Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4 v 16 - 17:
"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 together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so
shall we ever be with the Lord."
1 Corinthians 15 v 52: "In a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be
raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."
Last night I watched a movie on DSTV catch up called Left
Behind starring Nicholas Cage. It was advertised as a thriller; paranormal
sci-fi. I always thought sci-fi stood for science fiction, meaning its just a
story.
Nothing could be further from the true Biblical reality
of this film. It concerned the people who were left behind after millions of
people all over the world mysteriously, soundlessly, vanished. In the blink of
an eye they were gone leaving their clothing neatly folded behind them.
They vanished from air planes, cars, trains and homes.
Without a word of farewell they were taken by Jesus into His heavenly kingdom.
Its called the Rapture and it will truly happen on the day and moment appointed
by God our Father. Not even Jesus knows when it will be.
He knows the season when it will happen and every day we
wake up to realise that what He said 2000 years ago is happening all around us.
When there is maximum hostility between two powers or two kingdoms, the
ambassadors of peace and goodwill are removed back to their homeland, with all
the people who belonged to them.
When the Antichrist fully manifests on Earth the Holy
Spirit will remove the true believers, who are alert and watching with joy for
Jesus to rescue them. Those left behind have to face a time of tribulation
which Jesus described as never seen on Earth before.
In the movie those left behind were bewildered by the
disappearance of newborns, children, wives, husbands, co-pilots etc. Then they
realised that what their family had been telling them about Jesus and the
Rapture was true. And they were left behind to face the music.
We who know what is coming have a responsibility to share
the truth with the people around us to ensure that they have an opportunity to
make their own choice. Whether they accept or reject you; whether they withhold
their financial support from you; whether you are loved or persecuted is less
important than obedience to God.
Do you want people you know and love to go through
unimaginable terror and hardship because you were too shy to tell them about
the Rapture? Some people tell me that God is a soft hearted loving Father who
will spare every one that hardship.
This would make Jesus into a liar who went about warning
people and scaring them just because He felt like it. No ways! It cost Him His
life in terrible agony to bring His truth to us. So do not shame Him or deny
Him and be bold from now on to tell the world about His love, kingdom, freedom
and Rapture.
Those who are left behind and become Christians will have
to be martyred to come into His kingdom. In the Old Testament the atonement
from sin was through the blood of lambs and bulls. In the New Testament it is
by the Blood of The Lamb and thereafter our own blood.
Tell them not to go the hard way, when they can go safely
and simply to the Father today for forgiveness and salvation. They can make
Jesus their Lord and Saviour this very hour because nobody knows exactly when
the trumpet in Heaven will sound for the Rapture to take place. Gone in a blink
or left behind.
If you need encouragement I recommend you watch the
movie.