Call To Arms: The Rapture Is NOT Happening

There is absolutely no *hint* of a rapture in this entire passage where Jesus discusses the end of this world.

“And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:4-14 NKJV)

He even continues this discourse, and immediately says we will see anti-christ flaunting himself as God, affirming that we indeed will be here for when he takes his good-guy mask off and begins his tyranny. Again, no mention of a rapture yet:

“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened. “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.” (Matthew 24:15-28 NKJV)

Still no mentioning of His return and gathering up all of His people into the clouds, off the earth and transporting them to heaven. Not a word on this phenomenon yet. But, let’s keep reading His sermon, for He isn’t finished:

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (Matthew 24:29-31)

Ah, there it is; immediately after the tribulation of those days just described. So, in the very end, after chaos has reigned, and anti-christ has wreaked havoc on the church, then Christ comes on the clouds and gathers His people to Himself.

The doctrine of the rapture is a lie, and one that I am afraid too many put their hope in. Rather in hoping in the resurrection at the last day (John 6:39, 40, 44, 54), people are hoping in a very early escape, a secret rapture, where Christ doesn’t reveal Himself for all the world to see, but just vaporizes His people and they appear in heaven and no one knows where they went or who took them.

This is pure fantasy. It is not biblical, and I’m afraid it helps many in the church to be unprepared for the great tribulation that will fall upon her and truly test her faith in dreadful fire. What will happen to the faith of those who are so trusting in this pre-tribulation rapture when anti-christ enacts laws that prevents them from buying food unless they worship him? What will happen if they have to face beheading for following Christ? Will they renounce their faith because God disappointed them for not coming when they believed He would? Would they be able to suffer such hardships, or desire comfort and quick relief from their pain and just accept the mark of the beast?

If pastors were preaching the truth, the church would be more equipped. But instead, they choose to deceive themselves and the people for what?Money? Fame? Acceptance? Accolade?

I fear for those believing such blatantly unbiblical lies because they are just waiting to be snatched up and aren’t praying and preparing for a faith that won’t falter even in the midst of abuse and impending death. Instead of praying, “Lord in Jesus’ name please help me endure until the end, like You say, that those who persevere will receive the crown of life. Help me withstand the enemy in the face of every persecution and trial that is coming. Help me always trust You and to never deny You.”

Instead of praying that, they’re praying, “Lord come and take me away so I don’t have to go through all that.”

And God is saying, “No. I told you when I would come for you. Therefore, be strong. Hold fast to your faith, for an hour of great testing is going to befall you to show if you are really Mine.”

Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped. (Revelation 14:9-16 NKJV)

He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! (Matthew 13:37-43 NKJV)

Are You Desiring Someone Else’s Calling?

I know a lot of pastors who like to preach about the great plans God has for all of us. Now, this is true for some, but not all. Hear me out before you start gettin’ ruffled feathers.

The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:18-25, 27-31:

“But now God has placed each one of the parts in one body just as He wanted. And if they were all the same part, where would the body be? Now there are many parts, yet one body. So the eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you! ” Or again, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you! ” But even more, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are necessary. And those parts of the body that we think to be less honorable, we clothe these with greater honor, and our unpresentable parts have a better presentation. But our presentable parts have no need of clothing. Instead, God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the less honorable, so that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other. Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it. And God has placed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, next miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, managing, various kinds of languages. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all do miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in other languages? Do all interpret? But desire the greater gifts. And I will show you an even better way.”

Not everyone is going to be behind a pulpit speaking to thousands. Not everyone is going to be “famous” for Jesus (though heaven will know who they are). Some people are the helpers as Paul said, or the managers. Some are the moms who raise up devoted followers of Christ. Some are Sunday School teachers. Whatever God has called you to do may not be “great” according to the world’s standard, but He promises His plans for you are good, pleasing, and acceptable.

Paul emphasizes the importance of the parts of the body we deem weaker and how we’re all on level ground in Christ Jesus. There are no celebrities with special benefits in God’s economy. And I personally think those who walk around like they are, probably aren’t even true Christians. But I digress.

The point is, whatever your calling is, embrace it, even if it’s a behind-the-scenes gig. Because God says it’s good and will be pleasing. He predestined good works for you to walk in, but if you’re wasting time envying and chasing someone else’s calling, you’ll end up rather unhappy and will more than likely end up falling into sin because you’re not where you’re supposed to be.

I love you guys, and I pray you walk on God’s paths for your life rather than wandering lost onto someone else’s.

If you die for Christ, so what?

What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He did not even spare His own Son but offered Him up for us all; how will He not also with Him grant us everything? Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the One who justifies. Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the One who died, but even more, has been raised; He also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: Because of You we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than victorious through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that not even death or life, angels or rulers, things present or things to come, hostile powers, height or depth, or any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord! (Romans 8:31-39)

Beloved, don’t give up. Don’t throw in the towel just yet. Do you see what great and awesome promises we have—better yet, what great and awesome love we have?

God lavishes all the love we need and more to be satisfied every second of the day. His love is more than enough. If you find yourself low in fuel for Christ, or looking after other things, you have forgotten His magnificent love for you.

His eyes are on you even now. He’s always thinking about you. He has exciting plans for you. Sure, there’s going to be trials on the way to heaven. The devil doesn’t want you to get there and he sure doesn’t want you bringing others along.

But every single thing Satan has planned against you, God wants to and can use for good—as long as you trust Him and endure. “He who endures till the end will be saved.” Your momentary affliction is nothing in light of the eternal joy that awaits you. What is even 50 years of tribulation in comparison to eternity with Christ our Loving Lord? The very second you cross over from this life to the next and see Jesus face to face every tear you ever shed will be worth it. I’m willing to bet you’d even wish you suffered more for the glorious King who now stands before you with holes in His hands, and eyes of blazing fire that consume you with love from a simple glance. When you see Him who was beaten and crucified for you, you’re going to wish you were likewise martyred for Him.

So whatever fiery trial you’re going through, always remember:

“For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, so that you won’t grow weary and lose heart. In struggling against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”(Hebrews 12:3, 4)

And even if you have, is there anyone more worthy to die for?

Katy Perry: Please Come Home

Dear Kate Hudson,

As I write this, tears blur my vision and fall from my eyes. I don’t know the number of hairs on your head, I’ve never even seen you in person, yet here I am, crying for you. I can’t imagine how Your Creator, the very One who fashioned you in your mother’s womb, who gave you your beautiful big blue eyes, and that incredible voice, the One who wrote every day of your life before a single one of them came to be—I can’t imagine how He must weep for you.

Do you remember the shortest verse in the Bible? “Jesus wept.”

The only way I can rationalize your turning away from so Great a Love is that you must not have truly known Him. How could it be possible to forsake the most perfect, good, amazing Being in the Universe? The Perfect Man who left His heavenly home to live on this dark earth for thirty-three long years and then be brutally beaten and die, suffering hell—eternal separation from God—for all mankind. For you.

How must He feel when He sees what has happened to your heart? How lost you must be, how blind to the fact that Satan laughs because he sees your destruction. He lifts people up only to drag them down. For he hates humans with a perfect hatred. After all, God made us in His very image, and through Christ He offers us all ever Satan wanted—the throne.

Christians are a royal priesthood. Sons and daughters of the Supreme King. He offers us a crown, and the ability to rule alongside Him. This is what Satan wanted, to be exalted, but instead, he was cast down, thrown from heaven, and his end is eternal destruction because of his rebellion.

Do you not see? You may have fame and riches here on earth, but would you truly cast yourself into eternal fire for things that can be taken from you at any second, whenever the Giver and Taker of life decides your time is up?

You must not understand what you’re doing. Satan is the father of all lies. He can be very convincing. But I pray you see the Truth. I pray you understand how God’s wrath abides on the disobedient. How Satan’s demons trembled at the presence of Christ, and how He rules over all. There is no escaping God’s judgement. Do you wish to face Him as Father, or as Sword-bearer?

I’m pleading with you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to your Creator. You can forsake death and destruction and be embraced by a Love worth living for.

You may never read this, but know that I am praying for you. But more importantly, know that Jesus truly does love you. And there is no one who will ever come an inch close to loving you as deeply as He does.

I pray you come back home.

Wizards and Christians

Hello, beloved. I wanted to share something I hope can help at least one of you:

A man named Simon had previously practiced sorcery in that city and astounded the Samaritan people, while claiming to be somebody great. They all paid attention to him, from the least of them to the greatest, and they said, “This man is called the Great Power of God! ” They were attentive to him because he had astounded them with his sorceries for a long time. But when they believed Philip, as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. Then even Simon himself believed. And after he was baptized, he went around constantly with Philip and was astounded as he observed the signs and great miracles that were being performed. When the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had welcomed God’s message, they sent Peter and John to them. After they went down there, they prayed for them, so the Samaritans might receive the Holy Spirit. For He had not yet come down on any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power too, so that anyone I lay hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter told him, “May your silver be destroyed with you, because you thought the gift of God could be obtained with money! You have no part or share in this matter, because your heart is not right before God. Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.” (Acts 8:9-23)

You see, although Simon believed, was baptized, and followed the church wherever they went, his heart was not right before God because he was poisoned by bitterness and bound by unrighteousness. Also, because of the bitterness and unrighteousness he didn’t want to let go of, he wasn’t able to receive the gift of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which gives us the power to stop sinning and walk in righteousness.

So we see that people who truly want to follow Christ give up their sin, their grudges (even if in their mind it seems right to hold a grudge), they simply let go of everything and trust in Jesus. Once they do, they may now receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which is different from water baptism.

Water baptism is more of a statement, like saying you now have a clean conscience toward Jesus and are going to walk in a new way of life, in His way of life. But baptism of the Holy Spirit is when you pray for it and really repent, turn away from your sins and run to Jesus, and then He fills you with His Spirit and gives you the power to obey Him and live a transformed life.

Many times (if not every time) someone gets the baptism of the Holy Spirit, they either start to prophesy or speak in tongues. That’s what happened to my sister and I, and several other Christians I know. Well, either way, the baptism of the Holy Spirit needs to happen to you if you really want to follow Jesus.

I love you, and I’m praying for you,

Natasha

If you have any questions or thoughts, please feel free to leave a comment.

I Just Got Electrocuted By God

Romans 6-8 has me really contemplating my walk with Jesus.

“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.” (Romans 8:1-14 NLT)

A few things jump out and just shock my heart with electrifying words of truth that have somehow bypassed my mind and have thus darkened areas of my heart from the light of Truth.

If I belong to Jesus, the power of His very own Spirit has *freed* me from the power of sin.

Paul goes on to explain that in Christ who was sacrificed for us, God declared an end to sin’s control over our lives, and that we are no longer obligated to do what our sinful nature urges us to do.

This got me thinking: if the all-powerful Spirit of Christ lives in me, why am I still “struggling” with selfishness, impatience, and rudeness?

Then the Truth of God’s Word dawned: once you’re in Christ, sin is a choice. Every time I’m rude to my husband or impatient, it’s because I am choosing to be rather than choosing to take a moment when I’m tested to pray for strength to overcome and be led by the Spirit. As a Christian, because of what Jesus did, my, “old sinful self was crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in my life,” and I am, “no longer a slave to sin.” For when I, “died with Christ I was set free from the power of sin. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God.” So I, “also should consider myself to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.”(Romans 6:6, 7, 10, 11 NLT)

I literally should not be sinning, or “struggling” with sin. If anything, I should be battling temptation through the Spirit’s power, but by no means should I be giving in to it, and based on Scripture, even as believers, there are sins that “lead to death.” I am not merely saved by grace so I can keep on doing what I please. I am commanded to please God and that means to stop sinning. If I “spit upon His cross” and abuse His grace, I forfeit His sacrifice for me and I will go to hell.

This revelation caused me to receive another answered prayer: God, help me fear You more.

Holiness is not to be taken lightly. As a Christian, I have no excuse to sin. My only excuse is literally, I chose to do it rather than depend on God and obey His will.

I’m sharing this with my brothers and sisters because I know of others who are in sin and yet claim to be a Christian. They, like me, probably don’t realize they are on a path to hell and are not tapping into the power Christ provides to defeat sin. They also probably focus on the second part of what Christ’s death and resurrection accomplished for them which is salvation from hell, but they are forgetting of unaware of the first part which is salvation from sin.

God’s Word has an extremely high standard for Christians. So let us stop compromising and take our sanctification seriously. God gives us the power to conquer sin, so let us begin walking in that truth. If you desire sin more than holiness before our Lord, then choose sin and know that it will result in your spiritual death, your eternal destruction. I pray you please choose rightly.

“For the grace of God has appeared with salvation for all people, instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, while we wait for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a people for His own possession, eager to do good works.” (Titus 2:11-15)

“And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near. For if we deliberately sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire about to consume the adversaries.”(Hebrews 10:24-27)