Have you heard anyone say, “Jesus is coming back, again,” “The ‘End times’ are getting closer,” or “The Rapture could happen at any time?” Do you have any idea what they are talking about?
Two Returns
Before Jesus died, he told us that he was going away to prepare a place (heaven) for us (his church), but he would be back to get us. After he returns, he will take us back with him to that place. In reading different parts of the Bible, it reveals that he comes back twice. The first time, he appears in the clouds and calls his followers to him using a trumpet. The calling of his followers is referred to as the Rapture of the Church. Only those believers who are or were genuine followers of Christ rise to meet him in the air. The second time is when the battle of Armageddon occurs, and Jesus destroys the armies of the Antichrist and begins Jesus’ 1000-year reign on Earth before the Old Earth and heaven are destroyed by fire, and the New Heaven and Earth take their place.
Will There Be a Rapture?
Not all believers feel there will be a Rapture of the Church. Some believe the progress of time toward the second coming of Christ continuously moves forward until the days of Armageddon and Christ’s reappearance to destroy the Antichrist. Those believers feel that we are currently experiencing tribulation, and a rapture of the church will not occur.
What About Tribulation?
Other believers who feel that tribulation is a distinctive 7-year event disagree on the timing of the rapture. Some say it occurs before the beginning of the Rapture, others say after the signing of the peace treaty between the Antichrist and Russia, and others say at any time. I lean toward the time before the Tribulation as the timeframe for the Rapture to occur. Tribulation is a time of the worst possible events the world has ever known. They are judgments from God as he attempts to persuade non-believers/non-followers of Christ that they must genuinely repent of their sins, ask for his mercy, or face an eternity in hell.
Has Satan Misled Christians Regarding the Message of Salvation?
Unfortunately, Satan has influenced the message of salvation in the same way he has influenced almost everything else in the world. Many understand that salvation requires their profession of faith in Jesus as their savior, and they confess that they believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. However, they do not have a complete repentance of sin in their hearts. Salvation requires both a profession of faith and a sincere repentance of sin before the Holy Spirit comes to live with them.
Evidence of a True Conversion
If a person makes a profession of faith, gets baptized, but returns to living a life of disobedience on Monday morning with no attempt to change their lifestyle, then they do not make a true conversion of their heart. In that situation, the Holy Spirit did not likely come to live with them. When the Holy Spirit is present, it produces fruit in the form of progressive growth in their walk with Christ and evidence of the use of gifts of the Spirit. If there is no spiritual growth, fruit, or a change toward obedience, then the probability of a true conversion of the spirit or salvation is unlikely. In that case, as in Matthew 25:40 where Jesus is sorting the sheep and the goats, when he those before him regarding the fruit (i.e., services provided to the needy) they produced while on Earth, he will cast them out if they cannot produce evidence of any nor will he recognize them when names are read from the book of life if they have not followed him.
How Do You Know if You are Ready for the Rapture?
- Did you have a genuine conversion with a genuinely repentant heart that was transformed with spiritual growth since that day, or did you go forth for baptism out of fear of hell, from pressure, with no genuine repentance or internal change, and have “played church” ever since?
- Did you truly love Jesus, put him first in your decision-making, want to please him out of love rather than fear or pressure, or is your loyalty to Jesus based on convenience, with decisions based on work schedules, what is more enjoyable or convenient, and other priorities rather than seeing God as the supreme force of life?
- What was your response to sin? Have you continued repeating the same sins over and over asking for mercy and forgiveness each time using the promise of salvation as a “get out of jail free card” with no real effort to change your behavior or have you continuously been trying to self-improve, felt genuine remorse when you failed and strived to gain spiritual holiness and obedience with a pursuit of holiness not perfection?
- Do you look forward to Jesus’ return or fear it because you know you have not lived a life of readiness?
- Do you live as though Jesus will return any time now or as if his return is a long time away?
What is Your Status?
To determine if you need to recommit your life to Jesus, ask yourself the following questions. You should be able to answer yes to all of them if you are a follower of Christ.
- When you were baptized, were you sincerely sorry for your sins and wanted to change your ways so they didn’t keep happening?
- Do you want Jesus to be your Lord, not just your Savior?
- Has your heart been transformed since you were baptized, or has it stayed the same with no growth?
- Do you love Jesus more now than you did when you were baptized, or has your passion grown cold?
- Is there evidence that the Holy Spirit is alive within you?
Don’t panic if you feel like you didn’t make a true confession of faith. It’s not too late. Like the prodigal son, you walked away and left your inheritance behind, but God is waiting with open arms, looking for your return. All you have to do is turn around, make a true confession of your sins in repentance, and this time, mean it when you repent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNL04tMlfgg Disclaimer: The video I’ve attached is not authentic in that I believe it is probably AI generated. It appears to represent a visitation by Jesus to Jonathan Roumie, however notice the name is actually Jonathan Legend who has his own Youtube channel and Facebook profile with religious content. While the creation methods of the generated content is suspicious, I believe the accuracy of the information to be consist with Biblical content.
