Is there any truth to the
“partial Rapture” theory? Will only the “good” Christians be
raptured, and
those who still sin be left behind? Does our being included in the Rapture
depend on how close we are to God or the works we have achieved for Him? Will
we, as a true Christian, be left behind if we haven’t always obeyed Him and
remained in His will?
These are heavy questions
that many Christians worry about. Those who are in the world don’t worry about
the Rapture because they don’t believe in it anyway. It is all foolishness to
them. However, the pre-Tribulation Rapture is very real, and it will take place
right on time. When will that be? When God the Father sends His Son to collect
His bride (the true Church), He will come, just as He came nearly two thousand
years ago, to pay the redemption price for all who come to Him to be saved.
Jesus paid the redemption
price for His bride on the cross, was buried and rose again the third day just
as He foretold. He will also come to claim her at the Rapture just as he
foretold. One day soon, within a split second, the Church will be gone, and the
world will be catapulted into a time of utter hell, commonly called the
Tribulation. Are you a true Christian?
If you are true Christian, you
dealt with the following issues when Jesus Christ saved you.
· As an unbeliever, you recognized that you were hopelessly
lost and bound for hell.
· You realized that Jesus Christ is the only way to be
saved.
· You believed He died for you, was buried and rose
again, and is now in Heaven.
· In child-like faith you asked Jesus to save you, and
He did.
Now, will you, as a true
Christian, meet Christ in the air at the Rapture, or will your feet remain
firmly planted on earth, waiting for what is to come, and thinking, “I’ve been
left behind. God help me!”
If you are one of those
Christians who believe that Jesus will only take the “good” ones, and you’re
not one of them, you must be miserable. It is true that all those who do not
know Jesus Christ as their own personal Savior (not true Christians) will not
be taken, but will He leave part of His bride on earth and take only the
“best?”
First of all, let us consider
the guarantee God gives us about our salvation. When we purchase material items
here on earth, we often receive a guarantee with the item. It may be for 30
days, 60 days, 90 days or longer. God also gives a guarantee concerning our
salvation in Jesus Christ, and guess what? It is good for eternity. (I’ll
provide one verse, but there are many others.)
“And you also were included
in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation.
When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy
Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those
who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14)
Secondly, no one, not even
our own self, can remove us from our salvation in Jesus Christ. (I’ll provide
one verse, but again, there are many others.)
“No, in all these things we
are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that
neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the
future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all
creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ
Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:37-39)
Thirdly, let us go back to where
we started. Will our sins keep us from being raptured? Consider these verses.
“When you were dead in your
sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ.
He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal
indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away,
nailing it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:13-14)
“Therefore, if anyone is in
Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this
is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the
ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in
Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the
message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God
were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be
reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him
we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:17-21)
“Therefore, there is now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus
the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and
death.” (Romans 8:1-2)
“But when this priest had
offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of
God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For
by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”
(Hebrews 10:12-14)
“For as high as the heavens
are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the
east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
(Psalm 103:11-12)
When we placed our faith in
the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and asked Him to save us, He
forgave us all our sins and washed them all away with His own blood. We were
adopted into the family of God and guaranteed our place in Heaven with Him for
all eternity.
When we look at our sins, we
may think some are just too bad to be forgiven. Also, we don’t know what sins
we may commit in the future. However, when the Lord saved us, He saw all of
them and He forgave all of them. To suggest otherwise is blasphemous.
So, He forgave all our sins
(even those we don’t know about). He guaranteed our place with Him in eternity,
and He clearly said that no one, not even our own self, can change that. If we
are His, we are His for eternity. He has clothed us in His righteousness and
will welcome each and every one of us home.
Another thought to consider
is this. Each true Christian makes up the body of Christ (the bride, the
Church). Do you really think He will leave part of His body here on earth at
the Rapture? Of course not! (Read 1 Corinthians 12:12ff)
If you know Jesus Christ as
your personal Savior, you will disappear from this earth in the twinkling of an
eye when He comes for us at the Rapture.
Believe me, I have omitted a
great deal. There is much assurance in the Bible for those who are His that we
will meet on the way up. See you then.
“Blessed are those whose
transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the one whose sin
the Lord will never count against them.” (Romans 4:7-8)
Grant Phillips
Email: grantphillips@windstream.net
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
Rapture Ready: http://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html
