Reply to Barry Amundsen and Carol G: What about the Lukewarm Dead in Christ?

Hi,

I am personally convinced that all of the Dead in Christ are raised together at the "gathering together of the elect" which I believe is the 2nd Rapture event where every remaining living Christian, as well as the Dead in Christ go to meet the Lord in the air. This term is used by the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 24:29-31, as well as by the Apostle Paul, and is synonymous with the beginning of the 2nd Coming.

Matt 24:29-31 (KJV) "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."

2 Thess 2:1 "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and [by] our gathering together unto him..."

1 Thess 4:13-17 "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive [and] remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up (and gathered)together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

I believe the timing of this "gathering together" follows the Sixth Seal, just prior to the beginning of the Wrath of God.

Rev 6:12-17 "And I beheld when he had opened the Sixth Seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"

I believe the 1st Rapture event was revealed by the Lord Jesus Christ to the Apostle John in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. I refer to it as the "Open Door", and I believe it is conditional on being found worthy to escape the Great Tribulation.

Rev 3:10 (KJV) "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation (Great Tribulation), which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth."

In 2007, the Lord showed me the "Open Door" of Rev 3:7-13 in a vision that was so very real that it was like I was awake. I'll give you the short version of the vision. An open doorway appeared in my bedroom at night and stayed open for awhile, then as I watched, the two sides closed, slowly coming together into a straight line, then the straight line became a vapor and vanished. Then I woke up. I was shocked because it had really been like I had been awake during the vision. This was an answer to prayer for me for wisdom, and I believe the "Open Door" I saw will be opened up for those worthy to escape the Great Tribulation at the proper time. I don't believe this will be like the "gathering together of the elect" in the sky per Matt 24:29-31, which happens later. I believe I need to share this, as we need to watch for it. Philadelphia and Smyrna were both persecuted churches who were found worthy, and along with a small remnant of Sardis, were the only ones not told that they needed to Repent. The rest of the churches were all told that unless they Repent, they will have tribulation. Unfortunately, most endtime Christians are living like Laodiceans, but being told that they're all Philadelphians, so they're not watching and not repenting. Also, what I am saying goes over most people's heads because they've been taught that the whole Great Tribulation is the Wrath of God. Not true, most is the persecution of Antichrist. The Wrath of God follows the persecution. They are both in the final Three and one-half years but they don't overlap. The Great Tribulation is cut short for the elect by "the gathering together of the elect" at the Sixth Seal per Rev 6:12-17, and "after the tribulation of those days" per Matt 24:29-31. The Great Tribulation ends, then the Wrath of God begins following "the gathering together of the elect."

Luke 21:34-36 (KJV) "And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and [so] that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man."

YBIC,

Bill Griese