The following video
has some good info with respect to the evil one's plan, likely
unfolding now with respect to the war in the Middle East:
However, in the second half of the video the author
presents something that I do not believe is valid for the Body
of Christ, yet I see this "thinking" off and on in the
watching-for-Jesus community. The idea can stem from a
misunderstanding and misapplication of Luke 21:36:
"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." (KJV)
The "interpretation/application" embraced by the video
maker and a number of other Christians is that this directly
applies to the body of Christ, and specifically to the rapture
that will take place before the judgment years begin.
On the surface, this "makes sense" in that Jesus shared the
signs of His coming prior to saying the above, starting back
at verse 8. To escape all that He pointed to seemingly
would only apply to the pre-trib rapture event.
Now, I understand that there are end-time, prophetic clues
for the Body of Christ nested in the Luke gospel.
However, I cannot truly glean those if I first do not
understand the actually details and circumstances (the
context) for what is in the verses themselves. What was
Jesus truly saying? to whom? and what specific questions was
He answering?
For example, Jesus is talking to His disciples, His Jewish
followers, folks who are of the chosen remnant of
Israel/Judah. When the disciples approached Jesus, they
were not asking about a rapture but the circumstances leading
up to His return to set up His earth-based kingdom. The
surface conversation was not directed to the Body of Christ,
nor is it about the rapture. This is clear in verses
20-28:
20“But when you
see Jerusalem surrounded by
armies, then [q]recognize that
her desolation is near. 21Then those who are
in Judea must flee to
the mountains, and those who are
inside [r]the
city must
leave, and
those who are
in the country must
not enter [s]the
city; 22because these are
days of
punishment,
so that all things which
have been
written will
be fulfilled. 23Woe to
those women who
are pregnant, and
to those who
are nursing babies in
those days;
for there will
be great distress upon
the [t]land,
and wrath to
this people; 24and
they will fall by
the edge of
the sword,
and will be
led captive into
all the
nations;
and Jerusalem will
be trampled underfoot by
the Gentiles until the times of
the Gentiles are
fulfilled.
The Return of Christ
25“There will be [u]signs in the sun and
moon and stars, and on the earth distress among
nations, in perplexity at
the roaring of the sea and
the waves, 26people fainting from
fear and the
expectation of the
things that are coming upon the [v]world;
for the powers of [w]the
heavens will
be shaken. 27And
then they
will see the
Son of
Man coming in
a cloud with
power and
great glory. 28But
when these things begin to
take place,
straighten up and
lift up your
heads,
because your
redemption is
drawing near.
Note what Jesus says in vs 27: "And then they will see the
Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great
glory." That detail is clearly about His return after
the judgment years. Again, the context of Luke 21 is not
about the rapture.
Now, I want to look at Luke 21:36 more closely. The
word translated as "worthy" in the KJV is from the Greek,
Strong's 2729, katischuo. It means to overpower, to
prevail, to be strong against, to overcome. Nothing
about "worthy" in this! The word translated as "to
escape" in the KJV is from the Greek, Strong's 1628,
ekpheugo. It means to escape, to flee out, to avoid.
Jesus is telling His Jewish disciples that there will come
a time in Israel's future where they will have to have the
courage to leave where they are at. When? He gave
them the signs that included clues that point to another
Antiochus Epiphanes/Hanukkah type of event. See vss.
23-24. I believe He is talking to the chosen remnant of
Israel/Judah who will have to flee to the wilderness as seen
in Revelation 12:13-16. It will take courage to flee out
of Jerusalem at that time.
Again, Luke 21:36 does not apply to the Body of Christ when
I look closely at the context of what Jesus is saying.
Additionally, when I hear folks within the
watching-for-Jesus community mis-apply this verse, my mind
goes to the following that do relate directly to the Body of
Christ:
Romans 4:7-8: Blessed are they whose lawless acts are
forgiven, who sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose
sin the Lord will never count against him.
Romans 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 8:1 Therefore there is not no
comdemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 6:14 But far be it from me to boast,
except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which
the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
I Corinthians 1:30 But it is due to Him that
you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and
righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
Galatians 2:15 ...knowing that a person is not
justified by works of the law but through faith in Christ
Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus so that we may be
justified by faith in Christ and not my works of the law;
since by works of the law no flesh will be justified.
I Corinthians 1:31 Let the one who boasts, boast in
the LORD.
The misapplication of the surface reading of Luke 21:36 and
applying this directly to the Body of Christ is to add a "law
layer" to what Jesus accomplished for us. It is a mixing
of law and grace. Paul confronted this mentality in
Galatians 3:1-6:
1[a]You foolish Galatians,
who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was
publicly portrayed as crucified? 2This is
the only thing I
want to find out from
you: did you receive the
Spirit by
works of [b]the
Law, or by
hearing [c]with
faith? 3Are
you so foolish?
Having begun [d]by
the Spirit,
are you now [e]being
perfected by
the flesh? 4Did
you [f]suffer so many things in
vain—if indeed it
was in vain? 5So then,
does He who
provides you
with the
Spirit and
works [g]miracles among you,
do it by works of [h]the
Law,
or by
hearing [i]with
faith?
6Just as Abraham BELIEVED GOD,
AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS
RIGHTEOUSNESS.
When Paul described
the hope of Jesus coming for us in I Thessalonians 4:13-18,
he ended it by saying, "comfort one another with these
words". If us going home is conditioned upon how much
we are looking for Jesus, how much we long for Him, how much
we truly love Him, then I suggest there is no comfort in
this for any sincere, thoughtful believer. For who
among us would presume that we look to Jesus' coming with a
purity of heart that He is worthy of? This
misapplication of Luke 21:36 sets folks up for self-centered
introspection and lack of confidence, with their focus being
on themselves, and their law-based performance, and not
resting in all that Jesus is to us. And I can think of
some members of the Body of Christ who, in their twilight
years, are losing their brain function to dementia.
Some of them would be screwed if conscious "looking for
Jesus" were a prerequisite for them to actually being
taken.
Might there be a
deeper level of understanding Luke 21:36 that applies to the
age we are in, that is currently coming to a close?
Perhaps. So, if one wants to cling to the translation
of "pray that you are worthy", I suggest that for the time
we are in, the ONLY way we can be "worthy" to escape is to
be in union with Jesus through the Holy Spirit who has been
given to us in total grace, by faith (with faith also being
a grace to us, for it is "not of ourselves" per Ephesians
2:8-9.)
We can only boast in
Jesus and the cross He endured to establish the covenant for
us.
For what it is worth.
God bless you.