Rapture-The Imminent Return of our God

I must make clear the imminent return of our Lord and savior Jesus is close to midnight. There are some filled with the Holy Spirit that grasps these troubled times we are in who know the lateness of the hour. The majority in the Christian community do not have a clue. This is as predicted, the falling away from the t***h is the age we are in. The vast majority of the world’s population is in spiritual darkness, without Christ, without the Holy Spirit to guide their thinking.

There are millions upon millions of others who are within Christendom--that is, who claim to be under the umbrella of Christianity. Most of these, statistics bear out, would not qualify as "Christian" under the definition of being "born again." That is, they haven't truly "believed" as given in Romans 10:9-10:
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

It is not my place--nor the place of any other person to say who is and isn't "saved" on an individual basis. However, we are to definitely hold to what the Bible tells us are the qualifications for becoming a child of God who will spend eternity with Him in Heaven. In the sense of discernment, we can say that those who hold to those biblical qualifications are "saved" and those who do not hold to those qualifications are not.

We will deal in this essay with those who fit within the category defined by the above prescription for being born again. I would like to get even more specific.

Among those who are truly born again, there are many views of how things will play out, prophetically speaking. At the same time, there are also many who don't know and many who don't care about prophecy--what God has foretold about their future. They are too busy living out their increments of life one heartbeat and breath at a time.

Sadly, the latter by far constitute the majority. That is, most don't know about Bible prophecy, and most don't care. They are aided and abetted in their willful ignorance by the pastors and Bible teachers within their church bodies in this disregard for the prophetic portion of God's Word. That prophetic Word is almost one-third of the Scripture the Lord has given us through His Love Letter to mankind.

Even more specifically, I want to concentrate for the moment on the doctrine of the Rapture of the Church--that twinkling of an eye moment Paul wrote about as recorded in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:52-55.

Of those who have truly been born again, there are few in number who know about the Rapture in concrete terms or who grasp that there will come that moment of being called into Heaven by their Lord. In America, even those who do understand that the Rapture is an event prophetically scheduled according to the Bible resist embracing the promise intrinsic within the doctrine of that imminent call from Christ. That is, rather than desire to hear Christ's call, "Come up here," (Revelation 4: 1) these want to first live life on earth and fulfill all of the anticipated pleasures it offers. They do not want to give up what is in the world. It is primarily this group of believers to whom I address the thoughts that follow.

Notice, please, that I wrote as a qualifier, "in America.. It is in America that this attitude of not embracing the Rapture among Christians is most pronounced. Proof of that statement is made clear through the thousands upon thousands of sermons that are preached each week. The number of prophetic messages amongst those thousands of sermons are infinitesimal. People don't want to hear that Christ's call is imminent. The pastors--in overwhelming numbers--demonstrate that they don't want to delve into that portion of Bible t***h--even if, indeed, they in fact believe that the Rapture is an imminent event.

Not desiring the Rapture is, for American believers, as natural as breathing. Life in the United States is not bad, and for the most part, pretty comfortable. Compared to living as a Christian in, say, the Middle East, Africa, or other parts of the world, being a Christian requires that no heavy price be paid. That is what I mean when I say it is as natural as breathing.

Christians in America, unlike their counterparts in less blessed, heavily oppressed, persecuted parts of the world, rather than worrying about whether they will be able to provide food for themselves and their children for the day, look forward to their upcoming marriages, vacations, or new purchases that will satisfy their latest comfortable lifestyle aspirations. These physical and psychological wants and needs are the natural outflow from abundance. Longing for the Rapture is a spiritual--supernatural--exercise that requires, for most, effort that seems to offer no tangible, immediate gratification. Such effort is just too taxing for most of America's Christians and their pastors. It takes them out of their comfort zone, much as does prayer and Bible reading.

When American Christians in this category do think of the Rapture--which, again, they in fact believe is a thing that will happen, but somewhere in the hazy years of the future--they fear it will take them away from the pleasures of this earthly life. That event will, they think, snatch them from their comfortable American lifestyle. It will present a completely changed paradigm--one that will cause them to lose homes, family closeness, friendships, other relationships, and their "stuff"--all of which provides familiarity and pleasure.
This is especially true among the younger people. Their disinterest in prophecy in general and in the Rapture of the church in particular is more than obvious in the make-up of prophecy conferences that is basically sixty and over.

Now, I've been perhaps too harsh on Christians in America. However, we are approaching the very end of this Church Age. The perhaps overly stern exhortation is to focus attention on the reality that we might within months, weeks, days, or even hours, look our Lord in His holy, omniscient eyes. He said He was going to prepare a place for us and would come again and take us there with Him (John 14:1-3). That "place" is something we can't even begin to fathom in its wonders and luxuriant surroundings. All of the relationships in this life we thought we might lose in the Rapture will be magnified in their joy and intimacy a million times over. We are going to find that all earthly treasures we so valued are as refuse compared to things the Lord has prepared for those that love Him.

I sense that the newlywed couple who belong to Christ will find their relationship with each other dazzlingly more intimate than anything planet earth could have nurtured. The "stuff" left behind will be instantly forgotten when we behold the heavenly treasury that holds us spellbound. The best days of our lives in this earthly confinement will seem as a time of terrible, debilitating paralysis. The Rapture will instantaneously bring life unencumbered by gravity and all laws of what we know as physics. The Lord put us here to enjoy the many good things He provides. There's nothing wrong in living life to its absolute fullest. But, this is not our home. We are but travelers in a foreign land. We are here for, at best, 70, 80, 90, or 100 years, then we slip these surly bonds.

We, as God's children, should not resist the doctrine of Rapture, but anticipate that glorious instant when the whole purpose of our being born into this universe reaches fruition. We will at that incomprehensible moment understand what it means to be joint heirs with Christ. Even so, Come, Lord Jesus!

Here's an article about Ammon Bundy and how he is following "Directions from God." Yeah, yeah, yeah, God told him to do it.


Man behind armed Oregon band says he's on mission from God.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The man behind the armed occupation of a federal wildlife refuge comes from a Mormon family that has been challenging government authority for at least two decades.

The Bundys, the family behind the Oregon m*****a standoff, explained Vox.com
Wildlife refuge occupation part of long-running lands fight Associated Press
Oregon ranching case sparks anti-government sentiment Associated Press
Patriots or d******c t*******ts? Armed protesters seize Oregon wildlife refuge Christian Science Monitor
The Latest: Sheriff says ranchers have turned themselves in Associated Press

Ammon Bundy, like his father in previous confrontations, says he is following directions from God and invokes his family's faith when explaining the anti-government movement he is attempting to lead.

In March 2014, Cliven Bundy was at the center of an armed standoff with federal officials over grazing rights on government land. Federal officials backed away from seizing the Nevada rancher's cattle, but the dispute remains unresolved, and the Bureau of Land Management says the family has not made payments toward a $1.1 million grazing fee and penalty bill.

Now Cliven Bundy's son has put himself in the spotlight, this time in Oregon in a dispute over someone else's ranching operation. His armed group is pressing federal authorities to turn over government land to local control.

Ammon Bundy came to Oregon hoping to rally support behind his cause, but his tactics have been broadly rejected by many locals, by the state's main ranching group and by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which the Bundy family has belonged to for generations.

In a statement issued Monday, Mormon leaders said the Oregon land dispute "is not a church matter," but they condemned the seizure and said they were "deeply troubled" by reports that suggest the armed group is acting "based on Scriptural principles."

View galleryFILE - This is a combo of file photos showing the Bundy …
FILE - This is a combo of file photos showing the Bundy family from left to right, Ryan Bundy, Clive …
The ranchers that Ammon Bundy came to defend rejected his assistance and on Monday voluntarily surrendered to serve a federal prison term on a 2012 conviction on charges of committing arson on federal land.

A leader of the group O**h K****rs_past and present members of the military, first-responders and police officers who pledge to uphold the Constitution— issued a statement saying Ammon Bundy has gone too far. Many O**h K****rs were at the 2014 Bundy ranch standoff in Nevada.

But in Oregon, O**h K****r founder Stewart Rhodes said, Ammon Bundy had picked the wrong battle.

"We cannot force ourselves or our protection on people who do not want it," Rhodes said last week on the group's website.

Speaking through their attorney, Dwight Hammond Jr. and son Steven said they preferred to turn themselves in and serve out their sentence.

View galleryAn American f**g is shown at the front entrance to …
An American f**g is shown at the front entrance to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters …
"And that clear statement of their intent should be the end of the discussion on this," Rhodes said.

Ammon Bundy has said he had never heard of the Hammond case until his father mentioned it to him. The Hammonds were convicted three years ago of setting fires on federal land in 2001 and 2006. One of the blazes was set to cover up deer poaching, according to prosecutors.

The men served no more than a year until an appeals court judge ruled that the terms fell short of minimum sentences requiring them to serve about four more years.

Ammon Bundy said he prayed about the matter and "clearly understood that the Lord was not pleased with what was happening to the Hammonds."

The Hammonds said they lit the fires to reduce the growth of invasive plants and protect their property from wildfires.

View galleryAmmon Bundy, one of the sons of Nevada rancher Cliven …
Ammon Bundy, one of the sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, speaks during an interview at Malheur N …
"I did exactly what the Lord asked me to do," Bundy said in a YouTube video posted last week in which he appeals to people to join him in Oregon to protest the treatment of the Hammonds.

In the 2014 showdown with federal authorities in Nevada, Cliven Bundy also justified his actions in religious terms, saying that he decided to challenge federal agents after praying for guidance.

Their ideology aligns with a strain of anti-government thinking that was espoused by some church thought leaders during the Cold War. But it is rejected by mainstream Mormons today, according to Matthew Bowman, a professor of American religion at Henderson State University in Arkansas.

Still, whether to submit to church leaders or follow a personal conviction remains "a deep and central tension within Mormon doctrine and culture," Bowman said.

The Bundy family's dispute with federal authorities dates to 1993, when land managers in Nevada cited concern for the federally protected desert tortoise and capped Cliven Bundy's herd at 150 animals on a 250-square-mile allotment of land. Officials later revoked Bundy's grazing rights completely. Federal officials' attempts to round up the cattle from the arid habitat 80 miles northwest of Las Vegas were called off in an effort to avoid bloodshed.

View galleryAmmon Bundy, one of the sons of Nevada rancher Cliven …
Ammon Bundy, one of the sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, speaks during an interview at Malheur N …
The 2014 standoff — and the current one in Oregon — are continuations of a decades-long fight over public lands in the West. Many people living in rural areas say their efforts to make a living have been hurt by federal policies regulating the use of government lands.

Conservation groups counter that federal agencies are a better choice than states to manage public lands. That's because the agencies can authorize the land for multiple uses, such as mining, grazing or recreation, while many Western states are constitutionally obligated to use lands they manage for the most lucrative purpose — often mining.

"Certainly the folks that live close to these places have a very legitimate voice in this debate. But what is unique about this national land system is that everyone gets to participate," said Jessica Goad, advocacy director for the Denver-based Center for Western Priorities.

Many locals agree with Ammon Bundy that the second Hammond sentence was too harsh, considering the crime. But they disapprove of Bundy's occupation and fear it could lead to violence.

Those concerns were shared by John O'Keeffe, president of the Oregon Cattleman's Association, who said Monday that his group "does not support illegal activity taken against the government."

Ammon Bundy himself has benefited from federal programs. Records show that in 2010 he borrowed $530,000 through the Small Business Administration for his company, Valet Fleet Service LLC. On Tuesday, he justified the loan by saying he is not anti-government but is opposed to federal policies that go against the people's will.

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Associated Press Writer Michelle Rindels reported from Carson City, Nevada.