This generation is experiencing the
lead up to the most horrific times that man will ever experience on Earth. I
don’t think I have to explain to any of my readers what I mean. Below is a
portion of one of the chapters in a book that I am writing:
The modern-church has been given a lot of responsibility to inform society of what will take place during the final stages of the church-age and thereafter. It is especially incumbent upon the church pastors and teachers to produce facts from Scripture and reveal information that will help enlighten their hearers of the end days of the church-age. It is the church that has been commissioned by Scripture to announce the unfolding events of the end of the church-age to the world. What do I mean by this statement? The present-day body of Christ has the responsibility of not only sharing the gospel message that Jesus is the only way to heaven, but they also have been instructed to teach and preach the rapture of the church and all endtimes prophecy associated with it (Matt.24:36-51; Mk.13:32-37; Lk.12:41-48; 17:26-27, 34-35; 21:34-36).
The endtimes-church must teach all Scripture that relates to the rapture of the church and prophecy that warns of what happens after the church is snatched out of this world. This would include prophecy pertaining to the Antichrist, his one-world government, the Tribulation Period, and prophecy pertaining to the nation of Israel and what happens to them after the church is raptured out of the world. These are but a portion of what must be taught in churches today. The body of Christ in this present-age is commanded to encourage one another with how the rapture will transpire (1 Thess.4:13-18), and at the same time be diligent in making sure they are ready for when the trumpet sounds. Every believer should share the message of God’s saving grace to the world and it is just as important to warn the world of the coming Antichrist and his government, the one-world government of the seven-year Tribulation Period.
The pastors and teachers of the church of God have been given a command to teach the church about the end of the church age so the body of Christ can be prepared for the rapture of the church. While there are some ministers that do obey Scripture and teach about the rapture and endtimes prophecy regularly there are too many that don’t. By not teaching what they have been commanded they are neglecting to prepare the church for the rapture. They are failing to take proper care of God’s people. They leave the church with the idea that the rapture is not important.
Even though the church does not know what day or hour the rapture will occur we are still commanded to watch and be ready for it. The Lord has put a great deal of this responsibility upon the pastors and teachers to be informing the body of Christ about what is happening in the world that concurs with endtimes prophecy—when prophecy coincides with current events it should be communicated to the body of Christ. Having this knowledge, the believer can then get the sense of how soon the rapture will occur. They are to teach and preach endtimes prophecy so that the church can recognize the time period that we are now living in.
The rapture is an imminent event, meaning it is near (Jms.5:8; Rev.22:20). There are no guidelines in the word of God of what day and hour the rapture of the church will occur only that it will happen before the seven-year Tribulation Period begins (2 Thess.2:3, 7-8a). Even in the apostle’s day some misinformed Thessalonian believers thought the rapture would occur in their day. Some pastors and teachers use that misunderstanding to not give the rapture of the church the attention it deserves. They use the fear experienced by some of the Thessalonian believers in the first century as an excuse to not teach the modern-church the rapture or endtimes prophecy. Teaching endtimes prophecy, and revealing how it relates to what is going on in today’s world, will reveal how soon the seven-year Tribulation Period is to beginning. This is when the Antichrist is revealed. Teaching the church that the rapture is near, by revealing how soon the man of sin is to being revealed, will help enforce the need of obeying the word of God. If a believer does not walk in the way of the Lord, will he be snatched away in the rapture?
We are commanded to put off the old nature and put on the new nature for a reason. The old nature is the old way of life before the believer got born-again. The old way of life is a corrupted nature filled with every kind of deceitful and evil desire. The new nature is a life empowered by the Holy Spirit, with instructions from the Holy Scriptures to be like God, to walk in righteousness and holiness (Eph.4:22-24). The believer is told to offer their bodies as living sacrifices and be holy so that we can please him. The Christian is to be transformed by changing the way they think (Rom.12:1-2). Living by the power of the Holy Spirit and not by the power of the sinful nature is how the believer gets prepared to meet Jesus before the rapture occurs. Teaching about the endtimes and the rapture of the church motivates the believer to walk in the ways of the Lord instead of the ways of this world. When the believer anticipates the rapture of the church it will purify him: “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it is not yet revealed what we will be. But we know that, when he is revealed, we will be like him; for we will see him just as he is. Everyone who has this hope set on him purifies himself, even as he is pure” (1 Jn.3:2-3, HNV).
When the present-day believer thinks the rapture will not happen in their lifetime, they tend to compromise with the world so they can enjoy what this world has to offer them. When the believer lives for this life and this world, they cannot be faithful to the Lord. The believer cannot live for God and love the world or anything in this world at the same time. If he does, then the love of the Father has no part in that believer (1 Jn.2:15-17). Too many believers don’t want the rapture to happen while they are enjoying this world and everything that is in it. Too many do not want to hear endtimes prophecy because it pricks their conscience, they refuse to hear information about the rapture because they enjoy this world too much. The sad part in all this, is that too many pastors and teachers oblige the wishes of worldly Christians because their mindset is the same. So, they do not teach the house of God the information that will motivate them to be prepared for when the rapture of the church will occur.
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