Christian Living

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DISAPPEARING ACTS


If anyone should be having nightmares about the rapture, it shouldn’t be you. Why? You belong to the family of Christ, and one day He promised to come back for His own. And in case you do, there is definitely a reason - God’s warning bells are ringing.
Tell me about those dreams; people vanishing, the Anti-Christ’s soldiers everywhere, terrible tribulations, celestial battles and all. Well, the good thing is they’re just dreams and not real events. That’s one thing to be grateful for. But you should also be grateful that God loves you enough to give you some wake-up calls. Even though they’re not the sweet dreams you were wished before going to bed.
It’s been over 2000 years since Jesus Christ departed the earth. People who lived in the earlier centuries had hoped he would return in their lifetime. But he didn’t, though he said ‘soon’, and till date he hasn’t. No wonder someone said, “The word ‘soon’ is a relative term.” To some people, soon can be in a minute, a few hours, or depending on the circumstance, a couple of days. Humanly speaking when the time frame goes beyond a few weeks or even less, then it’s no longer ‘soon’. But from a divine perspective, soon may have an entirely different meaning.
So we ask ourselves; is Jesus really coming back? How soon is he returning? What will it be like? What are the signs? What must we do to go with him?
Welcome to another edition of FRANK TALK, and I’m your anchor CONSCIENCE. Today with me on the panel, I have Apostle Paul, John the beloved, Peter the Disciple, and our Master Jesus.

You’re welcome panelists.

PANELISTS: “Thank you.”

Master, it’s been about 2000 years ago since you departed the earth and promised your return, which you referred to as “soon”. Are you still coming?

JESUS: “Yes, I am coming soon.”

There you go. You used the word ‘soon’. If I may ask, how soon is ‘soon’?

PETER: “Do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day.
The day of the Lord will come like a thief.”

But people (Christians inclusive) are losing hope in your coming. Peter, what do you think?

PETER: “First of all, you must understand that in the last days, scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died everything goes on as it has been since the beginning of creation.”
You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.”

Look forward? Not all are looking forward. Let’s get frank with ourselves. Some don’t even want him to come. His coming is not pleasant to the ears of some. It’s no good news. They claim to be born again Christians, but in their heart of hearts, they get scared when they hear the word Rapture. They don’t even want to think about it. Many have dreamed about it. Fear develops in them when they’re reminded. And yet they claim to love Jesus.

JOHN: “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

Master, what do you have to say about them?

JESUS: “These people worship me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”

What could have gone wrong? They didn’t start out like this when they gave their lives to you. (That is if they truly did).

JESUS: “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.”

And that coldness will not be acceptable at the time you will come?

JESUS: “At that time, the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five of them were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however took oil in their jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

That’s exactly what’s happening today. The bridegroom’s coming is really taking a long time.

JESUS: “At midnight the cry rang out; ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
Later the others also came, ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’ But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’”

When are you coming Master?

JESUS: “No-one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

Why must it be like an unexpected night raid?

JESUS: “Keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this; If the owner of the house has not known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

Why doesn’t our Father want to tell us when He’ll be coming?

JESUS: “It is not for you to know the dates and times the Father has set by His own authority.”

What are the signs associated with your coming?

JESUS: “Watch out that no-one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth-pains.”

We’re experiencing these things now and they are just the beginning? How then will it be after the rapture?

JESUS: “Then there will be great distress, unequalled form the beginning until now – and never to be equaled again.”

What about your brothers – the Christians?

JESUS: “At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

True enough, Christians are at logger heads with each other; many have gone back and some are gradually going; it’s quite hard to tell which preacher is from you and which is using diabolical powers; the manners of the world has been brought into the church, all in the name of ‘modern Christianity’. Strange things are really happening right now.

JESUS: “Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth; this generation will certainly not pass away until these things have happened.
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

What is your coming going to be like?

JESUS: “At that time the sign of the Son of man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”

At this age and time, things have become so complicated that people are so busy acquiring knowledge, researching, discovering, transacting, and marrying and so on.

JESUS: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up till the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what will happen until the flood came and took them away. This is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”

Now we know.

JESUS: “See, I have told you ahead of time.”

Paul, in your own words, how is the rapture going to be like?

PAUL: “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”

So the dead in Christ will go first.

PAUL: “According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord will definitely not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the Archangel and with trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord for ever.”

What do you have to say about the Anti-Christ?

PAUL: “He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.”

Will he come before or after the rapture?

PAUL: “Do not let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.”

Could he probably be in the world already and being delayed or held back or waiting for the right time?

PAUL: “And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds him back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendour of His coming.”

How will we know it’s him when he is revealed?

PAUL: “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believe the truth but have delighted in wickedness.”

On a final note, what do you have to say to our reader?

PAUL: “May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

John?

JOHN: “Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.”

Peter?

PETER: “So then dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace with Him.”

Master?

JESUS: “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gate into the city.”

Thank you so much panelists for your contributions.

PANELISTS: “You’re welcome.”

Have you ever tried to imagine how you’ll feel if someone next to you suddenly vanishes. The fright, the hope of some circus trick, the realization, the horrible feeling. A sudden terror comes over you, an aura of malevolence overwhelms you. You could feel it like piercing eyes on every inch of your skin, and for once in your lifetime you’d wish you were really hallucinating.
And perhaps you’ve concluded or even forgotten that Jesus will return. Take a look at this: every single word he ever said came to pass. I assure you, his coming will not be an exception.
One of the greatest miracles in life is the rising of the sun. If eclipses of the sun occurred everyday like the sun’s rising, we would take it for granted. And a more outstanding miracle is your ability to witness it. If God wanted to punish you for the sins of yesterday, He could have taken you overnight. But he permitted the moon to shine all night long like a guard watching over you. You responded to the greeting of the dawn. Love woke you up and mercy got you up. Realize the truth; God loves you enough to send you such dreams as reminders and wake-up calls, cos the time is really near. That day will bring about a great sense of conviction in the hearts of millions of people – doubting Christians and non-Christians alike.
The pace of the growth of sin is astronomical. It is becoming increasingly difficult to draw the line between good and evil, love and lust, jokes and slander. The little things we take for granted, God counts them all. No matter how neat or decent you are in your dressing, even if you washed and ironed your dress to perfect neatness and smoothness, by the time you make a few gestures, you’d have a wrinkle or two on your dress. Well, it’s still presentable you say. But God says he cannot tolerate that tiny infinitesimal wrinkle on your robe of righteousness. Not a wrinkle. Not a spot.
So let’s be alert, cos whether Jesus returns in your lifetime or not, you will soon stand face to face with you creator whether by death or by rapture. And who knows? This moment might be your last.
Until I come your way again, this is CONSCIENCE saying goodbye, keep watch and remain rapturable.


SCRIPTUTES IN ORDER OF USE

1) Revelations 22: 20
2) 2 Peter 3: 3-4, 8, 10-12, 14
3) 1 John 4: 18
4) Matthew 15: 8-9
5) Matthew 24: 12
6) Matthew 25: 1-4
7) Matthew 25: 5-12
8) Matthew 24: 36, 42-44
9) Acts 1: 7
10) Matthew 24: 4-8
11) Matthew 24: 21
12) Matthew 24: 10-13
13) Matthew 24: 33-34, 14
14) Matthew 24: 37-38
15) Matthew 24: 25
16) 1 Corinthians 15: 51-51
17) 1 Thessalonians 4: 15-17
18) 2 Thessalonians 2: 4
19) 2 Thessalonians 2: 3
20) 2 Thessalonians 2: 6-8
21) 2 Thessalonians 2: 9-12
22) 1 John 2: 18, 24
23) 2 Peter 3: 14
24) 1 Thessalonians 5: 23
25) Revelations 22: 14

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