Harpazō Rapture

Pleasing God

Ken

“By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5 KJV). Some would say Enoch was raptured or caught up to God. “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up [Greek, harpazō] together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1Thessalonians 4:17). Without speculating whether Professed Christianity is following the pattern of Enoch, his testimony of pleasing God is walking with Jesus. “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). And, nothing short of continual, heartfelt pisteuō commitment to Jesus can be acceptable to God. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). 

Can God sustain His people in a continual state of pleasing Himself? Yes, even in the OT, God’s people were kept by God in a continual state of peace, when they were trusting Him. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee” (Isaiah 26:3). Examine God’s interactions with us, even now. Look for His provisions for sustaining us. “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22). Pleasing God cannot be any inherent quality about us, i.e., physical, social, racial, economic, political, but must be entirely moral and volitional. “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him” (2Chronicles 16:9). 

Should we think it too much not to descend into the pit of despondency being overcome by passion for impatience, anger, fear, bewilderment, attractions of the flesh, desires of the eyes, or the pride of life? Jesus set our example. “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps” (1Peter 2:21). It would be unwise to estimate our capacity to please God by measuring others’ success or failure in doing so. “Comparing themselves among themselves, [they] are not wise” (2Corinthians 10:12). Wouldn’t it be strange, if the Creator could not design a system in which His people could not please Himself without their retreating to a Heavenly circumstance? 

Do our NT circumstances give us better opportunity to please God? Yes. And, “unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required” (Luke 12:48). The promised Holy Spirit is the inspiration for our obedience, not the mechanical trigger to force it. “And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:27). Since the Spirit is “given to them that obey Him” (Acts 5:32), any predisposition to repent, believe, and obey cannot be separated from our necessity to do so. “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13). Believing gives us the Spirit, who in turn, gives us the inspiration to obey. “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). 

Ours is to keep our eyes on Jesus. 

What is the most important thing? 

Focus squarely on Jesus. He is at the intersection of our doing everything we are supposed to be doing (on one hand), while not being concerned about what anyone else thinks we should or should not be doing (on the other hand). “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).

On one hand, the Pharisees made keeping the law their objective. It is true that we need to walk in obedience to God, but we should not attribute our obedience to our goodness. “1 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to His disciples, 2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: 3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. 4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, 6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. 8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. 9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. 10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. 11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted” (Matthew 23:1-12).

On the other hand, the antinomians — the other extreme, which rejected the restrictions of the law — attempted to emphasize their lack of necessity of keeping the law as a goal; but instead, to concentrate on being happy. “Let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die” (Isaiah 22:13). It is also true that we are not under the law. “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14). But, Paul anticipated the natural tendency of disregarding the law, which is to sin and continue in it. “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid” (6:15). If we are truly in Jesus, how can we live in sin? 

As we get closer to the end, we shall see a paradox of more signs of God’s people understanding what is going on — “them that look for Him” (Hebrews 9:28) — while we shall also see signs of Professed Christians entirely without a clue about truly focusing on Jesus. “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). 

Father, we desire to be like Jesus and Enoch, that we would please You. Guide us by Your Spirit how not to walk in the flesh, for “they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:8). Help us not to become prideful as the Pharisees in our conforming to your Law of Love. Teach us not to be like the antinomians, and more like the Thessalonians, “how [we] ought to walk and to please God, so [we] would abound more and more” (1Thessalonians 4:1). Lord Jesus, return quickly. In Your name, we pray. Amen. 

Virtue of Not Sinning

Ken

“For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not” (Ecclesiastes 7:20 KJV). The vanity of trying to do it right but not succeeding was felt even by the Apostle Paul. “19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:19, 24). Is there deliverance from sinning? Yes! Paul answers the question. “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (7:25). And, immediately tells how. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (8:1). Walking after the Spirit is either a mystical, theological description of what every Christian has-but-doesn’t-know or we really don’t understand, since too many Professed Christians still identify with the camp of Desperately Seeking Deliverance from sinning. If that isn’t true, why don’t we hear more testimonies of overcoming sin in the daily life than testimonies of the dramatic change, when first becoming a disciple?

Quite simply, Jesus Christ our Advocate is and should be the reason we do not sin, for the very name of Jesus means “YHWH delivers,” from the penalty of sin and the necessity to sin. “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1John 2:1). Jesus Christ is our Advocate or Paraklete with the Father. He functions in us through the work of the Blessed Holy Spirit. This is what Paul began to tell the Romans in Romans 8. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). Paul explained the liberation from sinning was needed, because of past vain attempts to render obedience to the law of sin and death. The Jews already proved that method of rendering obedience and not sinning didn’t work, for they ended up crucifying the very Messiah, who was sent to set them free. “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me; because the LORD hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound” (Isaiah 61:1). 

The virtue of not sinning is clearly the victory that overcomes the world. “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1John 5:4). Our pisteuō commitment of faith to Jesus is our sense of abiding or remaining in Christ, which understanding Jesus was especially trying to impart to His inner circle in the days immediately before His crucifixion. “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me” (John 15:4). 

We do not immediately think of the virtue of not sinning, since it is an inverse method of reflecting on faith, obedience, and knowing Christ. “Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him” (1John 3:6). The mental gymnastics of how only a present tense abiding in Christ can yield a present tense condition of not sinning, must actually and more firmly be a part of the foundational thinking of every disciple, or else we will develop the alarming condition of reassuring ourselves of having come to know Jesus, even while we are continuing in present sin and disobedience. 

This weakness will especially be exploited by the Man of Sin before the soon reappearing of the Lord Jesus Christ, for he knows the uselessness of a faith, which does not produce the work of the abiding fruit of “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness [gentleness], temperance [self-control]” (Galatians 5:22-23), for he will re-explain all of reality to those left behind after the Harpazō Rapture. Your faith was only an illusion of which I am now your present, powerful, and awe inspiring reality. “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time” (1John 2:18). 

Not sinning is virtuous, since it is part of our wholehearted pisteuō commitment to our Lord Jesus Christ, which is the antithesis of the works of the devil. “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1John 3:8). Destroying the works of the devil and destabilizing the future foundation of the Antichrist requires us to be campaigning to not sin, as much as our need to abide in Christ. “Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not” (3:6). 

O be careful little heart whom you trust

O be careful little heart whom you trust

For the Father up above

He’s looking down in love

So, be careful little heart whom you trust. 

Father, You are the One who sets the agenda for how we should act in these Last Days. May we enlarge our thinking that we will perceive more of the reality of what is fast unfolding before our eyes. May we do our small part of destroying the works of the devil by not sinning. Increase the understanding of the Body of Christ of how not sinning must be part of abiding in Christ. We know we cannot stop all sin or the embrace of the world for Antichrist, but help us to give our last full measure in promoting and embracing Jesus, the only Way, Truth, and Life. Lord Jesus, return quickly. In Your name, we pray. Amen.