The exhilaration that emanates from a typical soccer match is often not just the case of goals scored, but equally capable of setting off an adrenaline rush are showstoppers like missed chances and sending-offs. Picture a dour game where none of these are present; instead, there’s lots of dribbling around the center half, frequent off-sides, and to make it even more of a drag – almost zero action near the goal mouth! As the game grinds to an inevitable double 0 scoreline at the final whistle, a sigh of relief precedes a yawn that signifies a long-drawn bore.

One thing mirrors the above-said scenario; it has dragged on shortly after the pandemic began and still shows little signs of abating. That natter and chatter about the corona virus vaccine still rages on; nagging questions about whether to take or reject this shot fail to stop popping up. The arguments for this continued debate stem from a somewhat contorted view of the prophetic Word. Proponents stick to the notion that they have to grasp the inevitable. But this myopic appraisal of the prevailing situation only sidetracks the need to focus on the wider picture.

Have these people asked the question, where do they stand where the prophetic hours matter? All this while they are captivated by the intricacies that are tied to the future vaccine. Is that the only matter of prophetic significance? It is as good as they missed the real target, as good as numerous crosses that are not capitalized but instead giving way to mere throw-ins and perfunctory goal kicks! More like something you can doze off to.

There are a host of events that are of equally significant value where the prophetic truth goes. Look at what is speeding up north of the Golan Heights; it could be a matter of time before a very large part of Ezekiel 38 comes to fruition, and the total destruction of Damascus could be headline news that sees the fulfillment of Isaiah 17:1.

What about the heightened lawlessness that is now sweeping across many US cities and making waves in Europe? What is most telling about these riotous trends is the wholesale desecration of historic monuments on the grounds that these depicted exploitation of the have-nots. There is a pinch of truth in this line of argument, except that it is blown out of proportion.

Then there is an area few bother to examine; this concerns designer babies made from human genome manipulation through the indiscriminate use of CRISPR – this Biblically forbidden practice reeks of the mention of the Days of Noah that precede the coming of the Son of Man!

All of the above-mentioned events that herald the 7-year Tribulation are moving at the speed of the Train Grand Vitesse (TGV) if not that of the Shinkansen bullet express. The race for a vaccine might be likened to the pace of a fully laden freight run on Southern Pacific! On this note, the focus is not on the nearness and imminency of the Day of Redemption but, sadly, on the hard moment of truth meant for the Christ-rejecting horde. We, who believe in our sure redemption through the blood of Christ our King, should pay attention to that more-than-split-second moment that spares us from the horrors that come on the world.

Rather than rant and rave about something not meant for believers, let us continue to burn bright for His Kingdom and Glory until that final moment. The Lord always keeps his promises, this especially so in Revelation 3:10-11 : “Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.”

We must hold fast and believe with all our hearts that HE will spare us from all evil. Even if your guess about what would happen was spot on, be rest assured that you will not come close to it.

Maranatha

Edwin

edwinuk13@gmail.com

 

A key problem in the church today consists of its silence on the rapture, which often comes from its adherence to false beliefs generated by amillennialism or an unwillingness to talk about it. As a result, no one stresses the glorious transformation that we will experience when Jesus comes for us.

I once attended a church for several years where the pastor told others privately that he believed in the pretribulation rapture, but he did not mention the word from the pulpit. He believed in the resurrection of the dead and possessed a wondrous and deep biblical understanding of the Gospel past and present, but I never heard him talk about the glorious transformation of living believers at Jesus’ appearing.

I recently attended another church until I heard the rapture mocked from the pulpit by an assistant pastor and learned that the teaching pastor attributed the biblical promises of a restored Israel to allegory. These pastors pushed Jesus’ return to the far distant future, at the end of the age, and failed to teach the saints about the “blessed hope” when eternity will become a reality.

Without the pretribulation rapture, where is the hope for troubled souls and wounded hearts? If the church is headed for a part of tribulation or, God forbid, all of it, then our immediate anticipation is more likely death rather than the wholeness and healing Jesus will give to us when he appears.

Those who falsely attribute God’s promises of restoration for Israel to allegory rarely if ever talk about Jesus’ promises of restoration for us as New Testament saints. Those who refuse to preach about the rapture, in effect, deny the hearing of this precious hope to those sitting in the pews or at home listening online. They make death the expectation of the saints rather than Jesus’ glorious appearing.

I am not saying that everyone reading this will live until the rapture (although it’s closer than we can imagine), but our blessed hope signifies that we live in anticipation of that glorious day when Jesus gives all those in Christ a glorious imperishable body, grants us an inner wholeness that we can now only dream about, and completes our adoption into God’s family so that it becomes a joyous experience for all of us.

Paul wrote about this rapture hope in Romans 8:23-25, “And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”

This is the “blessed hope” of Titus 2:13. Our expectation is not the wrath of God that will be poured out during the day of the Lord or the seven-year tribulation. Dying side by side with the Christ-rejecting world experiencing God’s horrendous judgments is most assuredly NOT our “blessed hope.” No, no, no! Our imminent expectation consists of seeing Jesus face to face, and that moment is rapidly approaching.

A Glorious New Body

When Jesus comes to take us home to heaven, we will receive immortal and imperishable bodies. Does this not lift our eyes upward during the many difficulties here below? The apostle Paul assured the saints in Philippi concerning this glorious expectation, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself” (Phil. 3:20-21).

The apostle says our future bodies will be just like Jesus’ glorious resurrection body. Wow! We will possess physical, resurrected bodies in which we will reign with Christ forever. This is our future Gospel hope that remains hidden in most churches today, either because of false doctrines pertaining to the millennium or by pastors unwilling to stir up controversy by mentioning the word “rapture” from the pulpit.

In 1 Corinthians 15:52b-53, we find additional details of our glorious and wonderful Gospel hope, “For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.” Through the apostle Paul, the Lord promises that his followers will receive immortal physical bodies when Jesus returns for us (AKA the rapture).

If we are alive at the time of his appearing, Jesus will instantly transform our aging and achy bodies into immortal physical bodies just like his. If we die before that, he will bring our dead bodies to life again, never again to be subject to the illnesses of this life, aging, or death.

Either way, we will not miss out on the rapture, our wonderful new bodies, or our quick trip through the clouds to the amazing and wonderful place Jesus is now preparing for us in his Father’s house (John 14:2-3).

I love these words from Randy Alcorn in his book, Heaven: “Inside your body, even if it is failing, is the blueprint for your resurrection body. You may not be satisfied with your current body or mind—but you’ll be thrilled with your resurrection upgrades. With them, you’ll be better able to serve and glorify God and enjoy an eternity of wonders he has prepared for you.”

This exchange of our dying or dead bodies for resurrected ones will be like swapping an old rusted out Ford Pinto held together with duct tape for a brand new, shiny red Porsche Carrera (red is my favorite color). However, our new bodies will never deteriorate, grow old, or wear out as even the best-built and most expensive cars will do over a long enough period of time.

Our new bodies will remain forever immune to all sickness and disease! This signifies the end of all doctor and dentist appointments for us. Aches, pains, physical suffering, and aging will all be relics from our distant past. What a glorious reality to contemplate! Does this hope not brighten our days as we watch for Jesus to appear?

Glorious Inner Wholeness

In his book All Things New, John Eldredge adds this about our future experience in glorified bodies, “We are all traumatized and fragmented; no one passes through this vale of tears without it. And our Healer will make us whole again. . . . Think of it—to be whole hearted. To be filled with goodness from head to toe. To have an inner glory that matches the glory of your new body . . . .”[i]

I previously shared my story of the Lord’s healing of the deep wounds of my past and how the Lord enabled me to overcome PTSD. Although he wonderfully restored my life in miraculous ways, the trauma and fragmentation of which Eldredge spoke remains a reality for me.

Although I have experienced wonderful and dramatic healing during the past decade, I still yearn for the total inner wholeness about which John Eldredge writes. I long for the increased sharpness of mind, emotional healing, and Jesus’ deliverance of me from the presence of sin that will be mine in eternity.

I ache for life promised to me after “this vale of tears.” This will be our reality when Jesus bursts through the clouds to carry us back to the place he has prepared for in his Father’s house in heaven (John 14:2-3).

Do you understand why I so vigorously defend premillennialism and the pretribulation rapture? These are not meaningless arguments without relevance to our daily lives as we deal with COVID-19, verbal abuse or worse, financial woes, betrayals, shattered dreams, and growing anxieties.

No, it’s the promise of Jesus’ imminent appearing that enables to face frightful days and sleepless, tear-filled nights with hope of a glorious day ahead for us front and center in our hearts and minds.

Talk of a distant resurrection from the dead with an undefined existence in eternity does not comfort our hearts nor provide any lasting hope after the sermon ends and we continue to face lives in turmoil. No, it’s our hope of what will happen at the rapture that helps us get up the following day to face a chaotic world and endure the hardships of this “vale of tears” as John Eldredge so aptly describes it!

The rejection of the rapture or the lack of courage to talk about it has led to a dearth of hope in the church today. If our immediate hope is death either by natural causes or the Lord’s wrath during the tribulation, is it any wonder why anxiety remains such a significant problem among believers? I cannot imagine life apart from a hope in Jesus’ imminent appearing. I would be pulling out my hair!!

That’s why I will continue to defend the pretribulation rapture regardless of the mocking and scorn I continually receive as the result of my stand.

It’s not that I do not respect other believers with differing opinions, but my confidence in the pretribulation rapture has come as the result of thousands of hours of study over the course of five decades, and I cannot take any other position than that of supporting and defending the pretribulation rapture.

It’s precisely this hope in Jesus’ imminent appearing alone that draws our focus to our Redeemer, which is so desperately needed in the church today.

Jonathan Brentner

Website: Our Journey Home

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E-mail: Jonathanbrentner@yahoo.com

[i] John Eldredge, All Things New (Nashville: Nelson books, 2017), pp. 93-94.