The Departure


September 2015

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/Star_of_David.svg/125px-Star_of_David.svg.pngExplicit Bible Truthhttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/Christian_cross.svg/120px-Christian_cross.svg.png

JESUS

Who is He?

What is He?

Why is He?

  

James 2:14-18

Faith is measured by what we do but begins

and continues by what we think. 

Ephesians 2:8 

For by grace are we saved through our faith; and 

being saved

is not

of our merit as it is the gift of God

Ephesians 2:9 

Not of our good works, lest any man should boast.

Ephesians 2:10 

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus

UNTO GOOD WORKS, which God hath before ordained

that we WALK IN THEM.  

Romans 11:6 

And if by grace, then is it no more of works, otherwise

grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is

it no more grace otherwise work is no more work.

Revelation 4:11

Lord, you are worthy to receive the glory and the honor and the power, because you created all things, and through your will they exist and were created.

John 1:1,10,14

 

THE DEPARTURE:

 

Revelation 3:7 “And to the angel, messenger of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens,

SAYS THIS:

Revelation 3:8 ‘I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a LITTLE POWER, and have kept MY WORD, and have not DENIED MY NAME.

Revelation 3:9 ‘Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews, and are not, but lie–behold, I will make them to come and bow down at your feet, and to know that I have loved you.

A Jew:

Romans 2:28 For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision which is merely outward and physical of consequence.

Romans 2:29 But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a Matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter, the written Law. Their praise is not from man but from God, Jeremiah 4:4.

A promise to the faithful:

Revelation 3:10 ‘Because you have kept the word of My PERSEVERANCE, I also will KEEP YOU FROM THE HOUR OF TESTING, that time which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth, Revelation 11:10.

Philippians 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Revelation 13:6.

At this point in history, the writing of this epistle, letter, much or even most of the Church was under persecution.

HOUR, epic here is a period of time in which those who dwell on planet earth will be tested by tribulation.

At that point in time the Church will be in Heaven and God will again be working through Israel.

Those who dwell upon the earth will be encouraged by tribulation to turn to God through Jesus Christ for salvation and will be encouraged to do so by 144,000 Jewish male evangelist and 2 witnesses who will prophecy for 3.5 years.

Perhaps, the Holy Spirit will be passed at that time by the “Laying on of Hands” as was sometimes done in the early Church.

God did not pamper Saul who was a persecutor of Christians and who became the Apostle Paul but blinded him and he then fell helplessly to the ground causing him to reconsider his ways, Acts 9:1-22.

If friends or family are living undisciplined lives and are suffering disciplines even being in jail or prison then pray for them that the discipline which can be quite severe will do its work even though it may take many years, 1Corinthians 5:5, Hebrews chapter 12.

Revelation 3:11 ‘I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, in order that no one take your crown.

Crowns come with faithful service and give us authority over many things as the faithful are joint heirs with Christ, 2Timothy 4:8, Romans 8:16-17, Galatians 5:19-21.

Revelation 3:12 ‘He who overcomes the ways of the world, 1Corinthians 2:15, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.

The Angels at the pearly gates will check I.D’s and no unauthorized personnel will be allowed.  Many will be saved but not all have lived a sanctified life and consequently will lose some privileges but they will be happy occupants of the new earth, Revelation 21:12 but the Lord would rather have all of us to be happy winner privileged saints than mere happy occupants.

Once a Pillar always a pillar but all these pillars have mobility and they will go from place to place in the “Kingdom of Heaven”, the 1000 year reign of Jesus Christ and in the eternal “Kingdom of God”.

Revelation 3:13 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

The “secret rapture”:

Luke 12:40 And you, then, be ready; for in the hour you think not, the Son of Man comes.

The Pastor and the Flock:

Luke 12:41 And Peter said to Him, Lord, do You speak this parable to us, or also to all?

Luke 12:42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?

Luke 12:43 Blessed is that steward, whom his lord when He cometh shall find so doing, John 21:14-17.

This is a parable.  The Lords steward here is the pastor and the household is the flock, congregation.  The pastor here may not have the title “pastor” and may only be a Bible teacher who is feeding the Flock, Revelation 1:20, Acts 15:32.

A parallel passage:

Matthew 24:36 But as to that day and that hour, no one knows, neither the angels of Heaven, except My Father only.

Matthew 24:37 But as the days of Noah, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Son of Man is another name, title of the God-Man Jesus Christ who will rule in His humanity until He rules from His Deity, 1Corinthians 15:24-28.

Noah and his family were saved in an Ark, Barge they built by the direction of God and their obedience to God led to their being saved alive while the others, the disobedient ones were drowned in the great flood. 

The times of Noah is a perfect example of the first 3.5 years of the 70th week of the Prophet Daniel with the last 3.5 years being the Great Tribulation period.

This could be understood to mean a middle of the last week rapture but the 70th week belongs to Israel and not to the Church.  

Matthew 24:38 For as they were in days before the flood: eating, and drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah went into the ark.

Matthew 24:39 And they did not know UNTIL the flood came and took them all away. So also will be the coming of the Son of Man, see Matthew 24:37 above.

Matthew 24:40 At that time two will be out in the field; the one is taken away, and the one is left;

At that time is referring to the beginning of the first 3.5 years of the 70th week of the Prophet Daniel.

Matthew 24:41 two grinding at the mill; one is taken away, and one is left.

Matthew 24:42 Watch, then, for you do not know in what hour your Lord comes.

Objective Love, not Personal Love:

Love here, AGAPE gives a person what they need and not what they deserve as God did FOR US and means to deny self and help others and is sometimes translated charity, 1Corinthians 13:13. 

We do not need to like a person that we AGAPE and in fact may even dislike that person.

Jesus said to his disciples “you are my friends, PHILOS if you do what I say”, John 5:14.

1Thessalonians 3:11 Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you,

1Thessalonians 3:12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in LOVE for one another and for ALL, as we do for you,

1Thessalonians 3:13 so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with ALL his Saints.

 Verse 3:13 is about our presentation before God our Father by Jesus Christ in our completed state which will be post, after the Rapture, see also Daniel 7:13.

All faithful Christians are Saints of God. They are called Saints as they have been set aside in the world, sanctified forever in the body or out of the body which is a work of the Holy Spirit. 

It is up to us to practice sanctification, to walk with the Lord as obedient stewards, God’s servants 1John 1:9.

Saints that sleep:

1Thessalonians 4:13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, dead that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

Hope here moves toward confidence in something we have not yet seen as we grow by means of Grace in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, 2Peter 3:18, and comes with little or great faith in Christ Jesus.

Those who focus on the world as it is today 

are very discouraged and have no real

tangible hope but many speculate

 on the unknown.

Our faith is based on what the Scriptures say, Romans 8:23-25 and living a sanctified life, 1John 1:9.

1Thessalonians 4:14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, we should also believe that those who repose, reside with Jesus, God will send with him.

It is the body that sleeps, dies but our spiritual person, the part of us that animates, gives life to the body, lives with Christ in Paradise, Luke 23:42-43, the third Heaven, 2Corinthians 12:1-4 after separation from the body.

The body is like a cocoon with the butterfly, our spirit emerging at the death of the body. 

People who have chosen Evil will emerge as a moth and they will have a different destination which is judgment.

God is working on our spiritual components, mind, soul and spirit, Matthew 22:37 and at the rapture we will be placed in a new body and we will be complete and permanent, see note on 1Thessalonians 5:23-24 below.

Romans 8:10 Since Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of conformance to righteousness.

John 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.

The presentation of Jesus Christ

to God the Father:

Acts 1:9 And when he, Jesus had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

Daniel 7:13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, Jesus and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him in His resurrected body.

Daniel 7:13 was written about 600 years before Act’s 1:9 demonstrating the foreknowledge of God with the future being shown to the Prophet Daniel.

John the Apostle was out of his body when he saw God Almighty, Revelation 4:1-2 and 4:8 and he was moved forward in time to the “Day of the Lord”, Revelation 1:10.

Our body gives our spirit the ability to function in this creation which is time and space and this is where we currently are, as of right now.

The Rapture:

1Thessalonians 4:15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.

1Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the SOUND OF THE TRUMPET of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.