davidbowerkingwood

There is a Vast Gulf Fixed Between Many Churches and God’s True Church!

Make no mistake, although the organized church may be stumbling, God is very busy in the world today as he grows his family, the true church, comprised of all who have been given new spiritual life and born-again into God’s eternal family!

While many organized churches may be turning to the world for guidance, the true church, God’s church, is a growing, dynamic powerhouse empowered by God! Each day the Lord tarries, thousands are being added to the family of God by the saving power of God, the Holy Spirit.

It seems likely the church age, this age of grace, is soon coming to a close but God is busy adding those last souls to his family! I’m convinced God knows the name of every individual that will be called to salvation during this age of grace and will not close the doors before that last soul has been called and welcomed in!

We are living in exciting times and I believe the winds of change are blowing ever harder each passing day!

The Beginning of the End!

The end of this age will come in a spectacular fashion; the Bible tells of a shout and the trumpet of God. In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 it is written:

“¹³ But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. ¹⁴ For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.

¹⁵ For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

The Bible does not specify who will hear the shout and the trumpet blast, whether it will be heard by all or only by God’s elect; in either case, it is impossible for me to even imagine such power!

The results will, however, be seen by all as millions vanish from the face of the earth; from that point on, nothing will ever again be the same!

The removal of all born-again Christians is referred to as the rapture of the church and will occur before the Tribulation and the Second Advent. I have written extensively on what happens next on earth; this time let us focus on heaven.

Our Eternal Bodies

At the rapture, we are given our heavenly bodies; this is described in 2 Corinthians 5:1-8 where it is written:

“5 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ² For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, ³ if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. ⁴ For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. ⁵ Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

⁶ So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. ⁷ For we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸ We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”

Home with the Lord!

For born-again Christians, earthly struggles are now past, gone forever! From this point on, our future is with the Lord Jesus Christ as members of God’s royal family! Not only have we been given heavenly bodies, but our sin nature, which had always been there to trouble us, is now gone forever, never to return!

I suspect there are no words in any language of man that can even begin to do justice to the things we will see and experience in heaven. This is what we were created for, this is why we were created in the image of God; we are home at last!

The Bible tells of two events that will take place in heaven, the judgment seat of Christ, and the marriage of the Lamb. Next time we will cover the information God has revealed on those two events.