clay always ready to be improved and molded by Him, always ready to give an account of your life before the throne in front of the saints of all the ages in the breadth of such holiness.    But willful constant sinning of something the Lord says it has come between your relationship with Him....well what would your spouse do in this case?   If you were cheating on your wife and you loved her you have two options.   You can ask her for forgiveness and never do it again and move on with the marriage....but if you say you won't do it again and then lie and keep doing it, well she will divorce you.    We are married to the Lord and a SPECIFIC sin that is keeping you from being holy that HE has come to you and warned you over and over, then I believe those are the people that won't go in the rapture.     The sin He wants purged that He has been asking a person over and over to repent of even if they are saved, I believe it has to be purged.   I know that is a scary thing but some sins to a person are ruining the marriage they have with the Lord.   You cannot decide that you are saved and can go get drunk, go to the gay clubs, sleep around, dabble in the occult......we cannot be like the Nicolations and that is how I take these sermons due to the tremendous wickedness in the land.    The filth is so bad it is overflowing and these people have been in such dirt for so long, the only way to shake them up is to yell at them like the old school John Wesley way.  

I think we should all humble ourselves and not assume that we are all accounted worthy for the rapture and ask the Lord to reveal any sin that could hinder us from this event.....so that He does not have to purge the sin and refine the diamond to make us sparkle through persecution of the tribulation.   But we should offer this prayer to our Lord and then let it go, as it will be His responsibility to show us and not let the devil torment us on this subject and argue any longer.    You know personally if you love Jesus and are born again and living right.    Personally I believe the messages of holiness are not for the Bride, but for the lukewarm church.    And to set a seed for those who are left behind to understand what we believed and why we were taken so they can take the message around the world and separate themselves from the beast system.  

And if you are not living right, please fast and pray and ask the Lord to show you what He requires of you personally.   We are all His creatures and He loves us.   He died for you a horrible, horrible death and time is almost over.  

Blessings.