Rapture and Salvation
by M.J. Agee
What is the Rapture?
In John 14:2,3, Jesus said, "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go (he ascended to Heaven) to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."
When he comes for us, the Rapture is the catching away of those "accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man" in Heaven. (Luke 21:36).
The apostle Paul explained how the catching away (Gr., Harpazo; Latin, Rapiemir; English, Rapture) will take place. I Thess. 4:13-18 says,
I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus (believers who have died) will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (Old English for "precede") them which are asleep. 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 (Gr., 'harpazo') together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
How can we escape in the Rapture?
First, you must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
To be certain about your salvation, pray and tell him you accept him as your own personal Saviour. Be sure you are saved.
Then to stay ready to go in the Rapture, make sure that there is no unconfessed sin erecting a barrier between you and our Holy God as you walk through the rest of your days. Use I John 1:9 as soon as you sin to get back in fellowship. That scripture says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." If you are sinless, you are wearing a white wedding garment and will be chosen as part of the Bride of Christ. Don't get left behind when the Rapture takes place. According to Revelation 7:14, the Tribulation saints will have to wash their robes in the blood of Christ before they can be admitted into Heaven.
And there shall in no wise enter into it (Heaven) any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie (Revelation 21:27).
One who found out how to be saved
Incoming Email
Hi, my name is Christopher and as i was surfing through the desolate web i found your pages which i found of intrest, there are some things that i am not really clear about though, the first is that many Christians say that Jesus Christ is the Lord our GOD, this i cant agree with because i have learned that Jesus is the SON of GOD.How can something be both the SON of GOD and GOD at the same time? The other confusing things are that you have written that we only have a few months left!!!! The thing is that i cant find a date when you wrote these pages so how can i decide which month everything i coming to an end?
I would appreciate a little help in this matter if its no trouble. Myself i believe that the book of revalations has already started, by my calculations it began at the beginning of the 19hundreds, and by 2006/7 the earth is not going to be a nice place, even by todays standards.I belive in GOD but i am not a practicing Christian and i dont practice any religion to be honest, i know that i am already damned and accept it.I cant see the sense in living a life of sin and then at the end trying to make up for all the mistakes of life in the short months or days before death just to try and make things better for onesself, this i think is very selfish.So i accept my fate as a sinner and face the consicuenses (i hope thats spelt right). Thanks for now. Sweden. ps sorry about my spelling
My reply
> the first is that many Christians say that Jesus Christ is the Lord our GOD, this
> i cant agree with because i have learned that Jesus is the SON of GOD.How can
> something be both the SON of GOD and GOD at the same time?
John 6:42 says, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph (no, he was not the son of Joseph, but the Son of God), whose father and mother we know: how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?"
II Cor. 5:18 says, "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself."
John 20:28 says, "And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God."
John 1:1-3,14 says, "IN the beginning was the Word (i.e., Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him...And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us."
John 10:30,38 says, "I and my Father are one....the Father is in me, and I in him."
Heb. 1:1-3 says, GOD, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by (lit. in) his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high."
I Cor. 15:47 says, "the second man is the Lord from heaven."
I Cor. 2:7,8 says, "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the LORD OF GLORY."
In John 8:23-29, Jesus said, "I AM FROM ABOVE: ye are of this world; I AM NOT OF THIS WORLD. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins....They understood not that he spake to them of the Father...I am he...And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone."
> The thing is that i cant find a date when you wrote these pages so how can i
> decide which month everything i coming to an end?
I think that the Pre-Trib Rapture will be next Pentecost... It seems that only the Bride of Christ will be caught up to Heaven at that time for only the wise virgins of Mt. 25 went with the bridegroom when he came for them. Everything will not come to an end at that time though.
> i know that i am already damned and accept it.
Please don't be stubborn. Too much is at risk. You don't have to accept it. While there is life, there is hope. It is easy to be saved. Just accept Jesus Christ as your own personal Saviour. John 3:16 is clear. It says, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Rom. 10:9 says, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
At that point, every old sin you ever committed will be forgiven. You will stand there a new man, sinless, and be counted as a pure virgin. You can have not only salvation, but a fresh start. It is free, God's gift to you if you only believe in Jesus Christ. Don't miss out because of a false sense of what is fair. It doesn't matter if you think it is fair or not. God wants to give you this gift. All you have to do is accept it. Please pray and tell Christ you believe in him. Don't let Satan hold you back by making you think about what is fair and what isn't. Salvation is F R E E. Reach out and take what is being offered you before it is too late. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose.
Jesus paid a dreadful price for you. He took the death that you deserved because of your sins. Don't cheat him of what he so painfully bought. He bought you with a price, crucifixion. He was resurrected and you will be too. Some will be raised "to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt" (Dan. 12:2). Please choose life. This is eternity you are toying with. Don't turn God down. I would appreciate you letting me know your decision. God bless you
His reply, Re: Thanks
After reading your reply i must admit i was a litte confused, so i read it again and it all seemed to make sense.I accept Jesus and God, as i am writing this a strange feeling of happiness or something is coming over me, cold yet warm, nice.I want to laugh but somehow i also want to cry.I thank you as much as i can for taking the time to write down the passages and answering my letter and if you ever come to Sweden you are more than welcome to visit me...
Ps what a wonderful feeling i am feeling right now
My reply
Hi Christopher:
Now you are living up to your name. I am so happy for you. The feeling you have is because Jesus Christ just baptized you with his Holy Spirit. He has told us that he will never leave us. You have him indwelling you for good. Your prayers will not have to go to Heaven to be heard. He knows your every thought. Now walk humbly with thy God. You are born again into God's family as an adopted son. Your eternal home is with God in Heaven, which is a better place than Earth.
Jesus said, "LET not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. (This you have done.) In my Father's house are many mansions (dwelling places): if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (Jn. 14:1-3).
Luke 21:36 says, "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."
Right now, you are sinless, but if you slip and sin, get right with God immediately. Use I John 1:9. If you confess known sins to God, he is faithful and just to cleanse you from all unrighteousness.
Jesus just might come for us at the Rapture next Pentecost....
Scripture says to quench not the Spirit. Evidently, the level of the Holy Spirit in us goes down somewhat when we sin. Then to be filled again, we must confess that sin and get the sin barrier that stands between us and God out of the way. Then we are back in fellowship with our Holy God.
Man's test is to walk by faith. You have passed the test and have reserved your spot in Heaven. Now, you can build on that spot. When we do good deeds while filled with the Holy Spirit, we earn rewards. We lay up treasures in Heaven. They will be awarded us at the Judgment Seat of Christ, which is the first day of the Millennium. I think that will be September 13, 2007.
DON'T GIVE UP HOPE!!!
by Robert Gunn
Do you know God loves you with a love so vast that you cannot even begin to comprehend it?
Even though circumstances may seem grim and frightening, there is a way out!!
God has a wonderfully simple plan designed to set you free and to guarantee you eternal life in Heaven.
2,000 years ago God sent His son Jesus to die for all mankind's sins and now,
by simply believing this and asking Jesus to save you, you can be saved for eternity.
"What's the catch?" you might be thinking . . there is none . .
That's just how much you are loved!!!
If you would like to take advantage of this wonderful free "no strings" offer from God,
just pray the following prayer from your heart:
A Simple Prayer of Salvation
Dear Jesus,
I understand that you died for the forgiveness of all my sins,
and that you rose again from the dead and now sit at the right hand of God.
Please forgive me Jesus of all the sins that I have ever committed.
I repent and I am truly sorry.
Please come into my heart right now and be my Lord and Saviour, Jesus
and save me from eternal destruction.
Thank you for saving me Jesus,
Amen.
It's that simple!!! If you have just prayed the above prayer, your spirit has just been "born again"
and you have been translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light!!!
God wants to manifest His Presence in your life now that you have "recognised" Him.
Get a Bible and read the Gospel of John.
May God Bless You richly in your New Life with Him,
and remember: Expect Big things from a Big God!!!
MEDICAL DOCTOR REVEALS LOVE STORY OF H O R R O R!
(PARENTAL WARNING: violent and bloody content)
by Jim Bramlett
Medical doctor Mark Eastman helps us understand an act of love that may make your skin crawl, the likes which have never been seen anywhere, before or since. Read it, shudder, and maybe weep.
Most everyone is familiar with the phrase, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." It comes from the Bible, the words of Jesus Christ. Dr. Eastman gives a medical understanding of how Jesus set such a chilling example, with a scientific medical description of His gruesome, bloody death.
The punishment actually started during His trial, when He was spat upon and beaten. According to Dr. Eastman, this probably caused Jesus' eyelids to be swollen shut even before the trial was complete.
Immediately after His trial, Jesus was "scourged" (flogged) by the brutish Roman soldiers, an extreme form of punishment. The soldiers used a whip of numerous thongs, embedded with metal, bone or glass. Lash! Lash! Lash! Each lash tore into Jesus' body. There were typically 39 flesh-ripping lashes. The skin on His back was horribly shredded, exposing underlying muscle and skeletal tissues. Blood gushed from His wounds. Many victims died from the sheer trauma of this torture. An irreversible process of severe dehydration and cardiorespiratory failure began. A crown of thorns was mockingly placed in Jesus' head, causing more blood. He was spat upon and beaten more. But that was only the beginning. It gets worse�
The next step: the dreaded crucifixion -- the cross. Invented by the Persians between 300-400 B.C. and perfected by the Romans, crucifixion is called "the most painful death ever invented by man." It is where we get the term "excruciating." To humiliate Him, Jesus was stripped naked, then placed on His back, arms stretched out and placed on a crossbar. Nails, about 7-9 inches long, were driven between the bones of the forearm (the radius and ulna) and the small bones of the hands (the carpal bones). This insured that He would hang there until dead, and also to severe the median nerve, the largest nerve in the hand. This severing is a medical catastrophe, causing severe burning pain and the permanent paralysis of the hands.
The positioning of the feet was critical. Jesus' knees were bent at about 45 degrees and the feet were flexed (bent downward) an additional 45 degrees. Another iron nail about 7-9 inches long was driven through His feet between the second and third metatarsal bones, severing the dorsal pedal artery. This set up a horrific series of events, resulting in a slow, painful death. Knees bent, Jesus now must try to bear His weight with the muscles of his thigh, an impossible position to maintain.
In minutes, the strength of Jesus' legs gave out, resulting in the weight of the body being borne by His arms and shoulders, causing the shoulders to become dislocated. This causes the arms to be 6-9 inches longer than normal. With the arms dislocated, considerable body weight is transferred to the chest, causing the rib cage to be elevated in a state of perpetual inhalation. Consequently, in order to exhale, Jesus had to push down on His feet to allow the rib muscles to relax. Due to extreme fatigue, He could not do this for long, and as time went on He was less and less able, causing further dislocation of the arms and further raising of the chest wall, making breathing more and more difficult.
The result of this process is a series of catastrophic physiological effects. Because Jesus could not maintain adequate ventilation of His lungs, the blood oxygen level began to diminish and the blood carbon dioxide level began to rise. This stimulated the heart to beat faster in order to increase the delivery of oxygen and the removal of the carbon dioxide. However, Jesus' body could not deliver more oxygen and the rising heart rate only increased oxygen demand. The process set up a vicious cycle of increasing demand, which could not be met, followed by an ever-increasing heart rate.
Jesus' heart began to fail and the lungs collapsed and filled up with fluid, which further decreased oxygen delivery to the tissues. The blood loss and hyperventilation combined to cause dehydration. That is why Jesus said, "I thirst."
Gradually, the combination of collapsing lungs, a failing heart, dehydration, and the inability to get adequate oxygen supplies to the tissues cause the eventual death of the victim. In effect, he cannot breathe properly and slowly suffocates to death.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, Jesus Christ, only about age 33, uttered His last words: "It is finished." He gave up His spirit. A soldier stuck a spear in His side, causing blood and water to gush out of His dead body. Dr. Eastman says that Jesus may have had a "cardiac rupture," the bursting of the heart, caused by severe cardiac stress. He said Jesus may have died of a "broken heart."
(Postscript: As He predicted, Jesus was resurrected three days later, seen by more than 500 people, documented in numerous appearances, then ascended into heaven, at which time two angels said He would return some day, just like He left. Details of His birth, life, death and resurrection were prophesied hundreds of years in advance by the ancient Hebrew prophets, recorded in the Old Testament, or Jewish Bible.)
{Postscript: It gets even worse. Jesus then descended into hell (Ephesians 4:9), in our place. Then, just as He predicted, He was resurrected three days later! He made many appearances and was seen by more than 500 people. He then ascended into heaven, at which time two angels appeared and said He would return some day, just like He left. Many details of His birth, life, death and resurrection were prophesied hundreds of years in advance by the ancient Hebrew prophets, recorded in the Old Testament, or Jewish Bible.}
WHY IS THIS A LOVE STORY?
A favorite verse in the Bible says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16, NIV).
Why was His death necessary? God is holy and perfect. Our sin separates us from Him, and for God to be consistent with His holy nature, sin must always be judged. But His love nature caused His Son to take all our judgment upon Himself. He voluntarily became our substitute. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Christ's substitutionary death provides those who trust in Him with forgiveness, His presence now, and life with Him in heaven forever!
The Bible says about Jesus Christ (Hebrew: Yeshua HaMachiah): "...Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:6-11).
His act of love was for you. Jesus did not have to go to the cross. He was the Son of God. He did it only because He loves you. He did it voluntarily. If you were the only person on earth, He would have done it just for you. Receive Christ's great love for yourself today, by faith. Trust in Him. Talk with Him often (prayer). Let Him be the Lord of your life, and obey Him. Do not reject this great love. There is no one like Him. "There is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Jesus: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).
"He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again" (2 Corinthians 5:15)
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Updated 1-18-99
© 1998 Marilyn J. Agee