Starting with the Bible life verse I have chosen, John 14:6: “Jesus said to him, I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” And this is followed up in Acts 4:12 when Peter boldly declares: “And there is Salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (ESV – all emphasis is mine)
In the past, I have posted that we’re just waiting for the “Trumpet and Shout.” This is found in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52: “Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep [die], but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall all be changed.”
Combine this with 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, and you get more on this issue. “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the Trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”
Those who are caught up will be everyone worldwide that has truly received and accepted Jesus as their eternal Savior. All who will not have done so, for whatever reason, will be left behind on this earth to face the worst seven years that have ever taken place so far.
While a significant number of people will “disappear,” there will be more that will be left behind to go through the wrath/tribulation (Matthew 7:13-14). The amazing part of all this is that it’s up to each individual today to choose for themselves which outcome they will face.
Our Jesus could have decided that we are not worth all that He was destined to endure, but as Matthew 26:39 states: “And going a little further, He fell on His face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me, nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’”
Because of our Savior’s pure, sinless blood sacrifice, the Heavenly Father will grant eternal life to all who will become a part of His Son’s precious flock.
Philippians 2:6-11: “Who though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so 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 the Father.”
Because of the obedience of our Savior to our Heavenly Father, we are blessed to have a pathway that will give us something we could never earn or buy for ourselves. Ephesians 2: 8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast.”
Because our Jesus lives today, we have an absolute pure hope in an Eternal Home that He has prepared for us, as stated in John 14:2-3: “In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also.”
In 1996, Bill and Gloria Gaither, along with Jonathan Pierce and Squire Parsons, wrote and released the wonderful song, “Because He Lives.”
1.) God sent His Son; they called Him Jesus. He came to love, heal and forgive. He lived and died to buy my pardon; an empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.
Ref.) Because He lives, I can face tomorrow; Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future, and life is worth living just because He lives.
2.) How sweet to hold a newborn baby, and feel the pride and joy he brings; but greater still the calm assurance, this child can face uncertain days because He lives. (ref)
3.) And then one day, I’ll cross the river; I’ll fight life’s final war with pain. And then as death gives way to Victory, I’ll see the light of Glory, and I’ll know He reigns. (ref)
All the false prophets and antichrists today are doing everything they can to prepare the way for the ultimate Satan-indwelt antichrist to appear. Sadly, they are influencing a lot of people to turn away from the truth to accept the lie that started in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3:1: “Did God Really Say?”
As stated in the past, “Know Jesus – Know God; No Jesus – No God.” The actual scriptures that tell us this are: Matthew 11:27; Luke 10:27; John 3:18, John 3:36, John 14:6; 1 John 2:23, and 1 John 5:10-12. Our Savior did not mince words in John 10:30 when He was being questioned by the religious leaders of His day: “I and the Father are One.”
For those who say, “You don’t know what I have done; I can’t be forgiven,” we look at John 19:30: “When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It Is Finished,’ and He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit.”
When our Savior died as a human on that cross, the pure, sinless blood He shed reached all the way back to Earth’s beginning to cover all who had been in God’s will. From the Cross to the end of this earth’s existence, all who will have received and accepted Jesus as their Savior will receive forgiveness. Consider Peter, who denied he even knew the Savior, and Paul, who persecuted Christians to their deaths. Even so, they were cleansed by the blood of the Savior, and we can be cleansed also.
The unforgiven will be all who did not have Jesus as their Savior when they took their last breath here. They will have an appointment at the White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20:11-15. At this judgment, there will be no forgiveness or limited sentences. It will be forever.
We do not know when the Trumpet and Shout will happen, but it’s getting closer and closer. All the end-time signs given by Our Savior and prophets are here now, and the next major event will be the Rapture.
Our promise to be kept from the tribulation/wrath is found in 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10, and Revelation 3:10. From the moment that we receive and accept Jesus as our Savior, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. When He is taken out of the way to allow the evil antichrist to come out (2 Thessalonians 2), we must be removed from this earth for the Father to keep His promise.
For anyone to hold off calling for Jesus to be their Savior, once the Rapture starts, it will be over “In the twinkling of an eye,” as stated above. Experts have calculated that this will be less than 1/100th of a second. Your best assurance of eternity with Jesus is to call out now. As Jesus told the thief on the cross who believed in Him, “Today, you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).
This could be the most valuable decision you will have ever made so far. Hesitation could be the biggest mistake.
Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!