Tag: 2 Corinthians 11:2

Any Day Now – Day 45

On June 14, 2024

Joh 14:1-3 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. (2) In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (3) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

These three verses in John are a preview of what is in store for the Church. It answers the question of “Who” will participate in the Rapture. The Rapture is not the same as the Second Coming of Christ when He returns to earth to destroy the Antichrist and the False Prophet. Nor will He establish His earthly kingdom at the time of the Rapture. No, the Rapture is the first phase of the end times to happen right before the Tribulation begins.

Exactly who will take part in the Rapture? The Apostle John tells us in:

Joh 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

The born-again believer is promised everlasting life and we do not experience God’s wrath. We are not condemned like those who do not believe.

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

The Apostle Paul makes it quite clear in the verses below that God’s wrath is to be received by those who do not believe in salvation and who do not obey God’s Word in order to receive it.

Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: [Born-again believers “in time past” walked in disobedience, but after salvation, they ceased.]

Eph 5:6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

Col 3:6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:

God’s wrath is not intended for the Church. Each person who gets saved is sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. That promise is our inheritance, the gift from Jesus Christ to His Bride!

Eph 1:13-14 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, (14) Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. [That inheritance is given to us when the day of redemption arrives.]

Eph 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. [When IS that day of redemption? Jesus encouraged His followers to be aware of the “end time signs”!

Luk 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

The Apostle Paul compared the Church to Christ’s Bride.

2Co 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

2Co 4:14 Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. [Paul tells us that the believers who died in his day would be raised up along with those alive to be presented.]

Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. [The Bride is sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Here we were both the Spirit and the bride speaking. The Bride is in Heaven during the Tribulation.]

Rev 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.

There are so many other verses but I think you can now understand the “who” in those who will participate in the Rapture. It will be the Groom, Jesus Christ, and the Bride, the Church. I love how Paul compares the Church to ambassadors.

2Co 5:19-21 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. (20) Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. (21) For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Every country has an ambassador who represents and communicates his leader’s wishes to the world. We represent Christ and it is our duty to communicate Christ’s wishes. He wishes that all be reconciled to God. We see this desire in John 3:16! When that country is about to go to war, the first thing that happens is that the ambassador is called home. So will we be called home before God’s wrath comes upon the earth during the Tribulation.

The only way to be a part of the Bride of Christ is to be born again. It is salvation through Jesus Christ and Him alone. Friend, if you are not born again, it is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Don’t you want to be a part of the Church when she is raptured into the clouds to meet Jesus? (1 Thessalonians 4:17) Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!

Any Day Now – Day 43

By Kate Plourde

On June 10, 2024

In Any Day Now, Devotionals

I’ve always loved this verse in Revelation because of the promise Jesus gives us! Jesus gives the promise that He will keep us from the hour of temptation. Why? He tells us it is because we have “kept the word of His patience.”

Php 3:20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

1Co 1:7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

1Th 1:10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

Jud 1:21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

Rom 8:19-23 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. (20) For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, (21) Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. (22) For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. (23) And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

The person who has authentically been born again looks for Christ’s coming to rapture us. What do I mean by authentically born again? It is one who has experienced the new birth and has repented of his sins. (2 Corinthians 5:17) Until the Rapture arrives, we are to “occupy” doing the work of the Lord. That wordy “occupy” means to busy oneself with leading others to Christ, be part of the body (your church) and be used of the Holy Spirit to accomplish Christ’s work.

Now let’s go back and look at Revelation 3:10. Jesus says that He will keep us “from” the hour of “temptation.” There are two things here that I want you to look at:

The Greek word for “from” is “ek,” which means “out of.” This where we get our word exit. Strong’s defines it as “A primary preposition denoting origin (the point whence motion or action proceeds), from, out (of place, time or cause; literally or figuratively; direct or remote) This does not mean that God will protect the Church through the Tribulation period, as some believe. Jesus said He will keep us out of the Tribulation period.
Secondly, the word temptation is used in the verse. This is not referring to being tempted to sin. The word temptation here is referring to a trial. Greek word is “peirasmos” which Strong’s defines as: From G3985; a putting to proof (by experiment [of good], experience [of evil], solicitation, discipline or provocation); by implication adversity: – temptation, X try. Jesus is saying that the Tribulation period will be a time that the world will experience extreme evil. It is a trial that no would willingly want to go through if they knew what was to come.

Just as God protected Noah and his family (a total of eight people in the entire corrupt world), He will protect the Church. Think about it for a moment. The Bible says that we are the Bride of Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:2 reminds us that we, the Church, are betrothed to one husband as a chaste virgin to Christ. He is our Husband. What husband would allow his wife to be away from Him while destruction comes to the earth? What husband would allow his wife to be beaten and beheaded? Ephesians 5:25-27 gives us a beautiful depiction of what a husband should do for his wife and the Lord is no exception.

In a future post, we will cover why the Church won’t go through God’s wrath. Friend, it is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Don’t you want to be a part of the Church when she is raptured into the clouds to meet Jesus? (1 Thessalonians 4:17) Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!

Any Day Now – Day 33

By Kate Plourde

On May 17, 2024

In Any Day Now, Devotionals

The more you read the Bible, the more God reveals His word to you. God is a very good Father! He doesn’t want His children to be in the dark. His Word lays out the details He wants us to know regarding future events so we are not in the dark.

1 Thess 5:2-5 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. (3) For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. (4) But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. (5) Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

The unsaved (those who don’t want to hear about Jesus Christ) are those who walk in darkness. They are blinded by the god of this world, Satan.

2 Cor 4:3-4 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: (4) In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Let’s take a look at WHO Jesus will come for at the glorious Rapture? He comes to claim the Church for His Bride. (We will cover the WHO at the Second Coming on the next post.)

2 Cor 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

The Church is the Bride of Christ. As in the traditional Jewish wedding, a marriage contract was made between the groom and bride (Jesus signed the marriage contract with His blood to all believers). Then the groom would go to his father’s house and prepare a place where he could bring his future espoused wife. Jesus said:

Joh 14:1-3 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. (2) In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (3) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

IF the Rapture were to happen at the end of the Tribulation, why would Jesus go to prepare a place for His bride in Heaven so He could receive her to Himself? No one goes to Heaven after the Second Coming. The Second Coming introduces the millennial Kingdom on earth, not in Heaven. Why would He prepare a place for us if we’re not going to be going there? If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you will be raptured.

2 Cor 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

The church is depicted as ambassadors for Christ. Anytime a war is about to begin, that country’s ambassadors are called home. It will be the same with the Church before God’s judgment on the entire earth. He will call His ambassadors home at the Rapture and then the Day of the Lord will begin with the antichrist signing a peace treaty with Israel. The judgments will end with the Battle of Armageddon and Christ’s Second Coming.

Dan 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

If you never learned about the Rapture and the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray that these devotionals have been a blessing to you. Friend, it is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!

Jewish Feasts & Jesus Revealed – Unleavened Bread

By Kate Plourde

On December 5, 2022

In Devotionals, Jewish Feasts & Jesus Revealed

Leviticus 23:4-8 These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. (5) In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD’S passover. (6) And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. (7) In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. (8) But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.

Oh what a joyous time of year this is! 😀 Although Winter appears fruitless with its frigid temperatures, we celebrate the Saviour’s birth! His birth leads to the salvation of mankind!

I’ve learned so much doing the research on this series! I sorta knew the basics of the Feasts but never really dug deeper. In doing so, I see the Lord Jesus in every aspect and it excites the spirit within me! I absolutely love God’s Word and how it blesses us over and over! (Lamentations 3:22-23)

Today’s Feast is that of Unleavened Bread. We covered this in part in the posts about the Seder meal. Today is strictly about the Feast itself. This Feast was seven days long and during that time they could not eat any bread that was made with yeast (leaven). Let’s park there for a minute and concentrate on the word “leaven.” Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines leaven as:

LEAVEN, n. lev’n. [L. levo, Eng. to lift.]

A mass of sour dough, which, mixed with a larger quantity of dough or paste, produces fermentation in it and renders it light. During the seven days of the passover, no leaven was permitted to be in the houses of the Jews. Exo 12.

Any thing which makes a general change in the mass. It generally means something which corrupts or depraves that with which it is mixed.
Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
Mat 16.
LEAVEN, v.t. lev’n.

To excite fermentation in; to raise and make light, as dough or paste.
A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. 1 Cor 5.

to taint; to imbue.

Think on this definition for a moment. Yeast/leaven produces fermentation and changes the texture and the size of the bread. If we regard leaven as a symbol for sin, it clearly opens up the purpose of this Feast, don’t you think? If we allow sin into our lives, it doesn’t just sit still. It produces more sin. It also has its repercussions! To the believer, it causes our relationship with the Lord to suffer. (Psalm 66:18) From the time of Adam and Eve, when sin was first brought into the Garden of Eden, sin has continued to grow and has created a depraved people. It has hardened the heart to its effects. It also reveals that even a tiny amount will cause an entire lump of dough to rise. Jewish tradition has it that women would actually get on their hands and knees sweeping with a feather every nook to rid their homes of any leaven. Wow, what would our Christian lives look like if we took the same painstaking effort of ridding our lives of sin!!?? The more sin there is (size), the harder the heart becomes (texture).

The Apostle Paul reprimanded the Corinthian church for defiling their church with sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 5:1-8). The church, as we know it today, is not like the church of yesteryear. Sin has crept into the church willingly and it is accepted. We see this all the more today! Allowing known sin to abide in the church is like adding yeast to the dough. A little will cause the all of the dough to rise – a little sin will multiply and the church will not be pure and chaste. (2 Corinthians 11:2)

But there is Good News in this Feast for all! The Good News is that the Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself as the perfect sacrifice for our sins! He lived that sinless life – He is the true unleavened Bread of life – He is the perfect sacrificial Lamb! But the best news of all is that He arose and is sitting with the Father awaiting His return for the Church (His Bride) at the Rapture! Oh what joy for the believer!!

Do you see the Lord in these Feasts? Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ, personally or do you only know of Him? He is the true Unleavened Bread – the sinless Lamb of God! I want to be sure that anyone who reads the posts on this blog can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are going to Heaven. Have you received Christ as your Saviour? If no, your sins are not covered by His sacrificial offering of Himself. You have not been redeemed by His blood. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!