Day 28 – Our Blessed Hope!
1 Thess. 4:13-18, “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. (13) For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. (14) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. (15) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: (16) Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (17) Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (18 )
My heart needed encouragement this morning. Ever since the first day I was saved, over 26 years ago, not one day has gone by that I haven’t thought about the Rapture. This great and blessed hope that we born-again believers have was placed in the Word of God so that we could encourage ourselves and we could encourage one another! That is the purpose of my blog today.
We do not have any reason to be discouraged, my friends. A tragic event is about to take place upon this earth which will last not just for a day, or a week, but for seven long years. It’s been years since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and they are still cleaning up. That “storm” lasted less than 24 hours! The events that will will take place during the Tribulation will make the Holocaust seem like child’s play.
Paul didn’t want us to be ignorant – God left us His Word so that we would not go uninformed. What a merciful and gracious Father we have! He knows we need to encourage ourselves.
Times have never been so “ready” for the tribulation. All we have to do is watch the news. My Google main page has the Earthquake Watch and already there have been 13 earthquakes around the world today – it’s only 9:40 a.m. Eastern time! (Matt. 24:7) Kingdom against kingdom is more prevalent today than when I was growing up. The news is filled with Muslim terrorists, Korea’s nuclear arms, etc. Pestilences are not just once in a while but many are of concern today – West Nile, mad cow, cancers of every kind, E. coli outbreaks, AIDS, deadly TB strain, bird flu, mumps are coming back, etc.
Yes, all these happened all through history. But those were the beginning of sorrows (Matt. 24:8 ). Ωδινων is the Greek word used here, referencing a woman in labor – birth pains. Anyone who has witnessed the birth of a child knows that labor starts easy – I actually thought if that is all it was, it would be a breeze! Yeh, RIGHT! But as the labor progressed, the pains became stronger and more frequent. Each stage of labor grew worse than the previous until the blessed event of birth occurred. U.S. history is a perfect example of these birth pains. The wars and internal uprisings have increased as our beautiful nation has turned away from God. Each year seems to be worse than the previous one. The Lord wants His children to be aware and alert.
The judgments from Revelation will have a cataclysmic effect on the people who are left here! No wonder Paul called the Rapture our blessed hope! What does the mid-trib or post-trib believer have? There isn’t a blessed hope in any of the judgments which will be let loose upon this world, my friend. Paul would not have used these terms. Rev. 3:10 says that we will be spared from the hour of temptation which will come upon all the earth. No event since the Great Flood of Noah’s days has ever affected the entire earth. Revelation is clear in its depiction that the Tribulation times will affect the entire earth and we, born-again Christians, will be spared from this! Praise His Holy Name! Thank You Lord Jesus for this great gift! Thank You for giving us a Blessed Hope to look forward to!
We believers don’t need to be afraid. We need to be busy doing the Lord’s work. Our time is short! The end is near and we must make use of what little time we have left for the Lord. Praise God that we won’t be here to witness the tragedies which will be let loose upon this earth! I am so thankful that we have been spared from this! Now THAT, my friend, is a blessed hope!
That Great Reunion Day!
Just thinking about that day to come
When we all will be set free
Makes me simply want to burst with joy
And get on bended knee
How thankful we should be for this
That Jesus had to die
So we could sing and praise His Name
On that blessed day in the sky
Yes, that day is foremost in our minds
We Christians, one and all
It’s our payment for our work for Him
No more will we ever fall
Thank you dear Father for this great gift
The price Christ had to pay
We all look forward to our meeting
On that Great Reunion Day!
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