Too Close to Lose Hope: Random thoughts about the Rapture

 I spend a lot of time just chatting with the Lord. I talk to Him as I would a friend, and I hope that's okay with Him. I think it is, because He's my Father. In fact, He's the only Father I've ever known, and if I had an earthly father, I would love nothing more than to visit him and tell him everything on my mind and receive his comfort and concern and most of all, wisdom. Anyway,  I've been telling the Lord recently how frustrated I am about what's going on in the world and the church and how exhausting it is to continue watching for His return and see so many prospective dates pass us by. Mind you, I've been actively watching since 2016. Every year that goes by, the prophetic voices on the internet give new dates to watch... new timelines... new reasons to believe that this date is the one! I admit to getting caught up in it far too much. Why? Because this is not my home and I want to be with Jesus more than anything. I make no apologies for that.

In one of these conversations with Jesus, He reminded me of how wrong all the religious leaders were in His day about His coming. in fact, none of them recognized who He was. Even His disciples thought Jesus had come to save Israel from Roman rule and become their king. It's easy for us in hindsight to look back through the Old Testament and see all the prophecies about His birth, His life, His suffering and death, but at that time, all they saw were the prophecies about His Kingship, His righteous rule over the Earth. Think about this for a minute. The Old Testament said the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, Come out of Egypt, and be a Nazarene. How confusing is that? How can anyone come from three completely different places? Yet, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, did go to Egypt as a child, and finally settled in Nazareth.  I guess what I'm saying is that no matter how much the great theologians, prophets, or pastors search the Scripture for the Rapture date, it's quite possible we all miss it completely. And maybe we are supposed to. Maybe the Lord just wants our heads deep into His Word searching and learning and growing as we look for new insight, for it is only when we are in His Word that we truly grow to be like Him. 

People in Jesus's day completely missed His first coming, and similarly, today, people who don't believe in the rapture, are missing that event completely. They are only seeing His second coming and not that He comes to rescue His bride for a 7 year wedding (which mimics the 7 day wedding in Jewish days).  The truth is, the entire Bible prophecies of a wedding between God and His people, starting in Genesis. 

I do not listen to random pastors or prophets online. The men and women I listen to bear the fruit of true righteousness. I'm talking about people like John Fenn, Pastor Sandy Armstrong, Pastor Patrick Winfrey, Rhonda Empson, Midnight Hour Oil, Dr. Barry Awe, Robert Breaker...  The truth is, some of these saints are talking about an imminent rapture and some are talking about a great revival or great outpouring of the Holy Spirit before the rapture. This, I admit, has left me confused. As I've shared with you before, I do not believe a Global Revival before the rapture is Biblical, but could there be an outpouring of the Holy Spirit before we leave? God can do anything, of course, and certainly there could be pockets of revival across the globe, especially as things intensify.  But which is it? If we are heading toward an Outpouring of the Holy Spirit, then certainly that would take some time.. a year or two. People would have to be repentant and want to know the Lord and basically fall on their knees before Him. Revivals do not take place without repentance. But what would cause the people of this evil world to repent?

And why do I hear from very Godly people both things? One, a Holy Spirit revival and Two, the rapture is soon. This has left me in a quandary. Why? Because I'm watching world events and I do not see any move toward repentance. In fact, I see quite the opposite. I also see the New World Order growing stronger each day, freedoms stripped, many people dying, a forced poisonous injection, increased immorality, and a very apostate church. Well, I don't need to go on. If you read my blog, you know what's happening. In fact, once Covid swept over the planet and I realized what was happening, I knew we were in the end times. If things move forward in this trajectory, and the Globalists do not back off, then I foresee things getting much worse this year. It's quite possible the unvaccinated will be thrown in quarantine camps, the economy will collapse, initiating the Great reset in which digital currency will replace physical money, World War 3 may start, and food and fresh water will be hard to come by. These are the things I'm seeing starting to happen. Would these events, these troubles, cause people to repent and come to the Lord, and hence an outpouring of the Holy Spirit? Quite possibly. However, with the current state of the lukewarm church, I just don't see it happening. Christians who have been trained to believe God is their Santa Claus in the sky will most likely abandon Him when things go bad. 

So, which is it? Outpouring of the Holy Spirit or the rapture of the Bride? There are Scriptures in the Bible about a Latter Rain, a final harvest of saints. There are also Scriptures about a great falling away before the rapture and a sudden departure or rescue in the middle of great disaster. Hence, just like the religious leaders from Jesus's time, we are left with 2 scenarios. Both can't be true. Or can they? In the past, they were both true about Jesus, but both prophetic events were for different times. 

I'm just thinking outloud here, trying to tie all the pieces together. Believe me, I want a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit. I want to see many people saved, including most of my family. I pray for that every day. But what would cause such a huge move of repentance? Remember 9-1-1? How all the churches were full and how even our congressmen stood on the steps of the Capitol and recited the Scripture? How long did that last? What about when Covid started? Has that caused a great revival in the world? It is my personal opinion that more disasters will not cause people to fall on their knees before God and repent (which is the only thing that will initiate an outpouring of the Holy Spirit)  

The only thing that, to me, would cause such a huge move of repentance would be the rapture of the Bride. Just imagine what all your unsaved family members and friends would do when you are suddenly gone, especially if you've told them over and over about Jesus and about the rapture, or you've left them Left Behind letters. They aren't going to believe the narrative that aliens kidnapped us. Think about all the lukewarm believers whom Jesus says He will spit out of His mouth? They will know exactly what happened. All these people are going to fall on their knees and repent, truly commit their lives to the Lord, and never look back. These are the multitudes mentioned in Revelation.. the Tribulation Saints.

Therefore, I believe there will be a Great Outpouring of the Holy Spirit and Great Revival AFTER the rapture. Nothing else makes sense to me. And one more thing. I clearly heard the Lord tell me during one of the times I was expressing my frustration, "Why are you listening to men? Listen only to Me."  Good point. 

Sorry, I know this is long. If you're still with me, no, we may never know the exact week or month of the rapture, which is fine by me, but the Apostle Paul said it would not catch us off guard. In other words, we would be well aware that we were close. 

 

But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.  1 thess 5:1-6

And based off everything I see happening in the world, I believe we are close. Weeks, months, years? I don't know, but in all honestly, I don't see how we have years. I could be wrong, but don't lose hope. Keep looking up. Keep telling your friends and family that Jesus is coming back soon and they'd better be ready. So what if they think you are nuts. You are in good company. Some of the greatest people who ever lived have been labeled crazy, including Jesus Himself.