God supports the raptured
” And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
Acts 1:9-11
What I wish to talk with you today about is submission to the word of God. By way of example, there are many, that deny there is a rapture. There are those who adamantly preach and teach that there is no “catching away.” In fact, they view those who believe in “that blessed hope” as somehow weak for hoping to escape the coming tribulation.
Jesus was raptured
The fact is that Jesus himself was “raptured” in front of the disciples. Moreover, two angels testified that he would come back to earth in the same manner in which he ascended. Therefore, there is a phenomenon that involves being caught up into heaven. It is a demonstration of Jacob’s ladder. Therefore, those who say there is no rapture are simply wrong.
People commit willful ignorance and not only in relationship to the doctrine of the rapture. Many people believe that, although God says He is one, that He is somehow three in one. Moreover, YHWH plainly states that He is going roll up the heavens like a scroll. Peter writes that the elements will melt with a fervent heat, yet there are those who steadfastly believe that God is going to “refurbish” this creation. So what is going on? Why do so many not accept the plain truth of the word of God?
Here is a truth,
“People self-blind themselves to the truth, because they do not wish to submit to the Truth Giver.”
In other words, because people do not want to align themselves to what God plainly says, they pervert God’s word to fit what they want it to say.
Obviously, God took Jesus up into heaven by rapture. Yet, regardless of this fact, many still maintain that there is no rapture of believers. Unwillingness to simply let God be whatever He wants to be causes them to refuse what is plainly in front of them. Can you imagine someone who does not believe in the rapture standing there on the day Christ ascended? What would they sound like if they started telling the disciples that God does not catch people away? Yet, today, those same people say there is no rapture.
Submit to God’s way
We are to submit to God’s word no matter what it costs. We cannot determine what God can and cannot say simply because it makes us uncomfortable. In reality, knowing the truth of God is not a matter of having the intellect to understand it, but rather it is a function of having the humility to accept it.
Jesus healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, and raised the dead, yet the religious people of the day wanted to stone him. God plainly approved of Jesus, however, to those who should have been best able to accept him, they shouted “crucify him!”
God says,
“For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.”
Matthew 13:15
It is vitally important that we cultivate a heart that reverences God’s word and is open to receive His instruction. We must fear God for, the scriptures state, this is the beginning of wisdom. What people think of us or how people react to us is not relevant when it comes to what God wants of us. God does not call you Christian, if you place anything before God’s revelation.
Beware Strong Delusion
Brethren, we are in the time of “Strong Delusion” and most do not fully understand what that means. People will depart from the truth, not because what they think is reasonable, but because of the demonic power of the lie that they believe.
Jesus says,
“For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”
Matthew 24:24
What drives people to accept false doctrine is not reason but deception. Demons drive this deception. Fallen spirits in believers literally want to kill those who speak the truth in love. Demons are unreasonable, we must cast them out for victims to come back into their “right” minds. Without the Spirit of God activating their spirits, nothing we say or do will make the least iota of impact upon them.
Humility is our way forward
In the end, it all comes down to our heart condition before God. If we are humble and willing to accept who Jesus and God is, then we can be led by His Spirit into all truth. In Jesus name, I loose you from the spirits that bind your minds. I pray that the light of Almighty God will penetrate the darkness that permeates these areas in your life and allow you to see, if only for a brief moment, the reality of God that is in Christ. Let our Father, which is in heaven, show us all mercy and help us to stand strong in this time of “Strong Delusion.”
Amen.
