Dear Dryhn,
Paul taught faith in Christ and that it is a gift from God. It is that faith that makes Christ's pathway straight for Christ to come again and save/convert the person.
Heb 9:28 So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
The time of waiting occurs between the Early and Latter Rains.
James 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receives the EARLY and LATTER RAIN. 8 Be ye also patient; establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh (to convert them).
Hos 6:3 Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he (Christ) shall come unto us as the Rain, as the Latter and Early Rain unto the earth.
Isa 40:29 He gives power to the weak (by the Early Rain), and to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths (babes) shall faint and be weary, and the young men (babes) shall utterly fall (fall from grace), 31 But those (the elect) who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength (by the Latter Rain); they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint (once saved, always saved).
The time period of waiting is referred to as "time, times and a half, 3 1/2 years, 42 months and 1260 days". When you read a scripture that contains these terms, know that the verse is teaching on the spiritual events that occur to a babe between the Early and Latter Rains. During each babe's time of waiting for Christ to return to convert them, they will come under the deceptions of the spirit of anti-Christ and will fall away. They fall away because they have accepted Satan's false gospel which mixes works with faith. For this reason, a babe's time of waiting is called a time of GREAT TRIBULATION and the time of Elijah's 3 1/2 years of drought.
As a result of the indwelling of the spirit of anti-Christ and the babe's acceptance of Satan's false gospel, the babe will become "worse than the first" (Mat 12:43-45) and will become a MAN OF SIN/ANTI-CHRIST/BEAST WITH SEVEN HEADS AND TEN HORNS & CROWNS. These spiritual terms represent all apostate babes. THERE WILL NOT BE A SINGLE INDIVIDUAL CALLED THE ANTI-CHRIST WHO RISES TO POWER AT THE LITERAL END OF THE AGE. That is a false teaching from spiritually blind apostate teachers.
The mixing of works with faith is the "sin that leads to death" (1John 5:16). It is founded upon the false Doctrine of Free Will. When a babe mixes works with faith, they have consumed the mixed wine presented in Prv 23:29-32 which I quoted above. This makes the pathway of Christ "crooked". Christ requires His pathway to be "straight" (faith alone) before He will appear to a babe for their conversion.
Since all babes fall away, how can an apostate babe be saved before they die?
For the ELECT babes ONLY, Christ will come again to them before they die and will pour out the Latter Rain. The Latter Rain is the baptism. This event will cause them to repent of their works which will restore their faith. With the pathway now made "straight", Christ will "appear" to them (the second coming) and convert them.
1Sam 12:17 Is it not wheat harvest to day? (day of salvation/conversion) I will call unto the LORD, and he shall send thunder and Rain (Latter Rain); that ye may perceive and see (spiritual blindness healed) that your wickedness is great (have become apostate/man of sin), which ye have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking you a king.
AFTER AN ELECT PERSON IS CONVERTED, THEIR SALVATION IS ETERNALLY SECURE. The phrase "once saved, always saved" applies at this point.
Paul's conversion is the type that all elect believers will follow. Paul received the Early Rain on the Damascus Road. He "typed" falling away during his three days in Damascus. After his three days were complete, Christ came again to Paul and poured out the Latter Rain. Paul’s spiritual blindness was then healed and the scales fell from his eyes. Christ then appeared and converted Paul. This was Paul's day of salvation.
Joe
