God Has Scheduled a Specific Time for the full number of Gentiles to come to Christ!
Although the world situation today matches the world situation described for the last days of the church on earth; I believe the Bible teaches us the removal of the church is based on the addition of the last believer, predestined for membership in the church, to receive their call by the Holy Spirit and join the body of Christ!
In Romans 11:25 it is written:
25 I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ.
In Romans 8:28-30 we read:
“28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.”
Jesus Will Return in the Same Way He Ascended into Heaven
The Lord Jesus Christ will return for his church at a time known only to God. He will meet with his church in the air and not set foot on the ground at this point.
6 So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”
7 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. 10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
Jesus Christ will return in the air and the church will be caught up to meet him there; this is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 where it is written:
“13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.
15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words.”
It is this event that will bring the Age of Grace, the Church Age, to a close.
The timing of the removal of the church is totally dependent on the number of people predestined to be a part of the body of Christ. At a point after the last person so predestined joins the body of Christ, then the church will be caught up to heaven. The Greek word used, ἁρπάζω, transliterated harpazō means to eagerly snatch away.
This principle is stated in 2 Peter 3:8-9 where it is written:
“8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
Not a single individual who has been predestined for the body of Christ will be left out, the church will be 100 % complete when it goes home! Only then will the church age come to a close and the countdown to the end of the Times of the Gentiles begin!
The Twinkling of an Eye!
The removal of the church shall happen so fast, it will be over before we can even realize it is happening; one moment you will be going about your business, whatever that may be, and the next you will be transformed and eternally with the Lord Jesus Christ! There will be no time for anyone to feel anything; it shall all happen “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye”! In 1 Corinthians 15:50 – 54 it is written:
“50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
Victory in the Lord Jesus Christ!
From God’s perspective, the battle has already been won, the Lord Jesus Christ is completely victorious! From a spiritual perspective, the events we observe today are nothing more than a replay of events that have already been settled and fully resolved by God!
There is no cause for concern because we know the Lord is victorious! Do not be troubled by world events for the Lord is working all things after the counsel of his own will! Your portion is peace in the Lord Jesus Christ; rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ and the God of peace will be with you!
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