Rapture Ready For Partial Rapture?

[marks]

I do not agree that it is a contradiction in terms when repenting from unbelief by believing in Him is how any one is saved.

Romans 11:28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the father's sakes. 29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

Now reconciled to God thru Jesus Christ, believers can live that reconciled relationship with God thru Jesus Christ by looking to the author & finisher of our faith to help us lay aside every weight & sin in running that race.

So if a believer is not looking to Jesus for help in discerning good and evil by His words for Him to help them to lay aside every weight & sin as he grows in his relationship with the Lord, then is he running that race at all?

And when a believer believes he is to repent from all sins before coming to Jesus, is it any wonder why some sinners thinks they need to clean up their lives first before coming to Jesus to be saved? The whole point is for Jesus to save them from their sins; to destroy the works of the devil in our lives.

But some saints are rooted in the word to know this and they err by running the way the world runs and sows to the works of the flesh on that foundation. If the Gentiles Christians had to be instructed in like manner to run the race, then repenting from all sins before coming to Jesus is a lie.

It is by repenting from unbelief by believing in Him at the calling of the gospel is how any one is saved; and then they have power to follow Him by which is still by faith in Him as our Good Shepherd to help us to follow Him.

Again, not every saint knows they are to live a life of repentance and still live in sin for why they are called unrepentant saints. The unrepentant brother in 1 Corinthians 5:1-13 was to be excommunicated, but later he did repent whereby he was allowed back into fellowship in 2 Corinthians 2:1-11 .

Hi Enow,

So then I think of repentance primarily as "metanoia", the "after-mind", so that repentance is when we come to faith in Christ, receiving Him. This is a repudiation of ourselves, and acceptance of Him. We exchange the mind of the flesh for the mind of Christ. The result of an exchanged mind is the literal meaning of metanoia, translated repentance.

There remains the lifelong process of sanctification, that is, the fully sanctified inner man growing in control over the body, so that we live more and more according to the new mind, and less according to the old mind.

There is of course the repentance from dead works that persist into the Christian life, but I see that more as a sanctification issue. The true Christian does not maintain the same life of sin as the unregenerate, though, again, some sins may persist.

Much love!

 

[Enow]

So, I'm back. I really like your post a lot!

I leave it to God to cause the increase. I hope in Him that I served Him.

I believe those who are ready will be taken and those who need more testing will remain.

Do note that the latter part of your statement is something I did not allude to in the OP. What you had shared next is based on assuming the latter part of your statement was true, but I do not consider those left behind as going through some more testing when they are disqualified from being a part of the firstfruits of the resurrection that are received as vessels unto honor in His House in Heaven to attend the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

Of those then remaining, I think we need to be careful. Some will be further tried and more slag removed and will then be good silver, not rejected silver. The testing will benefit them. These martyrs are spoken of well and are said to have washed their robes in the blood of the lamb. I dont think they are vessels of dishonor. In fact, many who are last will be first and they may have a higher seat. So I caution being certain if I myself will be taken or left if He comes while i am alive. Only He can be the judge of these things and of who does or does not need more testing. Too much certainty on where you will sit is not good.

The first shall be last and the last shall be first all pertains to those of the firstfruits of the resurrection as the O.T. saints and the last new believer found abiding in Him will be changed and transformed, taken up, and seated at the table in Heaven at the rapture event.

Luke 13:24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: 26 Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. 28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. 29 And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. 30 And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.

So the call to repent is for the firstfruits of the resurrection is for now, before the Bridegroom comes in order to be received by Him as vessels unto honor in His House. This is where the vessels unto dishonor comes from for not being ready for the Bridegroom, but they are still in His House even though they missed out on being received as vessels unto honor by the Bridegroom, they will be received as vessels unto dishonor by the King of kings on earth.

I'm going to read the rest of your posts after my nap.

May God bless you and keep you. May He shine His face upon you and give you His peace.

 

[Enow]

Hi Enow,

So then I think of repentance primarily as "metanoia", the "after-mind", so that repentance is when we come to faith in Christ, receiving Him. This is a repudiation of ourselves, and acceptance of Him. We exchange the mind of the flesh for the mind of Christ. The result of an exchanged mind is the literal meaning of metanoia, translated repentance.

There remains the lifelong process of sanctification, that is, the fully sanctified inner man growing in control over the body, so that we live more and more according to the new mind, and less according to the old mind.

There is of course the repentance from dead works that persist into the Christian life, but I see that more as a sanctification issue. The true Christian does not maintain the same life of sin as the unregenerate, though, again, some sins may persist.

Much love!

I do not believe we can judge any believer as a true Christian or not a true Christian. If any brother is living in sin or in error, we are instructed to correct, and if unrepentant, withdraw or excommunicate for which nowadays, it is hard to admonish any one that way now.

As you say, some sins may persist, but that kind of judgment can backfire on anyone saying of another that he or she is not a true Christian because of ongoing sins in their lives and yet they can return like judgment. So no. There is no such thing as a true Christian but we are called to build each other up, reprove one another and pray for one another in bearing with our shortcomings, but not to say.. you are not really a believer or not a true Christian.

So the key is.. are they repenting of the sin? Are they professing having a problem with it? Then protect them from religious Pharisees that would accuse that they are not trying hard enough or that they judge them as not true believers or not true Christians, and give them scripture for their edification and guidance and pray for them.

Or are they teaching others it is okay or worse, say it is not an unforgivable sin to do it, playing the devil? Then the same applies; we reprove by the scripture and if they do not listen, we admonish them as brothers by excommunicating or withdrawing, hoping they will repent before the Bridegroom comes, because if they do not, then God will excommunicate them from having a seat at the Marriage Supper table in Heaven.

So no. Because I had come across a lady that believed she had to clean up her life first before coming to Jesus, she would never come because sin had dominion over her life. So repenting from unbelief by believing in Him and that includes hoping in Him to free them from their bondage to sin and to death. If you consider unclean spirits and devils for how some sinners are possessed and afflicted, there is no way they can "repent" from all sins until they come to & believe in Jesus Christ to receive Him at their salvation for the power they need to be free from them, the bondage to sin & to death, and to follow Him.

So running that race by looking to the author & finisher of our faith to help us lay aside every weight & sin requires us to be saved by faith in Jesus Christ in order to be in that race to begin with so we can look to Him to do that.

I have heard the stories where they are set free from habitual sin that was plaguing them while others have to rely on Him daily to not be a slave to it; either way Jesus came to save sinners from their sins to no longer live in them; and the "after mind" is from unbelieving to believing in Him for salvation and afterwards keep on believing in Him as our Good Shepherd to destroy the works of the devil in our lives to be free from sin's dominion.

 

[Enoch111]

One question, I'm not sure if I saw an answer . . . what separates those who are raptured and those who are not?

The whole teaching on a partial rapture is total nonsense. So chances are you won't get a biblical answer to your question.

 

[marks]

The whole teaching on a partial rapture is total nonsense. So chances are you won't get a biblical answer to your question.

That's where partial rapture grinds against justification and a new creation.

We all have the same judicial standing before God by virtue of justification by grace through faith. We all have the same relationship with God by virtue of a new creation.

All that remains to divide us from one another is our bad behavior, which is rooted in the old man.

Who is less justified? Who is less a child of God? Who is left behind?

Much love!

 

[marks]

My understanding . . .

The marraige supper celebrates God's remarriage to Israel, and takes place after Jesus returns to earth. Many will come from the east and the west . . . it's on the earth.

The bride makes herself ready . . . Israel in the wilderness being prepared by Elijah for the Bridegroom, "blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the LORD!"

Much love!

 

[friend of]

. What you had shared next is based on assuming the latter part of your statement was true, but I do not consider those left behind as going through some more testing when they are disqualified from being a part of the firstfruits of the resurrection that are received as vessels unto honor in His House in Heaven to attend the Marriage Supper of the Lamb

Luke 21:36

There will be lukewarm Christian's left behind at the rapture, along with atheist/agnostics and those of every other religion. Some will convert to Christianity during the reign of the Antichrist.

 

[Keraz]

Gotta disagree with that part.
Those in Christ at His return receive Eternal life

Revelation 20:6 "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."

You contradict yourself.
Rev 20:6 says:... over them, [the martyrs of the GT] the second death has no power. [second death is the Lake of fire, Rev 20:14-15
So those Trib martyrs will be raised back to life, in a similar way that Lazarus was, they will live as mortals, possibly for the 1000 years, still subject to death, but when they stand before God at the GWT Judgment, they will automatically receive Eternal life.

Oh the dead don't rise either,those who died in Christ come with Him,as they are with the Father at death

This is wrong.
The dead 'sleep' in the grave, no-one goes to live in heaven; dead or alive, Jesus said so. John 3:13

 

[Keraz]

Hi Keraz,

I'd say that these things will all apply to those who are alive upon the earth in those days. Not all Christian people will be on earth in those days. Many if not most will have died before it ever started. What then if others are removed by rapture? I believe more will come to faith during that time. Although I don't see them as being a part of the church.

Regarding a "rapture escape", I think you have the wrong idea of how I see this. Escape has nothing to do with it. I look forward to my blessed hope when I will see Jesus, and become like Him!

Why should any Christians be removed by a 'rapture'?
All thru the ages, Christians have been persecuted, often by horrible tortures. How are Christians today different? In face they are NOT different, as many faithful people around the world are still persecuted and even killed. It just seems that it is the Christians who are not persecuted who want the Lord to 'rapture' them.

What 'rapture' believers want IS escape! This is a cop-out of mega proportions, a shocking rejection of our responsibilities and you can expect to be Judged for it.

 

[marks]

Why should any Christians be removed by a 'rapture'?
All thru the ages, Christians have been persecuted, often by horrible tortures. How are Christians today different? In face they are NOT different, as many faithful people around the world are still persecuted and even killed. It just seems that it is the Christians who are not persecuted who want the Lord to 'rapture' them.

What 'rapture' believers want IS escape! This is a cop-out of mega proportions, a shocking rejection of our responsibilities and you can expect to be Judged for it.

And we may all be persecuted and killed, or, we may die like so many that go peacefully in their sleep.

You apply your reasoning that may work for you to me, and you come up with the wrong answer. I tell you of myself and you call me a liar, because I'm not like you.

The Bible teaches me that at some point in time, Jesus is going to come and catch me away to be with Him, and I want that! Maybe for you the idea is all about escaping something you are afraid of, but that's not it for me.

Don't you know? We rejoice in tribulation! And why? Because the tribulations of the believer produce hope in us. Patience, and experience, and hope. Tribulations increase our certainty of sharing Christ's glory, of living in His kingdom.

If I'm wrong about pre-trib rapture, that's fine! No problem! It just means that I'll get to see more of the work of the Lord in, as they say, the land of the living, and have more opportunity for fruitfulness and rewards, and maybe even be martyred for Jesus! Not too much chance of that happening at the moment, not where I am, but you never know. Once can always hope! But after my wife is gone, please.

Much love!

 

[Enow]

Why should any Christians be removed by a 'rapture'?
All thru the ages, Christians have been persecuted, often by horrible tortures. How are Christians today different? In face they are NOT different, as many faithful people around the world are still persecuted and even killed. It just seems that it is the Christians who are not persecuted who want the Lord to 'rapture' them.

What 'rapture' believers want IS escape! This is a cop-out of mega proportions, a shocking rejection of our responsibilities and you can expect to be Judged for it.

Why would they be judged for it when they are seeking His help to abide in Him as well as being willing to go when the Bridegroom comes?

Since death can come at any moment when being absent from the body is being present with the Lord in Heaven, then all the more reason to abide in Him all the time, right?

As it is, you have yet to address why Jesus was warning His disciples on numerous occasions to be ready to be taken to escape an immediate calamity for why He referenced Noah and the Ark and Sodom & Gomorrah in getting out of it.

Luke 17:26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. 30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. 31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.

32 Remember Lot's wife. 33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.

Explain these verses if you would please, brother.

 

[Paul Christensen]

Completely agree!

Um . . . just asking . . . do you consider all born again people to be saints?

Much love!

Yes. That is the Scripture definition of the word. The Roman Catholic church as redefined the word "saint" as "Saint", being a super-duper Christian who is honoured about the common "herd" of believers. Especially applied to those super-dupers who showing total compliance with the doctrines of the Roman Catholic church.

So Saint Peter and Saint Paul would be considered good Roman Catholics on the same level as St Pius, or St Mother Theresa, and any of the other canonised popes.

 

[Paul Christensen]

Repenting from unbelief by believing in Him is all that is required for salvation for Jesus to lay down that foundation and hereby give us the seal of adoption. Then they have power to repent from all sins by looking to the author & finisher of our faith to help them lay aside every weight & sin in running that race.



If that was the case, then why instruct the Gentile believers to do these things if they had repented from all sins?

Acts 15:19 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: 20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.



Then why did God asked the saints at Thyatira to repent or else that believer will be cast into the bed of the coming great tribulation as being judged according to his words?

Revelation 2:21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. 22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. 23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

Paul said in Galatians that seeing that they live in the Spirit they should walk in the Spirit. What this tells me is that they received Christ through faith and therefore started living in the Spirit, and now they have to show their faith by walking in the Spirit, turning away from the works of the flesh.

 

[Enow]

Paul said in Galatians that seeing that they live in the Spirit they should walk in the Spirit. What this tells me is that they received Christ through faith and therefore started living in the Spirit, and now they have to show their faith by walking in the Spirit, turning away from the works of the flesh.

That is how you run the race in living as His disciple by looking to the author & finisher of our faith to help us lay aside every weight & sin.

But to get in that race, you have to be saved, have Jesus Christ in you always so you can be held accountable to what you sow towards as in what you build on that foundation will be judged.

 

[marks]

Yes. That is the Scripture definition of the word. The Roman Catholic church as redefined the word "saint" as "Saint", being a super-duper Christian who is honoured about the common "herd" of believers. Especially applied to those super-dupers who showing total compliance with the doctrines of the Roman Catholic church.

So Saint Peter and Saint Paul would be considered good Roman Catholics on the same level as St Pius, or St Mother Theresa, and any of the other canonised popes.

OK, fantastic! Just checking, I've learned to do that around here.

Much love!

 

[n2thelight]

This is wrong.
The dead 'sleep' in the grave, no-one goes to live in heaven; dead or alive, Jesus said so. John 3:13

So you believe in soul sleep?The instant of death you return to the Father ,flesh is not but dirt and that's where it returns to,never to be used nor needed again.

What would you have us do with the below?

Ecclesiastes 12:6 "Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern."

The "cistern" is the clay flesh body that our soul lives in. The cistern is built to hold the water or life that is within the flesh body, but once that bowl is broken the water or life leaks out of it, just as water leaks out of this flesh body. The "silver cord" is what holds your soul and the spirit together with the flesh body. We can call it the process of thought, which is the intellect of the mind, or soul. When one is brain dead, there is no electrical impulse within the brain, and mankind is considered dead, even though the physical body may still be pumping blood. Life support systems are generally discontinued in most cases.

When that silver cord parts, and the heavenly Father allows it to happen, and this flesh body becomes biologically dead, the very inner man departs for this physical body, and returns to the Father. This decaying body will never be used again, ever. For the soul has entered into its new incorruptible body.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God Who gave it

The dust is your flesh,which as scripture states cannot enter the Kingdom.

Now let's look at some more

I Thessalonians 4:13 "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope."

I Thessalonians 4:14 "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him."

Sleep means died,how can He bring them with Him if they not already there?

Revelation 6:9 "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:"

These souls were killed for their stand in the Word of God. Who could that be? The saints of God, for their souls are now at [not under] the altar of God in heaven. Those souls have died and are with the Father in Heaven.

Revelation 6:10 "And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord [Master], holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth."

Their blood was shed on the earth, while at this time they are pleading at the altar of God in heaven. To be absent from this body is to be present with the Lord [Ecclesiastes 12:7]. The time of revenge will come at God's appointed time. Before God, nobody gets away with anything.

So,I just gave you proof from the Word,3 different books as to what happens when one dies,you believe what you will,I shall say in the Word!!!

 

[Paul Christensen]

So you believe in soul sleep?The instant of death you return to the Father ,flesh is not but dirt and that's where it returns to,never to be used nor needed again.

What would you have us do with the below?

Ecclesiastes 12:6 "Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern."

The "cistern" is the clay flesh body that our soul lives in. The cistern is built to hold the water or life that is within the flesh body, but once that bowl is broken the water or life leaks out of it, just as water leaks out of this flesh body. The "silver cord" is what holds your soul and the spirit together with the flesh body. We can call it the process of thought, which is the intellect of the mind, or soul. When one is brain dead, there is no electrical impulse within the brain, and mankind is considered dead, even though the physical body may still be pumping blood. Life support systems are generally discontinued in most cases.

When that silver cord parts, and the heavenly Father allows it to happen, and this flesh body becomes biologically dead, the very inner man departs for this physical body, and returns to the Father. This decaying body will never be used again, ever. For the soul has entered into its new incorruptible body.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God Who gave it

The dust is your flesh,which as scripture states cannot enter the Kingdom.

Now let's look at some more

I Thessalonians 4:13 "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope."

I Thessalonians 4:14 "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him."

Sleep means died,how can He bring them with Him if they not already there?

Revelation 6:9 "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:"

These souls were killed for their stand in the Word of God. Who could that be? The saints of God, for their souls are now at [not under] the altar of God in heaven. Those souls have died and are with the Father in Heaven.

Revelation 6:10 "And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord [Master], holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth."

Their blood was shed on the earth, while at this time they are pleading at the altar of God in heaven. To be absent from this body is to be present with the Lord [Ecclesiastes 12:7]. The time of revenge will come at God's appointed time. Before God, nobody gets away with anything.

So,I just gave you proof from the Word,3 different books as to what happens when one dies,you believe what you will,I shall say in the Word!!!

Something to add:
"Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst 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, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord" 2 Corinthians 5:6-8).

 

[Keraz]

Why would they be judged for it when they are seeking His help to abide in Him as well as being willing to go when the Bridegroom comes?

Since death can come at any moment when being absent from the body is being present with the Lord in Heaven, then all the more reason to abide in Him all the time, right?

As it is, you have yet to address why Jesus was warning His disciples on numerous occasions to be ready to be taken to escape an immediate calamity for why He referenced Noah and the Ark and Sodom & Gomorrah in getting out of it.

Luke 17:26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. 30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. 31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.

32 Remember Lot's wife. 33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.

Explain these verses if you would please, brother.

Nothing in this long-winded post has any proof of a 'rapture' to heaven for anyone at any time.
Noah was instructed to build an ark, to save his family and the animals. Lot was told to gat out of Sodom.
In Luke 17:34, it is correctly understood that the ones taken are the wicked people.

Now: we are told in many scriptures that the Lord will protect His own during His terrible Day of fiery wrath. Isaiah 43:2 +
We must - Call upon the Name of the Lord and you will be saved. Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21

 

[Keraz]

So you believe in soul sleep?The instant of death you return to the Father ,flesh is not but dirt and that's where it returns to,never to be used nor needed again.

So you deny Eccl 9:5-6, but in Eccl 12:7 it says the soul returns to God who made it. So there is an anomaly.
Which is easily resolved by the truth that the souls of the dead are kept in an unconscious state. Proved by Revelation 6:9-10, where the souls of the martyrs are kept under the Altar in heaven and are allowed to cry out if God wills it.

I Thessalonians 4:14 "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him."

Sleep means died,how can He bring them with Him if they not already there?

We know from Revelation 20:4-5 that the only souls Jesus will bring with Him, are the souls of the Trib Martyrs. It clearly, plainly and without any doubt then says: the rest of the dead do not come to life until the 1000 years have ended.

Their blood was shed on the earth, while at this time they are pleading at the altar of God in heaven. To be absent from this body is to be present with the Lord [Ecclesiastes 12:7]. The time of revenge will come at God's appointed time. Before God, nobody gets away with anything.

We see in Revelation 19:1-3 how the Lord does take vengeance for the blood of His servants, by the Great Tribulation against Satans followers. Again, those martyrs are allowed to speak, but they do not live then, they rest in peace until their number is complete.

Your quote of Pauls, where he says he would prefer to the absent from his body and with the Lord, is NOT to be taken as doctrine. Paul merely made a wish, to get relief for his tough life.
If you do make it a belief, then you are contradicting many scriptures.

 

[n2thelight]

We know from Revelation 20:4-5 that the only souls Jesus will bring with Him, are the souls of the Trib Martyrs. It clearly, plainly and without any doubt then says: the rest of the dead do not come to life until the 1000 years have ended.

The dead mentioned there are the spiritually dead,meaning although changed,they still have a mortal soul

Revelation 20:5 "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection."

If you are saved and make a stand against the Antichrist and his deceptions, you will reign with Christ 1,000 years.

Those who did take the "mark of the beast", their souls will not, I repeat, will not have an eternal spiritual body until they are tested after the millennium. I Corinthians 15:50-52 describes the mystery of the two bodies. The physical and spiritual bodies are two separate entities. There are also two spiritual bodies, one eternal, the other perishable (mortal). Those who take the mark of the beast will not have their eternal bodies at the seventh trump. Instead they will have mortal spiritual bodies (liable-to-die), and have to be taught again to learn the difference between 'the holy from the profane' for 1,000 years and then be tested at the end of it to earn that eternal body by choosing Jesus Christ.

What are we talking about when it says "the rest of the dead"? The difference in taking part in the first resurrection or not taking part -- which hinges on whether or not they were deceived by the Antichrist. Remember, John has been taken in the Spirit to the last day before Christ's return. Revelation 20 is talking about that specific day when the last trump sounds, and Jesus Christ our Lord is returning with His saints to the earth. This verse is not addressing those who died 50, 100, or at any time from any century prior to the sounding of the seventh trump. It is addressing the generation (our generation) who will live in the time of the seven seals, and those who will see some take Satan's mark (the mark of the beast) and give service to him.

I Corinthians 15:52 "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption."

The kingdom of God is wherever Jesus Christ is, and flesh and blood cannot exist in that kingdom. When Christ returns for the Millennium age here on earth, flesh and blood bodies will not exist.

I Corinthians 15:51 "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,"

This is a mystery that Paul is going to reveal to us that had been hidden until Paul's writing. This mystery concerns what happens at a particular point in time, for at that instant, there will be no more death. "Sleep" as used here, is # 2838 in the Strong's Greek Dictionary; "Koimesis, koy'-may-sis; from 2837, to put to sleep." We read in # 2837; "Koimao, Koy-mah'-o; to put to sleep, to decease, to be dead."

So a time is coming when all the people on the face of the earth will never see death in their flesh bodies again. This is the mystery that Paul is going to tell us; when this event shall take place.

I Corinthians 15:52 "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."

On the first day of the Millennium age, the "Kingdom of Heaven" will be with us on earth. You cannot enter that kingdom age in a flesh body. Therefore, it is written in verse 52 that all will be changed, in the wink of an eye, and at the last trump (seventh trump). When that seventh trump sounds, everyone on earth will be changed to an incorruptible body.

That doesn't have anything to do with your soul, or its condition. Your physical body and your spiritual body (soul) have nothing to do with the condition of one another. Your soul is your inner man that will exist in your current flesh body, and either at death or at the seventh trump, will be changed and enter into a new body (spirit body) which will not be subject to the decay this flesh body is subject to.

So, to understand what will occur in the Millennium age, you must understand that instantly following the seventh trump, all flesh bodies simply do not have life. Not one person will exist in the flesh. Every person will have the same capabilities and all will have the understanding to be taught without Satan's influence.

However, only those saints of God who have died in the flesh, or who lived and stood against Satan will take part in the first resurrection. By that I mean, will have an active part with Jesus Christ in His kingdom and reign, as he rules and teaches the earth for one thousand years, and live in their immortal soul bodies. (There will be those who stumble for a short time and bow to satan, but they will repent before the seventh trumpet. Daniel 11:34 and still be part of the first resurrection - because they repented prior to the end of this flesh age).

I Corinthians 15:53 "For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality."

The word "mortal" as used here in the Greek manuscripts never applies to a physical body, but it applies to your soul. So we see our physical bodies are gone at the seventh trump, and the mortal (soul) must put on immortality. That soul becomes your existence in the Millennium age. When the time of judgment comes at the end of the Millennium, you will enter eternity with Christ, or you will cease to exist -- you will be destroyed. At that time even the memory of your existence will be eliminated. This is serious business, my friend, and you know it.

If you enter the Millennium with a mortal (liable to die) soul, by following the Antichrist in ignorance, you must be an over comer in the Millennium, or your soul will not put on immortality, and it will die.