Marriage Supper of the Lamb

Rapture Is Part of the Second Coming

Ken

If we believe Christ came the First Time as a Savior in a Bethlehem manger, then we must believe He will come a Second Time as a Judge and King. As the angel said, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11 KJV). Paul (I believe to be the writer of the Book of Hebrews) said, “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (Hebrews 9:28). 

Though some disagree that the concept of the Rapture of the Church is unfounded, I would ask, Do you believe in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ? So do I. But, notice that Paul describes with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, Living Saints are raptured or caught up to Him. “13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up [Greek, harpazō, snatched up, i.e., raptured] together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever” (1Thessalonians 4:13-17 NIV). 

If we agree that we are raptured, then any disagreement would be over what happens after the Rapture. Immediately, we are “present with the Lord” (2Corinthians 5:8). We are in another dimension, outside the dimension of earth time and tribulation events, and have an infinite of time for an awards banquet and dinner — Bema Seat Judgment (Romans 14:10) and Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:6-10) — before we return with the Lord. Then, will be the final, visible part of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. “Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen” (Revelation 1:7). 

All we need to do is occupy till He comes (Luke 19:13) and watch for Him (21:36). Help us, Lord, to do that, but He will do the rest!

Father, cause us to be faithful to You. Lord Jesus, return quickly. Amen and amen.

Preparing for His Appearing: Parable of the Ten Virgins

Ken

Ready to meet the Lord means more than having professed Him to be your Savior, but a continual practicing of the presence of God. “And why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46 KJV). Christ gave a Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), where the wise ones had prepared enough oil for their lamps to be ready to meet the Bridegroom and enter in at the wedding, while the foolish ones failed to bring enough oil and could not attend the wedding. “The anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you” (1John 2:27) is the “oil” of the Holy Spirit. The Wise Virgins were the True Believers because they had the presence of the Holy Spirit (oil in their lamps), while the Foolish Virgins were the False Professors without the Holy Spirit (no oil in their lamps). 

The difficulty goes back to the Church teaching the free gift of grace for salvation does not require an active but equal “faith which worketh by love” (Galatians 5:6) from us. To be clear, salvation without Christ is impossible. “There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). God has created us with the capacity to choose or reject Him; and, He has taken special measures to draw us to Himself. “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee” (Jeremiah 31:3). Our response, sadly, has been to put the blame for our lack of success and perseverance upon Him, by labeling all His Love as Unconditional. 

In reality, Unconditional Love is given to all, even if it is rejected, as in, “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” (John 3:16). Conditional Love, on the other hand, is only given to the obedient. “He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him” (John 14:21). Conditional Love occurs only with the obedience that accompanies faith. “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works” (James 2:18). Failure to grow and persevere results from failure to teach the difference between Unconditional and Conditional Love. 

The Foolish Virgins were counting upon Unconditional Love alone to get them in to the wedding, not realizing Unconditional Love was only enough to get an invitation. “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (James 2:17). The Wise Virgins understood Conditional Love requires Faithful Obedience, which secures a seat at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. “If ye love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15).

Father, You are the All Wise God, who we love for sending us Your Son. Cause the confusion about Your love to vanish away as You enlighten about Conditional and Unconditional Love. May Your Church answer Your call to Come Up Hither at the Rapture because we kept oil in our lamps. Come quickly, in Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.