"Rapture Time"
What does the “Rapture” refer to?
This refers to the time the Lord comes for the Church to take them to heaven.
Understand that He does not come to the earth, but in the air, and the saints are caught up to meet Him! I Thessalonians 4:16-17
When will the Rapture take place?
No man knows the day or the hour, but scripture proves it will be before the Great Tribulation and the revelation of the Antichrist.
· Matthew 24:40-44
· Matthew 25:13
· I Thessalonians 5:9
· II Thessalonians 2:6-8
What scriptures support evidence of the coming of Jesus?
· John 14:1-3
· Acts 1:11
· II Timothy 4:8
· James 5:7-8
God’s love is eternal and everlasting. It is not His will that any should perish but that all should come to repentance; therefore, He is giving us as Christians time to get ourselves together so that we can be presented as a Church without spot or wrinkle. He is also giving us time to reach the lost so that they too can have everlasting life.
I Thessalonians 5
1. Do not sleep: be spiritually alive
2. Watch, be alert for enemies
3. Be sober, not intoxicated
4. Put on the whole armor of God
5. Comfort one another
6. Edify (build up) one another
7. Know or be kind to minister
8. Esteem ministers highly in love
9. Live in peace among yourselves
10. Warn the unruly, the disorderly
11. Console the faint hearted
12. Sustain the weak, strengthless
13. Be patient with all men
14. Render evil to no man
15. Follow that which is good
16. Rejoice always in all things
17. Pray always about all things
18. Give thanks always in all things
19. Quench not the Spirit
20. Despite not prophesying
21. Test all things; retain the good
22. Abstain from all appearance of evil
Now, here’s the exciting part for some people and the frightful part for most people. What determines who will be raptured and who will be left on earth during the Great Tribulation Period?
NOT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL ESCAPE!!! Admonishment – Luke 21:36
We must watch and pray, look for His appearing, and keep ourselves in a state of readiness, so we can be presented as a Church without spot or wrinkle. Eph 5:27
How do we become this Church Jesus is coming back for?
Through the work of the Five-Fold Ministry - Ephesians 4
So, what are the qualifications for the Rapture?
1. You must be in Christ! (I Thes. 4:16)
2. You must belong to Christ! (I Cor. 15:20-23)
3. You must be holy! (Eph. 4:1)
4. You must be worthy! (Luke 21:36)
5. You must be pure! (I John 3:23)
6. You must be without spot or wrinkle! (Eph. 5:27)
7. You must live and walk in the Spirit! (Gal. 5:16-17)
8. You must walk in the light! (I John 1:7)
9. You must walk in LOVE! (John 13:34-35)
I know that these sound pretty tough to keep but with the help of the Holy Ghost you can do all things. If you are living and walking a victorious life in Christ, continue to do so (Gal. 6:9), but if you’re not - please get it right! My aim is to live eternally in the New Jerusalem not the Bottomless Pit – What’s yours?
Minister Rickey E. Macklin