RAPTURE

JESUS IS COMING!!!

While sitting in my place of meditation just recently, very early in the morning, the Holy Spirit spoke to me saying: “Joyce the greetings that the brethren should greet each other with daily is: “Jesus is coming.” This truth and greeting should flow from the heart of believers all around the globe as both a greeting and a reminder. The continual reminder of the impending coming of Christ should be the fire that sets the souls of the believers on fire with anticipation, joy, excitement, perseverance, and an unceasing determination to share the gospel of Jesus Christ unless, the professing believer doesn’t really believe the return of Christ for themselves.

The church has grown cold in its once upon a time fervor for the return of Christ. The expectancy and seeking of him has diminished from a blazing fire to what is now, a smoldering flame. A smoldering flame Joyce produces more smoke than fire. The much smoke is indicative of a blaze, but once viewed you will find no flame. The flame is what started the fire, but has died down to almost out, resulting in smoking embers which are the smoldering remains of a fire that once was a blazing flame.  I would rather the church be either fire or ice, hot or cold.

 Smoldering embers are indicative that something greater than it proceeded it. In other words, smoldering embers are the end results of a flame that once burned with vigor and vibrancy. Smoldering embers indicate that nothing more was added to the fire from the flame to keep the fire burning. Please keep in mind Joyce that where there are smoldering embers a blazing fire can be revived.  A blazing fire can again be ignited simply by adding fuel or burnable resources to the embers.  Throwing a piece of paper on smoldering embers can cause a small flame yet not a continual flame since only one piece of paper was added. Having been raised in the country with wood burning stoves Joyce, you can see the truth of this analogy and how it is similar to the lives of believers. When the wood burning stove would begin to lose fervent heat, the fire was stirred in order to find wood that had not yet been set aflame in the fire. Once found and set ablaze, the heat from the stove would again give off fervent and effectual heat. Dropping room temperatures indicated a dying flame. Much of the church is smoldering embers. The flame of righteousness, the flame of expectancy has died out and much of their service in the Lord and to the Lord is mechanical and traditional. The Love for Jesus has long been smoldering and like the church of Ephesus spoken of in Revelation, much of the church has lost their first love. Going to the building called church doesn’t prove a love for God and this will be shown when Jesus calls to the true church and many who go to church are left behind.

The coming of the Lord Jesus is more imminent in this stage of world history than previous times. From the ascension of Christ to this present hour, the world has been spiraling and has reached this time where many of the things spoken by Jesus during his earthly ministry is staring us right in the face. I say US Joyce, because the church seems to have forgotten that I am here. The church seems to have forgotten that God is still in the earth. Lawlessness has increased from the high places and positions in the land to the lowest positions. This lawlessness is accepted as the normal and people are being encouraged to believe the lie of “things are going to get better.”  Accepting this lie, people walk away placing trust and hope in man who is the ultimate source of the world’s issues. Jesus showed through his walk in the earth that though sin is present in the earth sin doesn’t have to be given life in the lives of earthly inhabitants. The acceptance of sin and the life of sin is by choice. The case of choice leaves every man without excuse before Creator and Father God. Jesus is coming Joyce. Jesus is coming.

Thank you, Holy Spirit, for sharing your wisdom and admonitions referencing where we are at in this time in history. I ask that You stir up our hearts and minds to be focused on the Lord Jesus and His promise to return. Help us to be fervent witnesses in more than word, but also fervent witnesses with our lives.  Help us to know your voice clearly as You instruct us to those of them who are ready to receive the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Help us to lift up our voices as a sounding trumpet, proclaiming the acceptable year of the Lord and of our God.

Brethren, as we near the study of the book of Revelation we’d like to reiterate on the major purpose of the oh so many topics that we have discussed before entering the blessed book of Revelation. These purposes are to help us to make a conscious decision about Jesus Christ, who He is and what He has done for us before the cross and after the cross.

We are coming upon some mind blowing, life changing events in the world and through these events we should want to be anchored in the Lord who is the only one qualified and able to help us through these times. There are going to be a few major events leading up to the Rapture of the Church or the snatching away of the church with the word church meaning authentic believers in Christ. Everyone can profess belief in the Lord, but everyone does not walk belief in the Lord. The events leading up to the rapture are events directed to get our attentions and to awaken us in our spirit man or inward man where we have been napping and snoring. At this stage of the world the believer is not only seeing beyond what the human eye can see, we are also feeling in our spirits a shifting in the atmosphere, and this felt shift is letting us know that we should be keeping our limbs trimmed and the fire burning bright. Jesus is coming.

Already the state of the world and its everyday presentations has the attention of the genuine believer who can see beyond what is seen by the eyes of both the lost and the mixed heart believer. How are we seeing what many cannot see, some of you are wondering. We are seeing through and by the Holy Spirit and the word of God. For those of us who are being immersed in the word of God and being drawn into prayer and witnessing more fervently, we can see that something is on the horizon, and we are being prepped and or prepared for the next move of God in humanity’s history.

Just as written word admonishes us to walk worthy of the calling of Christ, we here at Flip the Scripts is bringing the word into the modern or today’s understanding and we say what the Holy Spirit leads us to say in reference to our souls being saved and possessing a lifestyle that exemplifies the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ. If there was no love for our souls these teachings would not go forth.

We have said in several post on our site that world events are preaching the most powerful sermons in the earth right now. World events is preaching sermons that are pointing to the blessed time when the Lord Jesus will call from the sky to the earth for the prepared ones to join Him in the journey to the Father’s house where so many wonderful excitements and valuable gifts await those who have persevered, pressed, and overcame the many temptations in the world today to live every way except live for and unto the Lord. The world system offers everything that the flesh desires and nothing that appeases the hunger of the soul. The soul’s fulfillment and constant filling can only be found in God, made possible by our risen Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Rapture is an event talked about through the church age that has brought much controversy from both professing believers, believers, and the unrepentant. The word rapture is not found in the bible yet there are many scriptures and teachings in the bible that alludes to a time when Jesus will call away a people from every nation of the earth to walk out of this earth to never look back and never live here in the state that it is in again. Earth has been and is the intentions of God to be the dwelling place of man and believe it or not earth is home for man, but not in the fallen state that it is in right now. In his vision of revelation John says from the amplified bible chapter21:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away (vanished), and there is no longer any sea. ² And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, arrayed like a bride adorned for her husband; ³ and then I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “See! The tabernacle of God is among men, and He will live among them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them [as their God,] ⁴ and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be death; there will no longer be sorrow and anguish, or crying, or pain; for the former order of things has passed away.” ⁵ And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also, He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true [they are accurate, incorruptible, and trustworthy].” ⁶ And He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the one who thirsts I will give [water] from the fountain of the water of life without cost. ⁷ He who overcomes [the world by adhering faithfully to Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior] will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.  ⁸ But as for the cowards and unbelieving and abominable [who are devoid of character and personal integrity and practice or tolerate immorality], and murderers, and sorcerers [with intoxicating drugs], and idolaters and occultists [who practice and teach false religions], and all the liars [who knowingly deceive and twist truth], their part will be in the lake that blazes with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

As we can see from written word, God’s intention for man is for man to dwell in the earth. Earth is where humanity began, and earth is where humanity ends. In the new earth man will dwell clothed in immortality. Immortality is a state of endless life beyond the power of death which is obtained through Christ Jesus following the resurrection of the fleshly, earthly or mortal body. This my friends is life after physical death.  For those of you who are having a hard time accepting this truth let’s look at the word of God where He is the first one to mention immortality. Once Adam and Eve sinned and it was determined that they were to be exiled from the garden, God, in conversing with both Jesus and the Holy Spirit said this: Genesis 3:22-24 Amplified Bible Classic Edition:

²² And the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like one of Us [the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit], to know [how to distinguish between] good and evil and blessing and calamity; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever ²³ Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴ So [God] drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the Garden of Eden the cherubim and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep and guard the way to the tree of life.

Man is to never die. Being created in the image of God, He imparted life to man by simply breathing into him, according to scripture and man became a living soul, not a dying soul, but a living soul and this word living extends beyond physical life. Whether you are sinner or saint, you will live beyond death of this physical body. The major question and concern is: Where will you live once this earthly life has ended? Where do you stand? Who’s on the Lord side?

We want to give you some examples from the bible of a few people God has used to be examples of man being a living soul even beyond the death of the physical body. Of course, Jesus Christ is our number one example. Many to most of us know his history how that after being dead and buried or entombed for three days he was resurrected to life to never ever die again. We serve a risen Savior. Hallelujah!  The prophet Moses died, and God buried him. Deuteronomy 34:1-7 [Easy to Read Bible]

 MOSES

34 Moses climbed Mount Nebo. Moses went from the Jordan Valley in Moab to the top of Mount Pisgah. This was across the Jordan River from Jericho. The Lord showed Moses all the land from Gilead to Dan.² He showed him all the land of Naphtali, Ephraim, and Manasseh. He showed him all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea. ³ He showed Moses the Negev and the valley that goes from Zoar to Jericho, the city of palm trees. ⁴ The Lord said to Moses, “This is the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I said to them, ‘I will give this land to your descendants. I have let you see the land, but you cannot go there.”  ⁵ Then Moses, the Lord’s servant, died there in the land of Moab. The Lord had told Moses this would happen.⁶ He buried Moses in Moab. This was in the valley across from Beth Peor. But even today, no one knows exactly where Moses’ grave is. ⁷ Moses was 120 years old when he died. He was as strong as ever, and his eyes were still good.

ELIJAH

The prophet Elijah did not die but was caught up from the earth in a chariot of fire and taken to be with God. He was whisked from mortality to immortality. We will give a little of Elijah’s history right now for the truth that we are sharing about man being a living soul to never not exist yet, we will go back to his story in our discourse to provide other truths.  II Kings Chapter 2: 1-12 [Easy to Read Bible]

2 It was near the time for the Lord to take Elijah by a whirlwind up into heaven. Elijah and Elisha started to leave Gilgal. ² Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, because the Lord told me to go to Bethel.” But Elisha said, “I promise, as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So, the two men went down to Bethel. ³ The group of prophets at Bethel came to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?” Elisha said, “Yes, I know. Don’t talk about it.” ⁴ Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, because the Lord told me to go to Jericho.” But Elisha said, “I promise, as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you!” So, the two men went to Jericho. ⁵ The group of prophets at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?” Elisha answered, “Yes, I know. Don’t talk about it.” ⁶ Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, because the Lord told me to go to the Jordan River.” Elisha answered, “I promise, as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you!” So, the two men went on. ⁷ There were 50 men from the group of prophets who followed them. Elijah and Elisha stopped at the Jordan River. The 50 men stood far away from Elijah and Elisha. ⁸ Elijah took off his coat, folded it, and hit the water with it. The water separated to the right and to the left. Then Elijah and Elisha crossed the river on dry ground. ⁹ After they crossed the river, Elijah said to Elisha, “What do you want me to do for you before God takes me away from you?” Elisha said, “I ask you for a double share of your spirit on me.” ¹⁰ Elijah said, “You have asked a hard thing. If you see me when I am taken from you, it will happen. But if you don’t see me when I am taken from you, it will not happen.”

The Lord Takes Elijah Into Heaven: ¹¹ Elijah and Elisha were walking and talking together. Suddenly, some horses and a chariot came and separated Elijah from Elisha. The horses and the chariot were like fire. Then Elijah was carried up into heaven in a whirlwind. ¹² Elisha saw it, and shouted, “My father! My father! The chariot of Israel and his horses!”

Bible history is awesome, isn’t it? So, Elijah is taken from the earth and is transformed or stripped of his mortality and is clothed in immortality which is the only way man will dwell with God.

But Joyce this doesn’t show life after physical death: someone is thinking. Okay….let’s move on. Now let’s travel to the New Testament to the book of Mark 9: 2-10 [Easy to Read Bible]

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, ³ and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. ⁴ And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. ⁵ And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” ⁶ For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. ⁷ And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” ⁸ And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only. ⁹ And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰ So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean.

Alright, my friends. Here we have two men who had been hundreds and hundreds of years departed from this life. One was caught up and one had physically died and was buried. How is it that after hundreds of years later they appear with Jesus on a mountain very much alive, very much recognizable and very much operating with their faculties? hmmn….  Again, we say man is going to live forever, be he sinner or saint. Let’s look at three more people. Luke 16: 19-31 [Easy to Read Bible]

THESE THREE

¹⁹ Jesus said, “There was a rich man who always dressed in the finest clothes. He was so rich that he was able to enjoy all the best things every day. ²⁰ There was also a very poor man named Lazarus. Lazarus’ body was covered with sores. He was often put by the rich man’s gate. ²¹ Lazarus wanted only to eat the scraps of food left on the floor under the rich man’s table. And the dogs came and licked his sores. ²² “Later, Lazarus died. The angels took him and placed him in the arms of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³ He was sent to the place of death and was in great pain. He saw Abraham far away with Lazarus in his arms. ²⁴ He called, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to me so that he can dip his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am suffering in this fire!’ ²⁵ “But Abraham said, ‘My child, remember when you lived? You had all the good things in life. But Lazarus had nothing but problems. Now he is comforted here, and you are suffering. ²⁶ Also, there is a big pit between you and us. No one can cross over to help you, and no one can come here from there.’ ²⁷ “The rich man said, ‘Then please, Father Abraham, send Lazarus to my father’s house on earth. ²⁸ I have five brothers. He could warn my brothers so that they will not come to this place of pain.’ ²⁹ “But Abraham said, ‘They have the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets to read; let them learn from that.’ ³⁰ “The rich man said, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone came to them from the dead, then they would decide to change their lives.’ ³¹ “But Abraham said to him, ‘If your brothers won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen to someone who comes back from the dead.’”

Dear readers please know that the history you just read is not a parable or an illustrative story. This history is a true story because Jesus called names. He does not call names in his parables. Please take note of this when reading and following Jesus in the written word.

Genesis 25:7-8: Altogether, Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people.

In Luke’s record we find three people who had once lived physically on this earth. They all three died. They left this earthly realm of existence and entered into a spiritual realm of existence. In other words, they stepped out of one season of life into another season of life. They stepped out of a temporary phase of life into another phase of life which holds as temporary for its moment. By this we are saying that where the rich man is at this present in Luke’s record is not his permanent dwelling according to John’s record in the book of Revelation chapter 20:11-15 [ Easy to Read Bible]

¹¹ Then I saw a large white throne. I saw the one who was sitting on the throne. Earth and sky ran away from him and disappeared. ¹² And I saw those who had died, great and small, standing before the throne. Some books were opened. And another book was opened—the book of life. The people were judged by what they had done, which is written in the books. ¹³ The sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Hades {HELL} gave up the dead who were in them. All these people were judged by what they had done. ¹⁴ And Death and Hades {HELL} were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. ¹⁵ And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

So here we have it dear readers. Death and hell are but temporal holding places. The grave is a temporal holding place for the remains of the departed and hell is the holding place for those of them who depart this earth without Christ. Paradise is the holding place for those who have departed this life in the Lord. Jesus hanged between two thieves on the execution ground. According to the record of Mark 15:32 both of the thieves along with the religious leaders and the common folk, mocked and taunted Jesus with their words of sarcasm and such like. Yet after a time of hanging on his cross one of the thieves was moved upon spiritually by the Holy Spirit who convicts and convinces us of our sins. Receiving the truth about his guilt, becoming humble and shameful and sorrowful, the thief repents in his heart and confesses his repentance by saying to Jesus: “Jesus, remember me when you begin ruling as king!”  And Jesus replied: ⁴³ Then Jesus said to him, “I promise you, today you will be with me in paradise.”  The repentant heart sinner also rebuked the other criminal after he had repented in his heart. 

⁹ One of the criminals hanging there began to shout insults at Jesus: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Then save yourself and save us too!” ⁴⁰ But the other criminal stopped him. He said, “You should fear God. All of us will die soon. ⁴¹ You and I are guilty. We deserve to die because we did wrong. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Luke’s record shows that the rich man died without being united with God through any way other than being united as a created being. The King James Version of the bible says of the rich man; “And in hell he lifts up his eyes,” Notice my highlighted places in Luke’s record. The rich man saw, he called, he said, he felt, he remembered, he desired. The rich man is very much alive! He is very much conscious and very much aware. Take note that the rich man is fully aware of who Abraham and Lazarus are. People are taught and many believe that once you depart this life and is on the other side you will not know people…. REALLY!!!! Much of what we have been taught by man in times past shows now through our union with the Godhead bodily and the written word that people have honestly taken God for a joke. Those teachings of time past represented a God who is all over the place in his thinking and planning. The truth is the teachers of time past like the religious leaders in Jesus’ day are the ones who are all over the place in their minds about the Lord.

The point of this portion of the Rapture discourse is to show that man will never die or be a non-existing being. If physical death is the end of man, then what would be the point of accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior of one’s life. What would be the point of living right and serving God? These examples in our bible history shows that life in the earth is not the end of all things. These examples show that life in the earth is the beginning of life that has no end. On earth is where man is given the opportunity to exercise the only power given him, with that power being, choice. Please understand that it is only on this present earth that you have the right of choice. Once this season of life on earth is over and you’ve exercised the right of choice, choice is no longer offered. All options for life thereafter are dissolved. Choice will no longer exist. Please hear the story of the rich man. On earth is where man makes the decision for where he or she will spend the next season of never-ending life. Where do you stand right now in this earthly life? Does life here show you living as the rich man who was selfish, a glutton, rich in his earthly possessions but lost in his soul? Does life here in this earth find you madly in love with Jesus and anxiously awaiting the next season in life where you; like the beggar Lazarus, will rest in the safety of long ago promises fulfilled? Where do you stand? Who’s on the Lord side?

I just heard the Holy Spirit say that there are going to be some who will find themselves sentenced to the lake of fire who will say to the Lord, “I didn’t exercise my right of choice. I didn’t say whether I believed or disbelieved. I didn’t say whether I accept or reject Christ.”

To this Joyce I will say, ” hear the truth of the rich man”.  He also never said verbally. His life spoke his CHOICE. And the fact that this manipulating thinker, has found his or her self-standing before the Almighty God and the best kept, inerrant books of all times, is evidence that choice was exercised. Selah.     inerrant=incapable of being wrong.                                           

Holy Spirit may I publicly converse with you referencing what you’ve just spoken or is this something we will discuss in private?

Joyce proceed.

Thank you, Master Teacher.  What I have gleaned from your spoken word is that even in the presence of evidence man will still be trying to alter his ways by playing games with an all-knowing God. This ignorant thinking on the behalf of this or these persons is actually an assault on God’s omniscience, his righteous judgements and his power.

Very good observation Joyce. This or these persons, as you have stated, will attempt to test and persuade God. Of course, if God could be deceived into allowing verbal acceptance or rejection at this point in the person’s life, the person would verbally accept Jesus just to escape unpleasant and eternal judgement, but his heart would be filled still, with evil. In his or her thinking they would accredit themselves for the escape of punishment based on a play of words. They would think themselves to have outsmarted God. Their salvation would be based upon their own abilities to deceive and not be based upon the redemptive work of Christ. Man must know that there are no loopholes or hidden clauses in the contract of life or judgement with this contract being a contract drawn up by the giver of life. Eternal life and Eternal death are based upon Jesus and nothing more. The decision for acceptance and rejection of Christ is made in the first stage of life which is here in this present earth. Now is the time where the cliche “action speaks louder than words” reveals its greatest meaning.

⁹ I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. John 10: 9 King James Version

Please follow us to Rapture part II……………………..