Hi Bob,
Your thoughts are valuable and I did not mean to ignore the scriptures you posted. I am trying to catch up here while suffering the lot of shift work. Sleep is highly over rated anyway according to my employers.
<< I am sorry for those who will be unprepared to meet the challenge of confronting the antichrist and his world system because they expected to be gone.>>
Just a thought here Bob. How does one prepare to meet the challenge of confronting the antichrist?
First they get right with God, they repent and get washed in the blood of the Lamb.... they get saved and become His child.
Then they study Gods word, they pray, they have fellowship with other Christians they are obediant and they preach the gospel to every creature and they grow in maturity with the Lord in His service.
I think we can agree easily enough here on these issues. What further preparation is required? I don't know of any rapture exercises and I hope we all just love the Lord here furiously and evangelize our feet off!
If I am completely wrong here as we study this, I am confident, while sitting at the comfort of my keyboard, that I am prepared because I love God, His word, and I pray I would have the strength to die in His service without denying the One who died for me.
There are definitely a few schools of thought here and you are correct in saying that the dragon cannot make war if there's no one to fight.
I see the saints that are mentioned after what I believe is the removal of the church, the body of Christ, as the tribulation saints.
In my post I made this distinction and I see them acheiving salvation in faith plus works (refusing the mark of the beast and not worshiping him or ending up being damned forever).
Presently in the church age we are under grace "for by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
You and I should not ask for revenge, they do. They are a separate group of believers in my view for the above reasons and more that I'll address yet.
God bless you Bob,
John |
