THE GRAVE DANGER OF MISSING THE RAPTURE
Jude 18
18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
There is no truth that shakes me to the core like the multitude soon to miss the Rapture. You cannot read the many warnings in Scripture more plain than how the Holy Spirit has almost begged us to be prepared. Over and over the prophets and writers were led to warn us. Look at these words of Jesus Christ. “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.” (Matthew 24: 40-42)
When I was saved in 1952, the church world was on fire with the warnings. As time has elapsed the message has grown too stark to preach. People will literally leave a church over this level of warning. The comfort zone is so high and satisfying that people do not want to be bothered. Today we start a new series on the subject “The Grave Danger of Missing the Rapture.” Here is a list of the next seven broadcasts after today:
- The Grave Danger of Missing the Rapture
- Great Revival Immediately After the Rapture
- Satan’s War Until the Battle of Armageddon
- A World Culture of Sodomy
- Invasion from the Bottomless Pit
- The Seven Trumps of the Great Tribulation
- The Wicked at the White Throne Judgment
- The Bridal Celebration
The saddest words of tongue or pen are the gripping words, “it could have been”. The multitude that suddenly realizes that Jesus Christ has raptured the Bride and that they are “left behind” will experience an utter feeling of hopelessness. Despair and gloom will be so shattering that great numbers of men and women will commit suicide. Millions of knowledgeable people that knew the Bible well, but rejected “the love of the truth” (II Thessalonians 2:10) will immediately experience the complete withdrawal of Holy Ghost conviction. Instantly, they will know that they are damned to spend eternity in the Lake of Fire. Millions of others that rejected Truth will be so deluded that they will actually worship the new false Christ.
Evil of the darkest form is presently held behind the omnipresent wall of the Holy Ghost. The devil and his cohorts are working; they are deceiving, creating havoc, and spreading diseases of every description. The level of their activities is great but they are still limited. Just as soon as the Rapture occurs, this wall of restraint will be gone. If you are sickened by the vulgarity that pervades the world now, please know that the present is mild compared to the future. Laws against anyone with moral outrage will soon protect sodomy in public. There will be no restraints against sin.
Multitudes will be heard screaming in fear and dismay, “I could have gone in the Rapture if I would have listened to the call.” The last echoes of those confused about the Rapture and the coming baptism of filth will have faded. The days for debate will be over. The whole world will be divided between the lovers of the new “christ” and the great company of those left behind who are now ready to be martyred for Jesus Christ. The countdown to Armageddon will begin. Preachers that were deceived by the One World Religion will lead the armies that are determined to establish the kingdom of their god (the false god) on earth. The crusades of the past, which were led by Jesuit priests, will pale in comparison to this brutal onslaught for the “New Inclusive Religion.”
Preachers and leaders that would not hear the truth about the Pre-tribulation Rapture, but hated those of us that preached and taught that truth, will now know how wrong they were. Jesus will only Rapture those saints of God and Bride-ready believers looking for Him. The Word of God is plain: “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” (Hebrews 9:28) If you are not looking for Him and longing for Him with great passion, do not expect Him to come for you. Apostle Paul wrote to Titus and encouraged him by declaring, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” (Titus 2:13-14)
Can you imagine the anger of careless souls that were taken in by the vicious haters of the Biblical Rapture before the great Seven Years of Wrath? The Rapture haters that I deal with on the radio, the internet, and in person are not even kind about this debate. The spirit that motivates them to fight against this hope is extremely loud and dark. In almost every case, they are also anti-Semitic and have an equal desire to trash everything and everyone that is Jewish. A great company of previous lovers of the Pre-tribulation Rapture has been affected by these confused souls. I believe there will be such anger against these deceivers that it will be like war between many of those “left behind.”
I do not believe that most ministers and Bible teachers have any concept of the millions that are within “Christian” ranks who are going to be “left behind.” The cheap grace that is presently being preached is scary to consider. Sin has been so coddled by this generation that “Raptured Saints” in most minds are nothing but a conglomerate of a mixed multitude. Why don’t we consider what the Lord Jesus and the Holy Ghost-filled writers of the Holy Bible said? Grace never covers sin; grace cleanses sin, and this one statement is the answer. Every soul that has been cleansed from sin, preserved by His sanctification, and kept by the Holy Ghost will be gone in a single moment.
Jesus told beautiful parables about the Bride and the coming of the Bridegroom. He stated, “And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:11-14)
Revelation 3
15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
How can we doubt the clear requirement for a pure Bride dressed in the white garments of holiness? This Bride is made up of the unspotted company of totally dedicated saints that have forsaken all to follow Jesus. He goes even further in a latter parable in Matthew’s Gospel. His words are shattering. “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’ But he answered and said, ‘Verily I say unto you, I know you not.’ Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” (Matthew 25:1-13) There will be no place in this great Rapture for those that are lukewarm and without the oil and fire of the Spirit.
There are not two Bridegrooms, two Brides, or two Kingdoms in the Kingdom of God. Those that try to remove these great parables from the study of the Rapture are sadly confused. While I am a Biblical dispensationalist, I am not a hyper-dispensationalist. The Bible is written as a simple book. We do not need to be a Greek or Hebrew scholar to know and interpret this great Book. Just take the Bible literally and let each truth interpret itself. If He says Bride or Bridegroom, He is talking about the Bride and the Bridegroom. Dispute that at your own peril and confusion.
The Book of Revelation! The last Book in the Bible is a perfect chronological picture of the prophetic end and the final word on the future. The Rapture occurs at the beginning of Chapter Four and the saints are never called the “Church” again. They are called “Elders” from Revelation Four until they become His “Army” when they return with Him to set up the Millennial Kingdom on earth. The only two chapters that deal with the church are Chapters Two and Three. The subject of the church in those two chapters has a very narrow focus. The espoused Bride of Jesus Christ and the promises relating to the Rapture and their connection is the primary thought. All seven letters are a competed whole as it concerns our holiness and faithfulness to Him. He clearly shows us what He expects of us and what He requires if we are to be His espoused Bride. He does not tolerate unfaithfulness.
Just like you and I would not allow our bride to play the harlot, He does not allow His Bride to play the harlot. Playing the harlot against our human bride or bridegroom is extremely evil but nothing close to the evil of playing the harlot against Jesus Christ, our Eternal Bridegroom. Men in today’s world may champion the cheapness of grace that has flooded the church world. That is close to blasphemy to the Holy God and His Holy Son and it will not stand the fire of the Judgment Seat of Jesus Christ.
These two chapters of Revelation are all you need to study to prove that His Bride will be holy or she will never be at the nuptial event in the Paradise of God. The standard for that wedding is spotless purity. It would be impossible to enter the Heavenly Jerusalem, where Holiness is the transcending culture, in the dress of vulgarity and the lifestyle of compromise now dominating the church world. Imagine transporting an entire “religious rock” church congregation and performers en-mass right onto the streets of New Jerusalem. The Holiness of God permeating that golden city would be a devouring fire and all that would be left would be the smell of Shekinah smoke.
Colossians 3
4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
These seven letters are the last words of Jesus Christ to His church. They are intimate letters of the glorified Christ, and they are perfect in declaring the truth about the church. The Lord Himself by His Spirit is walking in the midst of His church. Remember what He said, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20) These are not the words of an absent landlord. He is the Head and we are the body, and He knows every nerve of this body and every thought of our minds. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
This judgment of His church as is written in these seven letters is as current as tomorrow. He talks about our “faithfulness” three (3) times; our “works” twelve (12) times; our “tribulation” three (3) times; our “labor, patience, and poverty” one (1) time each. He commands that we “hold fast” four (4) times, “repent” seven (7) times, and promises every promise only to the “overcomers” seven (7) times. These are not idle letters. It’s serious business and He is willing to eliminate anyone that fails His test after He gives them space to repent.
Three times He promises to remove those that refuse His final warnings. In the letter to Ephesus He said, “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” (Revelation 2:5) In the Thyatira letter He warned, “And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.” (Revelation 2:21-22) To the Laodiceans He declared, “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor not: I would thou wast cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:15-16)
Preachers may preach that sin is covered for the believers without repentance and forsaking of these sins all they please, but they are false prophets and all that believe them will be judged with them. These kinds of ministers are spiritual dogs lapping up their own vomit. “But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.” (2 Pet. 2:22) All seven of these letters are talking about nothing but the saints of God, His church body, and His requirements for the Rapture and Brideship. He is preparing His Bride and she will be holy. For two thousand years, the great saints have sacrificed themselves on the altar of an exceeding hope for this honor of being His Bride. This is the first generation among those that claim to believe the entire Word of God to live like the Bible is a fantasy book. It will all end in insane despair when the “left behind” are numbered.
The last words in each letter clarify the Rapture and Bridal promises as well as warn of the limited numbers of the triumphant ones. He almost begs His espoused Bride “Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.” In each case, He warns that the promises are reserved only for “those that overcome…” “To him that overcometh…” (Revelation 2:7); “He that overcometh…” (Revelation 2:11); “To him that overcometh…” (Revelation 2:17); “And he that overcometh…” (Revelation 2:26-29); “He that overcometh…” (Revelation 3:5-6); “Him that overcometh…” (Revelation 3:12-13); and “To him that overcometh…” (Revelation 3:22) How could anyone doubt the weightiness of these words? We would have to call the Bible untrustworthy to deny that the Rapture is a very limited event. Many writers and teachers make you think that the exodus from the church will be massive and almost everyone. The church world will be out of business but not out of people.
1 Thessalonians 4
16 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:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
A majority of churches will be dangerous as this new “Christ” is worshiped en-mass. That crowd will be glad we are gone. The churches that accept the truth that they have missed the Rapture will be outlawed shortly after the saints are gone. They will be out of business as this new “Christ” marshals his army of Secret Service agents to require the “Mark” and sets forth his New World Religion. Millions of Tribulation saints will be martyred and they will cry forth from beneath the altars of death for the vengeance of God on the cruel and bloodthirsty mobs that roam the earth. “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” (Revelation 6:9-10)
These seven letters give us the perfect picture of all that awaits the Bride of Christ. Jesus plainly promised this incredible future to us by His Spirit, speaking through Apostle Paul. The Spirit said, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” (I Corinthians 2:9-10) There is no doubt that this is referring to the seven letters and promises given in Revelation Two and Three. Our future is heavenly if we are willing to forsake all and follow Him. Remember what Jesus with His own lips said, “And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, But he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.” (Mark 10:29-30)
Let me show you that all seven promises are a part of the Bride’s future. The Bride of Christ is the highest of all eternal rewards. The city of New Jerusalem is prepared for the Bride so that her adornment may be for her Bridegroom. “And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Revelation 21:2) Those that are saved but not part of the Bride shall enjoy the city, even glory in the city, and bring their honor to the city; but it is not their eternal home.
John said, “And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.” (Revelation 21:24-26)
Now, look at these seven promises to His overcoming Bride: 1. “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit smith unto the churches; to him that overcomes will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” 2. “Fear none of those things which thou salt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days; be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” 3. “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that received it.” 4. “And he that overcometh, and kept my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.” 5. “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” 6. “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.” 7. “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” (Revelation 2:7,10,17,26-28; 3:5,12,21) There can be no question but that these seven closing statements are the heritage of His Bride forever.
Left Behind! It’s up to you. “Irresistible Grace” is a doctrine of the Calvinist, but it certainly flies to the wind in these seven letters from the Lord to His church. There is no less than forty-four words in these short letters that cry out for you to “be faithful,” have “patience,” “repent,” “hold fast,” “faint not,” and to be an “overcomer.” You cannot have rewards for your faithfulness unless that faithfulness is out of your heart. God is not a robot and He did not create us to be robots. You can be fully committed and He is fully faithful to crown your commitment with grace.
Jesus uttered some of His most powerful words as recorded by Luke. The Lord said, “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.” (Luke 21:34-36) Jesus was concerned that you would miss this Hope. If you are “left behind,” it will be the greatest loss of your existence. Give up this world. Sell all that you have to purchase the “Pearl of Great Price.” The Son of God was speaking not only of Himself, but also of the eternal promise of being His Bride when He spoke of this “Pearl of Great Price.” He has called, but only a few will be the chosen. What is your decision? His Bride is without spot or blemish and she will soon be caught away. Malachi recorded words from the Bridegroom when he said, “And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels…” (Malachi 3:17a)