Are We Ready?
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The question many may ask is 'What or who is the Church?'. The answer is the Ekklesia meaning 'called out ones', those who have been spiritually reborn, so they understand the scriptures and also the signs of the times we are living in. (John 3:3) Here we cannot point to one particular denomination, as Jesus said He would build his Church and the gates of hell wouldn't prevail against it (Matthew 16:18). When the Son of Man returns it will be like it was in Noah's day. Two men will be working in the field, one will be taken and the other left behind (Matthew 24:37-42). We are to look to Christ alone, not a vicar, priest, pope or pastor. We must understand the Bible for ourselves as we are the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:5). The Church's one foundation is Jesus Christ.
"The Church's one foundation Is Jesus Christ her Lord; She is His new creation By water and the Word: From heav'n He came and sought her To be His holy Bride; With His own blood He bought her, And for her life He died. Elect from every nation, Yet one o'er all the earth, Her charter of salvation, One Lord, one faith, one birth; One holy Name she blesses, Partakes one holy food, And to one hope she presses, With every grace endued. Though with a scornful wonder, We see her sore oppressed, by schisms rent a sunder, by heresies distrest, Yet saints their watch are keeping, Their cry goes up 'how long?', And soon the night of weeping, Shall be the mourn of song, 'Mid toil and tribulation, And tumult of her war, She waits the consummation Of peace for evermore; Till, with the vision glorious, Her longing eyes are blest, And the great Church victorious Shall be the Church at rest. Yet she on earth hath union With God the Three in One, And mystic sweet communion With those whose rest is won: O happy ones and holy! Lord, give us grace that we, Like them, The Meek and lowly, On high may dwell with Thee."
By Samuel John Stone 1860
2 Thessalonians 2 mentions the events prior to the Lord's second coming. It speaks of lawlessness which we can see all around us at this particular time (June 2020). Verse 7 "For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way" (Holy Spirit in the believers - Rapture of the Church or Harpazo). Verse 8 "Then the man of lawlessness (the antichrist) will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy by the splendour of His coming" (This refers to the second coming of Christ with His Bride the Church - Revelation 19 11-16).
We are witnessing a complete demolition of the old-world order in preparation for a new-world order which the globalists have been planning for years, it has been in the works for decades but now it is reaching it's final stage. The global system is centralised and dictatorial, subservient to a mystery of lawlessness, creating the perfect storm for the revealing of the antichrist and complete totalitarian control. Revelation 17 speaks about the false religious system and Revelation 18 speaks about the new-world order government. Both these chapters refer to the tribulation period and the rise of Babylon, although these systems have been in the pipeline for many years. Noah's grandson, Nimrod tried to build a tower that would reach heaven - The Tower of Babel (Genesis 10) - the word Babylon means 'confusion' in Hebrew. We can see confusion all around us in these days. Watch these two links on YouTube by Dr Vernon Coleman: Link 1 and Link 2. Dr Coleman has a vast wealth of information on his website and his YouTube channel. Another very interesting doctor to follow is Dr Rashid A Buttar - You can find his YouTube channel here. Both these doctors are speaking the truth amidst all the confusion around us. We cannot trust our government, we must avoid mainstream media and fight for truth.
We as the Bride of Christ have the Holy Spirit and must understand the scriptures and the signs of the times we are living in. Matthew 25 1-13 talks about the story of the 10 Bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the Bridegroom. 5 of them were foolish and 5 were wise, the 5 who were foolish took no oil for their lamps, but the other 5 were wise enough to take along extra oil. When the Bridegroom was delayed, they all lay down and slept. At midnight they were roused by the shout, 'Look, the Bridegroom is coming! Come out and welcome Him!'. All the Bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. Then the 5 foolish ones asked the others 'Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out'. But the wise ones answered saying, 'We don't have enough oil for all of us'. 'Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves'. But while they were gone to buy oil, the Bridegroom came and the prepared ones entered the Bridal Chamber with him and the door was locked. Later, when the other 5 Bridesmaids returned, they stood outside calling, 'Sir open the door for us!', but he called back 'I don't know you!'. So stay awake and be prepared, because you do not know the day or hour of my return. The 'oil' is symbolic of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit leads us into all truth through understanding the word of God (Bible).
To be left behind at the Harpazo - or Rapture of the Church, will be a tragedy because the great Tribulation will commence at or around the time the antichrist is revealed. The Tribulation will be hell on earth, worse than the Holocaust! However there will be people saved during the Tribulation (Tribulation Saints) for their testimony about Jesus, for proclaiming the Word of God. And I saw the souls of those who had not worshipped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their forehead or their hands. They came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. This is the first resurrection (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended). Blessed and Holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For then the second death holds no power but they will be priests of God and Christ and will reign with him a thousand years. (Revelation 20 4-6)
The Greek word Harpazo (Rapture) means to seize, snatch or carry away 'And now, brothers and sisters, I want you to know what will happen to the Christians who have died so you will not be full of sorrow like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that when Jesus appears, God will bring back with Jesus all the Christians who have died. I can tell you this directly from the Lord; we who are still living when the Lord returns will not rise to meet Him ahead of those who are in their graves. For the Lord Himself will come down from Heaven with a commanding shout, with the call of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God. First, all the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on Earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with Him forever. So comfort and encourage each other with these words' (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). 'Dear brothers and sisters, flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These perishable bodies of ours are not able to live forever. But let me tell you a wonderful secret God has revealed to us. Not all of us will die but we will be transformed. It will happen in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, the Christians who have died will be raised with transformed bodies. And then we who are living will be transformed so that we will never die. For our perishable earthly bodies must be transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die. (1 Corinthians 15:12-24 and 50-53) This is our blessed hope (Titus 2:13). This Harpazo (Rapture) is a separate event to the second coming of Christ. The Rapture of the Bride has to happen before the great Tribulation kicks off. Christians have always gone through tribulations of one kind or another.
However the great Tribulation is something that will turn out to be the most horrendous time in the history of the whole of mankind for the world. We are told that evil will continue to increase until Christ returns. However we don't need to be surprised or afraid. God is still on his throne. Psalm 2 says 'He who sits in the Heavens laughs at the evil men who set themselves against the Lord and against his anointed (the Church). Isaiah 46 warns of Babylon's' false gods and assures us that the Lord is still on His throne, ready to set things right, to save Jerusalem and give glory to Israel. He knows the end from the beginning and he does whatever He wishes. So we must always be ready for the Rapture (Harpazo). However, nobody knows the day or the hour, only our Father in Heaven. There is no mention of the Bride (Church) from Revelation 6 to Revelation 19. The Tribulation begins after the Bride (the Church) has been called up to meet the Lord and to go to the marriage ceremony in Heaven (Revelation 4). After this God's judgement will be poured out on a God rejecting world, first the seals, the trumpets, then the bowls of God's wrath (Revelation 6-16). Revelation 17 talks about the false religious system and Revelation 18 - the world political system (Babylon) which have fallen. Nimrod, the leader of Babylon, attempted to build a tower reaching Heaven above the Firmament! The prophet Daniel (Daniel chapter 2) who was filled with God's spirit, would not defile himself with rich food and wine, he walked closely with God. He interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream, of a great statue representing four Kingdoms. The fourth Kingdom represents the time of the end where the world is divided into 10 Kingdoms, under the rule of the antichrist. The 10 toes of the statue are the feet, part iron and clay meaning that they will not cleave together even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these Kings, the God of Heaven will set up a Kingdom which will never be destroyed and the Kingdom will not be left to another people, but it will break in pieces and consume all these Kingdoms and it will stand forever (John 12:34, and Rev. 11:15). Ultimately this world system will be crushed with a stone made without hands. And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a Kingdom which will never be destroyed, and the Kingdom will not be left to another people, but will break in pieces and will consume all these Kingdoms, and it will stand forever (Daniel 2:44)
Revelation 19 speaks about a great celebration in Heaven because the Lord has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth (antichrist system, religious and political). Also the Lord avenges the blood of His servants. The 24 elders and the four living creatures fall down and worship God, the one who sits upon the throne saying, 'Amen Hallelujah!' (Rev 19:1-4).
The second coming of Jesus with his saints 'Then I saw Heaven opened and there was a white horse and the One who sits on it called Faithful and True, and He judges in righteousness and he makes war. And His eyes are like a flame of fire, and upon His head many crowns. He has a name written which no one knows except Himself, and is clothed in a garment dyed in blood and His name has been called the Word of God. And the troops in heaven were following him on white horses, being clothed in pure fine white linen. And a large sharp sword was going out of His mouth so that with it He could slaughter the heathens, and He will shepherd them with an iron rod, and He treads the wine press of the wine of the burning wrath of the God of Hosts, and He has upon His garment, even over His thigh, a name that has been written: 'King of Kings and Lord of Lords' (Rev 19:11-16).
Another reference to Messiah's return (the second coming of Jesus with His saints), For he will gather all nations against Jerusalem then He will go forth and fight against those nations. And His feet will stand on that day upon the Mount of Olives which is before Jerusalem. And the Mount of Olives will split in the middle towards the East and the West and there will be a very great valley. Half of the mountain will move towards the North and half to the South. And the Lord will come with all of his saints.(Zechariah 14:1-5).
The Old Testament saints, and the Tribulation saints will be resurrected and will be attending the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. 'Blessed are those who have been called to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb' (Rev 19:5-10). The Old Testament saints and the Tribulation saints will rule and reign with Christ and the Church for a thousand years. 'Blessed and Holy are those who share in the first resurrection: The second death has no power to destroy them: But they will be priests of God and of the Messiah and they will reign with Him. The rest of the dead did not become alive again until the thousand years were completed'. (Rev 20:5 and 6). The rest of the dead who's names are not found in the Lambs Book of Life will be judged at the Great White Throne.
We see the new heaven and the new Earth coming down from God out of Heaven like a beautiful Bride prepared for her Husband. God will dwell with us in the beautiful New Jerusalem and we will live with Him there forever. Where there is a pure river with the Water of Life, clear as crystal, flowing from the Throne of God and of the Lamb, coursing down the centre of the main street and, on either side of the river, grows a Tree of Life bearing 12 crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. Its leaves are for the healing of nations. So Jesus, the second Adam, comes to restore us to a wonderful relationship with Him for all of eternity (Rev 21 and 22).
The question many may ask is 'What or who is the Church?'. The answer is the Ekklesia meaning 'called out ones', those who have been spiritually reborn, so they understand the scriptures and also the signs of the times we are living in. (John 3:3) Here we cannot point to one particular denomination, as Jesus said He would build his Church and the gates of hell wouldn't prevail against it (Matthew 16:18). When the Son of Man returns it will be like it was in Noah's day. Two men will be working in the field, one will be taken and the other left behind (Matthew 24:37-42). We are to look to Christ alone, not a vicar, priest, pope or pastor. We must understand the Bible for ourselves as we are the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:5). The Church's one foundation is Jesus Christ.
"The Church's one foundation Is Jesus Christ her Lord; She is His new creation By water and the Word: From heav'n He came and sought her To be His holy Bride; With His own blood He bought her, And for her life He died. Elect from every nation, Yet one o'er all the earth, Her charter of salvation, One Lord, one faith, one birth; One holy Name she blesses, Partakes one holy food, And to one hope she presses, With every grace endued. Though with a scornful wonder, We see her sore oppressed, by schisms rent a sunder, by heresies distrest, Yet saints their watch are keeping, Their cry goes up 'how long?', And soon the night of weeping, Shall be the mourn of song, 'Mid toil and tribulation, And tumult of her war, She waits the consummation Of peace for evermore; Till, with the vision glorious, Her longing eyes are blest, And the great Church victorious Shall be the Church at rest. Yet she on earth hath union With God the Three in One, And mystic sweet communion With those whose rest is won: O happy ones and holy! Lord, give us grace that we, Like them, The Meek and lowly, On high may dwell with Thee."
By Samuel John Stone 1860
2 Thessalonians 2 mentions the events prior to the Lord's second coming. It speaks of lawlessness which we can see all around us at this particular time (June 2020). Verse 7 "For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way" (Holy Spirit in the believers - Rapture of the Church or Harpazo). Verse 8 "Then the man of lawlessness (the antichrist) will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy by the splendour of His coming" (This refers to the second coming of Christ with His Bride the Church - Revelation 19 11-16).
We are witnessing a complete demolition of the old-world order in preparation for a new-world order which the globalists have been planning for years, it has been in the works for decades but now it is reaching it's final stage. The global system is centralised and dictatorial, subservient to a mystery of lawlessness, creating the perfect storm for the revealing of the antichrist and complete totalitarian control. Revelation 17 speaks about the false religious system and Revelation 18 speaks about the new-world order government. Both these chapters refer to the tribulation period and the rise of Babylon, although these systems have been in the pipeline for many years. Noah's grandson, Nimrod tried to build a tower that would reach heaven - The Tower of Babel (Genesis 10) - the word Babylon means 'confusion' in Hebrew. We can see confusion all around us in these days. Watch these two links on YouTube by Dr Vernon Coleman: Link 1 and Link 2. Dr Coleman has a vast wealth of information on his website and his YouTube channel. Another very interesting doctor to follow is Dr Rashid A Buttar - You can find his YouTube channel here. Both these doctors are speaking the truth amidst all the confusion around us. We cannot trust our government, we must avoid mainstream media and fight for truth.
We as the Bride of Christ have the Holy Spirit and must understand the scriptures and the signs of the times we are living in. Matthew 25 1-13 talks about the story of the 10 Bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the Bridegroom. 5 of them were foolish and 5 were wise, the 5 who were foolish took no oil for their lamps, but the other 5 were wise enough to take along extra oil. When the Bridegroom was delayed, they all lay down and slept. At midnight they were roused by the shout, 'Look, the Bridegroom is coming! Come out and welcome Him!'. All the Bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. Then the 5 foolish ones asked the others 'Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out'. But the wise ones answered saying, 'We don't have enough oil for all of us'. 'Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves'. But while they were gone to buy oil, the Bridegroom came and the prepared ones entered the Bridal Chamber with him and the door was locked. Later, when the other 5 Bridesmaids returned, they stood outside calling, 'Sir open the door for us!', but he called back 'I don't know you!'. So stay awake and be prepared, because you do not know the day or hour of my return. The 'oil' is symbolic of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit leads us into all truth through understanding the word of God (Bible).
To be left behind at the Harpazo - or Rapture of the Church, will be a tragedy because the great Tribulation will commence at or around the time the antichrist is revealed. The Tribulation will be hell on earth, worse than the Holocaust! However there will be people saved during the Tribulation (Tribulation Saints) for their testimony about Jesus, for proclaiming the Word of God. And I saw the souls of those who had not worshipped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their forehead or their hands. They came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. This is the first resurrection (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended). Blessed and Holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For then the second death holds no power but they will be priests of God and Christ and will reign with him a thousand years. (Revelation 20 4-6)
The Greek word Harpazo (Rapture) means to seize, snatch or carry away 'And now, brothers and sisters, I want you to know what will happen to the Christians who have died so you will not be full of sorrow like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that when Jesus appears, God will bring back with Jesus all the Christians who have died. I can tell you this directly from the Lord; we who are still living when the Lord returns will not rise to meet Him ahead of those who are in their graves. For the Lord Himself will come down from Heaven with a commanding shout, with the call of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God. First, all the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on Earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with Him forever. So comfort and encourage each other with these words' (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). 'Dear brothers and sisters, flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These perishable bodies of ours are not able to live forever. But let me tell you a wonderful secret God has revealed to us. Not all of us will die but we will be transformed. It will happen in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, the Christians who have died will be raised with transformed bodies. And then we who are living will be transformed so that we will never die. For our perishable earthly bodies must be transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die. (1 Corinthians 15:12-24 and 50-53) This is our blessed hope (Titus 2:13). This Harpazo (Rapture) is a separate event to the second coming of Christ. The Rapture of the Bride has to happen before the great Tribulation kicks off. Christians have always gone through tribulations of one kind or another.
However the great Tribulation is something that will turn out to be the most horrendous time in the history of the whole of mankind for the world. We are told that evil will continue to increase until Christ returns. However we don't need to be surprised or afraid. God is still on his throne. Psalm 2 says 'He who sits in the Heavens laughs at the evil men who set themselves against the Lord and against his anointed (the Church). Isaiah 46 warns of Babylon's' false gods and assures us that the Lord is still on His throne, ready to set things right, to save Jerusalem and give glory to Israel. He knows the end from the beginning and he does whatever He wishes. So we must always be ready for the Rapture (Harpazo). However, nobody knows the day or the hour, only our Father in Heaven. There is no mention of the Bride (Church) from Revelation 6 to Revelation 19. The Tribulation begins after the Bride (the Church) has been called up to meet the Lord and to go to the marriage ceremony in Heaven (Revelation 4). After this God's judgement will be poured out on a God rejecting world, first the seals, the trumpets, then the bowls of God's wrath (Revelation 6-16). Revelation 17 talks about the false religious system and Revelation 18 - the world political system (Babylon) which have fallen. Nimrod, the leader of Babylon, attempted to build a tower reaching Heaven above the Firmament! The prophet Daniel (Daniel chapter 2) who was filled with God's spirit, would not defile himself with rich food and wine, he walked closely with God. He interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream, of a great statue representing four Kingdoms. The fourth Kingdom represents the time of the end where the world is divided into 10 Kingdoms, under the rule of the antichrist. The 10 toes of the statue are the feet, part iron and clay meaning that they will not cleave together even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these Kings, the God of Heaven will set up a Kingdom which will never be destroyed and the Kingdom will not be left to another people, but it will break in pieces and consume all these Kingdoms and it will stand forever (John 12:34, and Rev. 11:15). Ultimately this world system will be crushed with a stone made without hands. And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a Kingdom which will never be destroyed, and the Kingdom will not be left to another people, but will break in pieces and will consume all these Kingdoms, and it will stand forever (Daniel 2:44)
Revelation 19 speaks about a great celebration in Heaven because the Lord has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth (antichrist system, religious and political). Also the Lord avenges the blood of His servants. The 24 elders and the four living creatures fall down and worship God, the one who sits upon the throne saying, 'Amen Hallelujah!' (Rev 19:1-4).
The second coming of Jesus with his saints 'Then I saw Heaven opened and there was a white horse and the One who sits on it called Faithful and True, and He judges in righteousness and he makes war. And His eyes are like a flame of fire, and upon His head many crowns. He has a name written which no one knows except Himself, and is clothed in a garment dyed in blood and His name has been called the Word of God. And the troops in heaven were following him on white horses, being clothed in pure fine white linen. And a large sharp sword was going out of His mouth so that with it He could slaughter the heathens, and He will shepherd them with an iron rod, and He treads the wine press of the wine of the burning wrath of the God of Hosts, and He has upon His garment, even over His thigh, a name that has been written: 'King of Kings and Lord of Lords' (Rev 19:11-16).
Another reference to Messiah's return (the second coming of Jesus with His saints), For he will gather all nations against Jerusalem then He will go forth and fight against those nations. And His feet will stand on that day upon the Mount of Olives which is before Jerusalem. And the Mount of Olives will split in the middle towards the East and the West and there will be a very great valley. Half of the mountain will move towards the North and half to the South. And the Lord will come with all of his saints.(Zechariah 14:1-5).
The Old Testament saints, and the Tribulation saints will be resurrected and will be attending the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. 'Blessed are those who have been called to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb' (Rev 19:5-10). The Old Testament saints and the Tribulation saints will rule and reign with Christ and the Church for a thousand years. 'Blessed and Holy are those who share in the first resurrection: The second death has no power to destroy them: But they will be priests of God and of the Messiah and they will reign with Him. The rest of the dead did not become alive again until the thousand years were completed'. (Rev 20:5 and 6). The rest of the dead who's names are not found in the Lambs Book of Life will be judged at the Great White Throne.
We see the new heaven and the new Earth coming down from God out of Heaven like a beautiful Bride prepared for her Husband. God will dwell with us in the beautiful New Jerusalem and we will live with Him there forever. Where there is a pure river with the Water of Life, clear as crystal, flowing from the Throne of God and of the Lamb, coursing down the centre of the main street and, on either side of the river, grows a Tree of Life bearing 12 crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. Its leaves are for the healing of nations. So Jesus, the second Adam, comes to restore us to a wonderful relationship with Him for all of eternity (Rev 21 and 22).
