Marc McIntosh
said:
There may be Christians who do not "believe" in the
rapture, but their disbelief is not going to sway God, when the time comes for
that catching away, they might even have the nerve to say to the first angel
they see in the skies "hey, I'm not going!" and the answer they receive will be
"oh yes you are!". If God intends for any individual to be raptured, to be
removed from the Earth, they're not going to have a choice in the matter. The
Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away, in matters of life and death. We live
only because of His Mercy, but when it's time to go, it's time, we don't get a
vote!
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You’re kidding, right?
Did you never read in God’s
word that the children of Israel were our examples of what NOT
to do when our turn comes to be invited into the Promised Land (heaven –
rapture) as they were? Their disbelief got them good and dead! Has God changed
since then? They doubted God’s good intentions of bringing them safely into the
land and instead they were FEARFUL and UNBELIEVING (same exact things that will
keep many Christians from entering in at the rapture) and for that reason they
were rejected. It was they themselves who chose to stay where they were in the
wilderness when God had said to them “BEHOLD THE PROMISED LAND – GO IN AND
POSESS IT!” God did not force them in or to believe Him. They feared the giants
and would not go in for that whole day, even believing that God brought them out
just to kill them. They would have preferred Egypt (this
sorry world). The very next day God got angry with them and said they would all
die (except for Joshua and Caleb) because of their unbelief. The very same kind
of invitation will be presented to us in this fashion: “BEHOLD THE BRIDEGROOM –
GO YE OUT TO MEET HIM” and I guarantee you that if you or any other Christians
say “Hey, I’m not going!” then you and
they will likewise perish in this wilderness and not enter in. This is why the
writer to the Hebrews takes such pains to say,
Hebrews 4
1.
Let us
therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of
you should seem to come short of
it.
Literally: Don’t
wait one day too late to believe God, which is what they did.
2. For unto us
was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not
profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard
it.
Faith is still required and
without it, it is still impossible to please God. After God said that they would
die, they decided to go into the land and face the giants after all, but it was
too late and many perished trying. Jesus said that there would be two different
kinds of Christians who would not enter our rapture. One was the fearful and the
other was the unbelieving. The unbelieving are represented in His parable of
those who were invited to His feast and at first they were glad to be invited
but when the time actually came to go, they made excuses and did not really want
to go. None of those who were bidden were to taste of His supper. (That’s not
the Jews, as traditions have suggested, making void the word of God. When have
the Jews collectively ever said yes to Jesus’ invitation to the marriage supper
of the Lamb? Never! That’s Christians who say that they want to go to heaven but
when the rapture actually begins to happen and the shout goes out that all
things are now ready, come to my supper, it is then that they will make excuses
that they don’t want to come at this time. Jesus says that He sets before us an
open door. He never says that He forces us to go through that door. If you
choose to stay behind because you are fearful, or you don’t believe that it is
the rapture, then God will be angry at you for not coming and He then will call
for others to fill His house instead at that time. They will be the poor and
outcasts and unwanted of the earth, which will not be so difficult to persuade
to come into a wonderful heavenly feast though they must still come in through
Christ, they will gladly do so for the most part. And these will come in from
the North, South, East, and West and sit down with Abraham and the prophets and
fill His house while those who were originally bidden are kept out because they
preferred their wives, their lands and their new SUVs (yoke of oxen). (Again,
the Jews never used these kinds of excuses for not wanting to come in, they flat
didn’t believe that Jesus was from God and said let Him be crucified – totally
different reason.) This is Christians and is how judgement begins at the house
of God. Many who are now first shall then be last. The other type of Christian
besides the unbelieving, who will not enter in are the fearful. If you have
wasted your time here and never learned to put on the whole armor of God going
forth as a good soldier and before whom the gates of hell could not prevail and
engaging the enemy overcome him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your
testimony, then you may not know how to withstand in that day. Why did Jesus
say:
Nevertheless
when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
Luke
18:8
Only one reason – It’s
rare.
Faith is still required to
please God. Who is teaching some of you folks, anyway? The gleanings in the
field (tribulation saints) at the end of the harvest are still called “first
fruits” even though they come in at the end. They are the greatest in number by
far, a multitude which no man could number, and come out of the great
tribulation, while the raptured Church is but few who ever find the narrow way.
The church is the two loaves that will be raptured and the two loaves will be
more than the one handful that was first harvested after Jesus rose from the
grave Himself, but nowhere near the uncountable multitude of tribulation saints.
The tribulation gleanings are that grain which fell back to the ground which was
not to be picked up with the harvested grain but was left to the stranger and
the poor. Also the corners or outskirts of the field was not harvested but was
likewise left to the stranger and the poor. If you want to believe that you can
hang around out there on the outskirts in this final hour and still enter in; or
if you want to believe that you can fall back to the ground after you were being
harvested and think that you will be picked up and included apart from faith,
then go ahead, buddy. As for me, I’m outta here and not looking back. And I
don’t care who disagrees with me that says once you are “saved” you cannot
become lost again. Tell it to the Antichrist when he’s rounding you up. I am
weary with your foolishness. To be “saved” you must overcome faithlessness and
continue to do so firmly and steadfastly unto the end. Hold fast the beginning
of your confidence steadfast unto the end or else you have believed in vain and
made shipwreck, having put away faith. I’m going in when the door is opened. You
do as seems good unto you.
Barry Amundsen