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This is a dangerous subject. Hard
people will hate me for telling others that people can be saved
after the Rapture of the espoused bride. Yet, the truth of Holy
Scripture leaves no doubt. I think that we will prove this truth
beyond question of reasonable minds.
But, I must warn you that being
saved after the Rapture comes with incredible cost. There is
clear evidence that almost every soul (maybe all) that wash
themselves in the blood of Jesus after He catches away the
overcoming saints will die a horrible death of martyrdom. If you
think that suicide murderers are vicious and that death on the
top floors of the world trade center, where over 1,700 persons
were reduced to bits of pieces or ashes, was horrible; the death
of Tribulation saints will be many times worse. Satan and his
army of spirits will invade this world. The mother of harlots
and her religious helpers from the Charismatic Joel's Army,
Jesuit priests, Moslem terrorists, plus others will all be
united to demand submission to the new religion and her mark.
That mark is what the Bible calls the "Mark of the Beast."
What is even more breathtaking is
the fact that nobody that is saved after the Rapture can have
the honor of being in the Bride of Christ. The Bride of Christ
is the highest honor available to the saints. If everyone saved
is a part of the Bride, then the whole idea of rewards falls on
its face. When James and John's mother asked Jesus for her sons
to sit on His right hand and His left hand, His answer was
revealing. He said, "And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She
saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on
thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom." "And
he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be
baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on
my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall
be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father." (Matthew
20:21, 23).
Apostle Paul dealt with this subject
when speaking of carnal members in the Corinthian church that
never matured into sainthood, but remained babes in Christ. He
said of these spiritual babes, "For other foundation can no man
lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man
build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood,
hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the
day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and
the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any
man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive
a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer
loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire (Greek
Interlinear: trough)." (I Corinthians 3:11-15). It would require
incredible imagination to see these carnal babes sitting upon
thrones of power in the eternal brideship of the Lord Jesus. In
fact, it will not happen.
Saved After the Rapture
All of my Christian life, I have heard ministers preach that no
one could be saved after the Rapture. At the same time, I have
studied the Bible and especially the Book of Revelation and seen
the inconsistency of this mindset. Over and over there is this
picture of people being slain for the Word of God, pursued by
Satan's cohorts or crying out for their blood to be avenged on
Satan clearly occurring after the Rapture. The Bible is a
perfect whole and no truth is ever truly questionable when you
rightly divide the Word of God. I think this idea began from the
false teaching of "Jesus Only" and/or "Latter Rain" doctrines.
The idea that the outpouring of the Holy Ghost over the last one
hundred years was the "Latter Rain" outpouring appears to be the
source. Actually, the "Latter Rain" does not begin until Israel
is saved at the end of the seven years and will continue through
the Millennium. (Order booklet entitled, "The Latter Rain
Outpouring.") We are actually at the closing of the "Former
Rain," which is clearly called "Moderate Rain." The seven years
of the Tribulation Period is a bridge between the Early and the
Latter Rain. Apostle Peter plainly stated that the Latter Rain
will be "upon all flesh" (Acts 2:17), not just the moderate work
of the Holy Ghost presently affecting the world.
The Glorious Pre-Tribulation
Rapture
Both from the dead and the living, the Pre-Tribulation Rapture
is the grand event for the espoused bride of our Lord Jesus
Christ. There will be millions of lukewarm, indifferent, and
carnal people that will miss this glorious moment. The church is
full of worldly, careless people professing Jesus Christ, but
possessing almost nothing of spiritual life and Christ-centered
surrender. They live for the flesh, they are enemies of the
cross because Jesus is not allowed to be the Lord of their
lives. There has been such a bombardment of cheap preaching,
which promises so much for so little that a sermon like this
serves to anger and disturb this careless crowd. I dare not fail
in telling you the truth.
Listen to the Lord Jesus Christ
Himself. He appears to be screaming out these words of warning.
"Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass
away. 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 21:33-36).
There is no question to a reasonable
reader of what Jesus was discussing. Luke chapter 21 deals with
the Lord's great message of the end time events and the Great
Tribulation time of His earthly wrath against wickedness. We can
escape that wrath and He instructs us how to escape. The only
way He warns us is if we are constantly vigilant in our
consecration, that we allow nothing, not even the normal cares
of life, to limit our Spirit-filled living. He warns us of being
"overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness." He is not talking
to sinners, but He is talking to the believers. His Olivet
discourse is to the people of His kingdom, both Jews and the
emerging church. Those words indicate in order as He presented
them, "gluttoning on the world and intoxicated with the world."
It is a perfect picture of the majority of today's church.
Most churches do not have a Sunday
night or Wednesday night service because it is too embarrassing
to try. But, the problem is not the absence of these services,
but it is the matter of the heart. The world's interest and even
legitimate interests have often robbed the hearts of the people.
The real problem is that we claim to be His espoused bride,
while our courtship is with money, things, gourmet meals,
pleasures, hobbies, vacations, and a multitude of other desires.
This is exactly what Jesus was saying in the breathtaking words
I just printed for you. If we are "overcharged" with the cares
of the world, we are going to miss the Rapture and be left for
"that day" as Jesus called the coming seven years of wrath.
Espoused to One Husband
The Bride of Jesus Christ is "espoused to one husband" and one
husband alone. Under no other circumstances will you be raptured
with the Bride and miss the horrible years of wrath. Apostle
Paul said this to the church at Corinth. "For I am jealous over
you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband,
that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear,
lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his
subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity
that is in Christ." (II Corinthians 11:2-3).
Every person that is raptured before
the Great Tribulation will be a Biblical virgin and full of the
oil of the Spirit. Their lamps will be burning brightly as
presented in the Words of Jesus Christ. He spoke of ten virgins,
of which five were wise and were raptured, while the other five
were foolish (careless) and were left behind.
"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. 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).
This is an incredible picture of the
coming Rapture and shows most clearly what is required to be a
part of His Bride. All ten virgins had vessels that had
previously held oil. Once they all had oil to be consumed, but
the fire had gone out of the five foolish virgins' vessels. They
were all expecting to go, but five of them suddenly realized the
misery of being left. The greatest wailing and screaming of all
human history will occur immediately after the Rapture among the
Bible-believing world. Please note what the Lord said, "I know
you not." That does not mean that He did not know who they were
and their names. He knows the name of every living person and
even the stars are known and named by Him. The words "I know"
were words of inspection. He looked on them and said, "You do
not pass inspection." You have failed the test of Biblical
surrender and you are left for the misery to follow.
A Multitude of Martyred Saints
Immediately after the Rapture of the espoused Bride, repentant
men and women will begin to die for their newfound faith and
saintliness. The fifth seal of Revelation six reveals the
holocaust that envelops anyone representing fundamental
Christianity. The seven-sealed book in the Father's hand is the
entire transaction of the total seven years. The fifth seal is a
picture of what the Antichrist kingdom will plan and execute
against the remnant of Biblical Christianity. The first thing
the devil and his entire evil kingdom will do after the raptured
saints have escaped his reach is to go after every expression of
the true but unprepared church. Unsaved young people and
lukewarm church members will immediately be attacked and made to
deny Christianity or die. A multitude will realize their fate
and missed privilege, but will now find an altar and wash their
souls in the blood of the Lamb. Many will do it at the same
moment that they are being killed for refusing to deny the faith
they have learned.
Look at what we see in that fifth
seal, "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? And
white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said
unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until
their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be
killed as they were, should be fulfilled." (Revelation 6:9-11).
Remember, the Pre-Tribulation
Rapture has occurred only a short time prior to this scene. The
overcomers were raptured, but a large company of those that had
allowed the oil to be depleted or had been overcharged with the
cares of this life or had courted worldly goods have paid the
ultimate price for their failure. They have now been killed
because they would not recant. They are told to wait under the
altar in Heaven until their brethren have paid the same price of
martyrdom.
In what appears to be near the
middle of the seven years, all the martyrs up to that time will
be raptured up to the throne of God, where they will receive
their reward. Look at this extremely clear picture of that
event. "After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which
no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people,
and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb,
clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried
with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth
upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood
round about the throne, and about the elders and the four
beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and
worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom,
and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our
God for ever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered,
saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes?
and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest.
And he said to me, These are they which came out of great
tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in
the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of
God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that
sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger
no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on
them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the
throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living
fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from
their eyes." (Revelation 7:9-17).
This passage leaves no question that
a multitude will be saved after the Pre-Tribulation Rapture.
They are from "nations and kindreds, and people and tongues."
They are not mainly Jews being saved, but Gentiles being saved.
While there will be Jews saved during the seven years, the
majority will be saved after Jesus returns to defeat the
Antichrist in Megiddo. Apostle Paul prophesied of this in his
letter to the Romans, saying, "And so all Israel shall be saved:
as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer,
and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob." (Romans 11:26).
The seven years of the Great
Tribulation is going to be a harvest time out of the nations of
the earth. Isaiah prophesied of this incredible truth. "...for
when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the
world will learn righteousness." (Isaiah 26:9).
God's judgment during this period
will be so incredible that every inhabitant of this earth will
recognize this action as the acts of the true God and creator of
this earth and His Son, the Lamb of God. If any living person
has the capacity to repent and turn to God, they will be
received and converted and then be hated and martyred for the
glory of God. Right down to the end of the seven great years of
God's wrath, souls will repent and gain the victory over the
Beast. John the Revelator wrote at the very last hour as the
Millennium is being announced of those who had been converted.
"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was
given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded
for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had
not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had
received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and
they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."
(Revelation 20:4).
An Entire Company of Souls Beyond
Hope
It's terribly important for every person reading this article to
know that there will be a multitude that cannot be saved when
the Pre-Tribulation Rapture has occurred. Anyone that would dare
to say, "I'm going to wait until after the Rapture to be saved"
probably has gone beyond repentance. That attitude is exactly
the kind of action, which suggests someone that meets Apostle
Paul's description of the hopeless. Look at his words. He first
described the Antichrist and then what happens after he is
revealed. "Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan
with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all
deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because
they received not the love of the truth, that they might be
saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion,
that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned
who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in
unrighteousness." (II Thessalonians 2:9-12).
The religious world is full of
people who love almost any doctrine over the literal truth of
God's Word. They want their ears tickled, so they can be a
"Christian" and still do as they please. We have a generation of
religious people that are Biblically apostate. Their systems of
doctrines are more precious than the beautiful and pure Word of
God. They cannot hear because their system has built a wall
around their minds. There are many religious people too busy to
get on their knees in front of the Word of God. They have never
taken time to fall in love with the "truth." The above Scripture
says that anyone that rejects the "love of truth" will be
hopelessly deluded and lost to the Antichrist world.
It is not truth that saves the soul.
It is the "love of truth" that saves. The false anointing that
has gripped the church world is the result of experience and
feeling that has pre-empted the "love of truth." Men and women
would rather have an emotional picnic than a feast of truth.
Such people will be in trouble on that day. The Charismatic
world has spawned a generation of religious people that could
care less about doctrines, just sing them a song and give them a
shout. If you can slay the seekers, it does not matter whether
you can preach. This is Satan's lie to cause a multitude to be
rejected of the Lord. The Antichrist will have a ready following
from these sad souls.
Immediately, in the opening of the
seven-sealed book, there is evidence of people that are beyond
repentance. They pray to the mountains instead of the Father
because they know this judgment action is His wrath against
wickedness. The truth says, "And the kings of the earth, and the
great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the
mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid
themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And
said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from
the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath
of the Lamb." (Revelation 6:15-16).
Instead of repenting, they are
seeking death. Four times in Revelation the Scripture states,
"and they repented not..." or an equivalent statement. First,
the Scripture stated, "And the rest of the men which were not
killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their
hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold,
and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can
see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders,
nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their
thefts." (Revelation 9:20-21). This was speaking of the general
population.
Second, he speaks of the Antichrist
kingdom itself, "And men were scorched with great heat, and
blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues:
and they repented not to give him glory." (Revelation 16:9).
Then, he stated, "And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon
the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and
they gnawed their tongues for pain. And blasphemed the God of
heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not
of their deeds." (Revelation 16:10-11). Can you imagine a day so
wicked that men lose the ability to repent.
Conclusion
I am grateful to the Creator that Scripture reveals His mercy
even in judgment. The only crowd that cannot find mercy are
those that themselves choose to turn from truth to love and
embrace error. These are not sheep without a shepherd or people
who never heard the truth, but arrogant and haughty individuals
that reject the plain truth of the Word of God.
The multitudes that had little truth
or maybe none will now see the Biblical God in a way that shows
His awesome glory and breathtaking holiness. Millions will
repent and willingly die for their newfound faith. Do not be so
hard as to think that our God will ever reject one soul that
turns to Him with all their heart ready to pay the full price
for His love and mercy. |