In Part One, I dealt with the fact that America not specifically appearing in the Bible does not mean anything—it does not guarantee our decline, and it does not mean the Rapture is close because we are having trouble. The Rapture can come in good times or bad, with Republicans in power or Democrats, when America is strong or weak. It might be tomorrow, but it has nothing to do with that. America WILL be judged, fall, and be turned to powder, as will ALL countries in the Tribulation.

We’re not there yet. It is natural to humanize nations because they are a “thing,” an entity. We think they can be saved, lost, repent, etc., like people. But only Israel is dealt with as a nation and will have a national salvation. Gentiles are individuals. But God did group those individuals into nations.

So how do we deal with America in the church age? How do we balance the nation, the individual, and what do we do? If the nation is doing bad things, are we helpless?

Nations have the government decisions, and the individuals have theirs. Individuals can repent of their bad decisions; governments can only change policy. A most important one is Israel. Does government policy bless and promote the peace of Jerusalem? Do individuals bless Israel and pray for the peace of Jerusalem? And if the government DOESN’T have the policy, the PEOPLE can still do their part and gain blessing. No one can stop you from doing that. So do all you can to pray for and influence policy, but DON’T NEGLECT YOUR OWN DUTIES.

While there are certain things that are only for saved people, there are also Biblical principles that are simply practical instructions and ways of justice. If even an atheist follows these principles and practices, things simply work better. If a large number of people, whether saved or not, even in an ungodly country, follow God’s ways, things go better for them. If those principles are followed by local, state, and national governments, the same result occurs. If you can get BOTH a government and a majority of the people doing this, it’s a best-case scenario.

We still live in a sin-cursed world, so there will always be trouble and tribulation, but one can get a potentially good situation that way. Thus, our first duty is to God, and we should follow those things.

As mentioned previously, even many atheists recognize the wisdom of those things and conduct themselves accordingly. But how about in the wider world? We know that judgment will ultimately come for the earth (Malachi 4), and this world is not our home; our citizenship is in heaven. But the house the Lord has provided for you is also not your permanent home. So do you leave the rain pouring through a hole in the roof in your child’s bedroom, telling the child, “Well, this isn’t our real home, and this very trouble is a sign that the Rapture is close. We need to accept it as an end-time sign. And you know we have our sins, and our home will be destroyed in the Tribulation anyway. This happened by the sovereign will of God.”

Of course, you’d never (let us hope!) do that. So why do you do that with your local, state, and federal God-provided home?

Of course, one can feel quite helpless, feeling political forces beyond our control. But in Sodom, only ten people repenting could have saved it. The GOVERNMENTS have abandoned the Godly principles they were founded on. But you can still study and firmly apply those principles yourself. Then, not only raise your children that way but homeschool or put them in schools that teach those. And if you have no choice but to send your children to public school, purchase a single-book homeschool curriculum that has fun exercises to be sure they actually learn. Especially get books on history that are accurate, and discuss them to combat the school. Superb books on combatting evolution lies, abortion lies, and history lies are out there.

And TALK TO YOUR CHILDREN ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON IN SCHOOL. Ask them to tell you anything they either were specifically told not to tell their parents or knew they weren’t supposed to. You might get some ugly surprises.

And if you aren’t saved, GET SAVED (2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans chapter 10, Acts chapter 2) since trouble in your country is not even close to the worst you are facing. Then, start being Salt and Light.

Everything in life starts local and moves out. Show up at school board meetings and make your views known. Make your own tracts and leaflets (I’m at 8 so far), not only about salvation but combatting media lies. Ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom so that the media-correcting truths lead into a salvation message. Find tracts printed by others that do this, and as you are led by the Holy Spirit, spread them around. Consider publishing newsletters online, and also to hand out or leave places (careful of local laws, and NEVER leave anything in people’s mailboxes or on their cars).

With the Lord’s leadership, you can get very clever. But don’t let your lips be silent; tell the truth about what is going on, and more importantly, about salvation. Both your family and the local church can do so much. Organize and run people for local school boards, city councils, and county boards of supervisors.

Research before you vote, and make sure you vote. Form think tanks. Become police, firefighters, security guards. Send your children to trade schools rather than brainwashing colleges. And more importantly, seek the Lord as to what and how to pray, and hold prayer meetings in churches and homes.

Pray for salvation for the Left, the Communists, including the Chinese Communist Party and others the Lord puts on your heart. Pray for the Lord to show you how and what to rebuke in Jesus’ Name (don’t just go off halfcocked and start yelling at the devil). Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and bless Israel with prayers and giving to various groups that go to Israel to bless it.

Live your faith. Clean up unbiblical actions. Organize to clean up trash and slum areas and clean up litter. Take food to the homeless. A good idea is to get a bulk lot of the little cardboard carryout containers like you get from Chinese restaurants. Cook at home or organize groups in church to cook good, nutritious vegetables and things to put in them. They are very portable, and you can go in groups. Add plastic utensils and ziplock freezer bags full of hygiene products and other such things (make different gender bags).

Witness to those you bless. Add tracts. And in ALL the foregoing, INVOLVE YOUR CHILDREN. They yearn to make a difference, and if you don’t provide a way, the corrupt school systems will. And you won’t like it a bit.

Our national hymns are also prayers for the nation in many cases. Sing them with your children, sing them at organization meetings, say the Pledge of Allegiance, and sing the national anthem in your homes. Show your children, family, and friends how it was a slow increase in applying Godly principles that eventually overcame racism, sexism, and other injustices in the country. Things can KEEP getting better if these continue to be applied.

And finally, for churches themselves, hold hour-long classes for all ages to correct lies out there. Dedicate a room for children of all ages to come and hang out together after school. Due to their spiritual content and teaching ability, I would strongly encourage the singing of the old hymns during services and a service that is not ‘entertainment.’ But who says the building can’t be used for that too in things other than the services? You can meet for a church dinner and then have a fun, exuberant praise and worship songfest complete with clapping and all. Have concerts with the more modern stuff. Have fun movie nights where everyone can watch Bible movies while munching popcorn. The kids will go to events one way or the other, but whose? Yours? Do they exist?

And if you’re doing all these things in your locale, and everyone else is too, then what happens to the area – first local, then state, then federal?

Everyone feels discouraged and helpless, but the fact is, you should have ALWAYS been doing these things, regardless of anything else going on. Nothing, not your faith, not your actions, not your witness—IF they were where they should have been—should change with some election. And if they aren’t where they should have been, get them there.

We are like the lepers at the city gates in the Bible —why sit we here until we die? You don’t have to sit there; there’s tons of stuff you can do, and much is easy to do. And when do you stop? The Rapture. Not until then.

chocdave777@gmail.com

 

It would be fair to argue that one of the most divisive doctrines of Scripture for the last days would be that of the Rapture of the Church. Specifically, the timing of the Rapture, rather than whether the Bible teaches a Rapture.

To begin with, the Rapture of the Church is the ‘Blessed Hope’ for believers.

The New Testament speaks of a ‘mystery’ in which Paul writes that ‘we shall not all sleep (or die), but that ‘we shall be changed’ (1 Corinthians 15:53).

In his letter to the church at Thessalonica, Paul writes, “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 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” (1 Thess 4:16-18).

That is the Rapture of the Church. The bodies of those who are ‘dead in Christ’ – deceased believers – will be resurrected. Those believers in Christ still alive will immediately be translated bodily from the earth to ‘meet the Lord in the air.’

When Jesus ascended bodily to heaven in the presence of the Apostles, an angel appeared to them, saying, “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).

And it was Jesus Himself Who promised, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: 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” (John 14:2-3).

Although the doctrine of the Rapture of the Church is the Christian’s ‘Blessed Hope,’ in these last days it has become a doctrine of division within the Body.

We’ve seen some of the most vitriolic diatribes imaginable take place in our forums over the question of when the Rapture occurs. There are three basic schools of thought on the Rapture.

The first is the Pretribulation Rapture. Those who hold to this belief expect that Christians will be raptured before the Tribulation period begins.

The second view is the Mid-Tribulation Rapture (as well as a similar view called the pre-wrath Rapture). They expect the Rapture to occur at the mid-point in the Tribulation, or before the beginning of the Great Tribulation that is the last half of the 7 years of Jacob’s Trouble.

Finally, there is the Post-Tribulation, which holds to the view that the Church goes through the entire seven-year Tribulation Period, but then is raptured at the end of the Tribulation, just before the 2nd Coming of Christ.

All three schools of thought do have some points of common agreement. They all believe that,

1) the 2nd Coming of Christ is a separate event from the Rapture, and,

2) that there will be a Rapture of Christians BEFORE the 2nd Coming.

As I said, the timing of this event is a subject of great division among Christians. Those who take the post-trib view think that pre-tribbers are preaching a ‘Great Escape’ that won’t happen.

They believe that teaching a pre-trib Rapture does a disservice to the Church, and when the Tribulation comes, Christians expecting a ‘Great Escape’ will not be prepared to endure and might succumb to the Mark of the Beast.

Consequently, to many who hold the post-trib view, pre-tribbers are false prophets preaching a lie of Satan. Judging from my emails, some from that camp believe pre-trib teachers are deliberately spreading error.

Those who hold the mid-trib or pre-wrath have espoused similar views. I find it interesting that I seldom encounter mid-tribbers engaged in battle with post-tribbers. Most of the forum fights I’ve witnessed have the mid and post crowd on one side, with pre-tribbers on the other.

So, which view is right? In each of the next three issues of the Omega Letter Intelligence Digest, we will look at what the Bible says regarding each view. You can make up your mind for yourself which view lines up best with Scripture.

As we progress through the study, it is important to keep one thing in mind. The issue of interest is WHEN He is coming, but the issue of importance is WHO it is that is coming and why. ‘When’ is important but of secondary interest. People holding all three views are equally saved if they have put their faith in the Jesus Who is coming to begin with.

Whether or not the Church participates in the Tribulation or is Raptured before it begins is a matter of eschatological (doctrine of end-time events and chronology) interpretation and of much less eternal importance than the doctrine of soteriology (salvation). It IS important, but it is proportional.

Members of all three schools of thought will be Raptured at the same time, whether they expect to be or not. That’s just how it is. It shouldn’t be as divisive an issue as it has become. Lots of churches are afraid to touch it for that reason.

The entire controversy, as divisive as it is, is unique to this generation. In previous generations, it was just an interesting point of doctrine for which there were several interpretations.

In this generation, it has been elevated almost to the level of salvation in doctrinal importance. Check the message boards that debate the Rapture. (Wear a helmet.)

By itself, that fact should set off alarm bells in the back of your head. The fact it is the hottest topic in the Church today sends a signal. Because this IS a debate for the last days.

Over the next three issues, we’ll discuss the purpose of the Tribulation period, specific promises made to the Church Age, what Jesus said about the Tribulation period, and what the Bible says about the 2nd Coming of Christ.

When we’re finished, I don’t expect to have changed anybody’s view, but instead hope to provide you with reasons you can tick off for why you hold it.

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (1st Peter 3:15).

——————–

The late Jack Kinsella’s articles can be found in the Omega Letter archives at this link.