I Am Preparing a Place for You!

 Do not let your heart be troubled (afraid, cowardly). Believe [confidently] in God and trust in Him, [have faith, hold on to it, rely on it, keep going and] believe also in Me.  In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you.3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and I will take you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also.  John 14:1-3 

 

Many people don't look at this as a rapture verse but it is!  Our eternal home is not in heaven!  Those of us who will be raptured will only be there 7 years before we return with Jesus to Earth where He will set up His Kingdom here and we will rule and reign with Him. So if the rapture isn't until after the Tribulation OR if there is no rapture, why would Jesus tell us that He is preparing a home for us in Heaven and that He will come and get us and take us there to be with Him??  

The Lord is not a liar. He is true to His Word. All His promises (including the rapture) in His Word will come True!

Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am [actively] watching over My word to fulfill it.” Jeremiah 1:12

“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken and will He not make it good and fulfill it? Numbers 23:19

So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; It will not return to Me void (useless, without result), Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11

 

So you can bank on the following

 

For we say this to you by the Lord’s [own] word, that we who are still alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will in no way precede [into His presence] those [believers] who have fallen asleep [in death]. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel and with the [blast of the] trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain on the earth will simultaneously be caught up together with them [the resurrected ones] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord! 1 Thess 4:15-17

So, when, when will this happen? We always hear that no man knows the day or hour but listen to what the Scripture says:

But you, believers, are not in spiritual darkness nor held by its power, that the day of judgment would overtake you by surprise like a thief;  for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We do not belong to the night nor to darkness. 1 Thess 5:4-5

We know we are in  the season! We see the tidal wave on the horizon. I don't know about you but I sense the evil surrounding me like a mighty demonic army. It's heavy in the air. But what I also sense is God's Holy Warrior Angels keeping them at bay!

 

So [the Syrian king] sent there horses, chariots, and a great army. They came by night and surrounded the city. When the servant of the man of God rose early and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was around the city. Elisha’s servant said to him, Alas, my master! What shall we do? [Elisha] answered, Fear not; for those with us are more than those with them.  Then Elisha prayed, Lord, I pray You, open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.  2 Kings 6 14-17

 

Fear not [there is nothing to fear], for I am with you; do not look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties, yes, I will help you; yes, I will hold you up and retain you with My [victorious] right hand of rightness and justice. Isaiah 41:10

So, don't live in fear. Live in hope. Believe that the Lord is coming and will deliver you!  He promises it in his Word. The problem is most Christians either don't know the Word or don't believe it. You must Know the Word first or how will you know what to believe when the time comes?  You must also be walking in the Spirit and following Jesus. The Lord is not obligated to protect or provide for wayward or lukewarm kids, though He often does in His Great Mercy! 

How then shall we live until He comes?

 

The Apostle Paul gives us a good list in 1 Thess 5 after he talks about the rapture. I encourage you to look it up yourself, but here's a summary. I'm going to print this off and place it somewhere where I can read it every day.

1. Encourage one another
2. Respect and appreciate the work of your spiritual leaders
3. Warn the lukewarm and unruly
4. Encourage the Timid
5. Support the Weak
6. Be Patient with everyone
7. Do not repay evil for evil
8. Do good to everyone
9. Rejoice in the Lord and be happy 
10. Be unceasing in prayer
11. Thank God for everything, no matter the circumstances
    
12. Do not quench the Holy Spirit
13. Do not spur the gifts of the Spirit or utterances of the Prophets
14. Test and prove all things 
15. Abstain from evil in whatever form it takes
    

 

And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through separate you from profane things, make you pure and wholly consecrated to God; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved sound and complete and found blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ the Messiah.
Faithful is He Who is calling you to Himself and utterly trustworthy, and He will also do it fulfill His call by hallowing and keeping you.  1 Thess 5:23-24