1Thessolonians 4&5 “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words…9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”
The Rapture is a fact – an event – regardless of when it will happen it WILL happen, and we will, from that point on, “always be with the Lord… we will live together with Him”
“comfort one another with these words… encourage one another and build up one another”, because the future should not be a threat to us who are in Christ; His wrath is not for us.
I look at the news these days and it reads like a prophetic confirmation. War in the Middle East – Strange and severe weather all over the world – Pestilence; the spread of infectious diseases – the global political posturing – the rise of Christian persecution – worldwide economic calamity – increasing the number and severity of earthquakes and other planetary and celestial signs (birth pains of the end times) – rampant increase in immorality; the approval of things that were unthinkable just decades ago - the breakup of the traditional family – it’s out of control…or is it?
God is in control where it counts. God is not surprised by these happenings; He foretold this time.
I read today that the lesbian mayor of Houston Texas has obtained a court order requiring several prominent Houston area pastors to turn over all sermons and notes and correspondence concerning LGBT issues, gender identity, or the mayor, Annise Parker. What is she afraid of? And the more important question; what are our courts doing to us?
Why are we being subjected to mandates of unelected officials? Why are our courts overturning the will of the people and, on top of that, challenging our rights to disagree? The Homosexual community has been elevated to such a protected status that we cannot even keep them out of opposite sex bathrooms. Our daughters could be sharing a public restroom with gender confused males BY COURT ORDER!
We have become so obsessed with diversity and depravity protection that we have set the law against the majority. We have put individualism at odds with freedom and sexual ambiguity against common sense and morality – but then again God knew we would. “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20
We even take things we know are wrong, immoral, and unhealthy and protect those who do them because their right to do it usurps our right to a moral community and protection from that influence. But then, God knew we would “…and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.” Romans 1:32
Our Judicial system has taken the position of morality police away from the Church, something government was not designed to do.
John Adams: “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech…”
When our duly elected government officials like the Mayor of Houston defy the constitution we can and should take action for they have defied their oath of office. When our courts throw this out, protecting one group at the expense of religious speech, it ceases to be a constitutionally protected government of the people. But then, God saw that coming too…Romans 1:21-24
He’s coming back…comfort one another with those words!