Arlene, I have to respectfully disagree with
your belief that only the worthy will be taken at the
rapture. None of us are worthy.......only Christ
is worthy......His righteousness is imputed to us at
the moment of salvation. As for me, I have no
righteousness at all without Him. I have seen
other posts in the past speculating that there will be
more than one rapture of the Church, and that is
unbiblical. Ephesians 1 says that we who believe
are the body of Christ:
Ephesians
1:22 And hath put all things
under his feet, and gave him to be the head
over all things to the church,
Ephesians 1:23 Which is
his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in
all.
So why would only part of Christ's body be
taken in the rapture and another part be left to be
"saved, yet so as by fire"
in the tribulation? Jesus took
the full punishment for our sins on the
cross......with His own body........the debt was paid
in full and we are not appointed unto wrath. The
tribulation period is the pouring out of God's wrath
upon an unbelieving world. If Christians are
left to suffer through the tribulation, doesn't that
mean that Jesus didn't really pay the full penalty for
us? It would also mean that God was not
completely satisfied with the sacrifice paid by Christ
with his own blood. For any part of the body of
Christ to be left on earth during the tribulation,
that would mean that God is going to pour out His
wrath on Jesus once again. That is not going to
happen. This is prefigured with Moses when he
struck the rock twice for water.....that rock was
Jesus......and He was struck down once for all time
and will not be struck down again.
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