This morning I was checking the statistics on my blog The Rapture Question, and then decided to skim through the different blogs I had written almost a year ago. In my blog, Order of Events – Part 3, I recommended a book called The Rapture Question, by John F. Walvoord. I linked his book to Amazon.com where it is available for purchase. Just out of interest, I wanted to see what some of the reviews were for this book, so I began reading some of them. Clearly, the rapture issue is a very controversial one and always has been, namely the argument is Will Jesus return before or after the 7 year tribulation prophesied in the book of Revelation in the Bible? People were commenting on the reviews that did not like the book (which argues the pre-tribulation belief) and thought it wasn’t scripturally sound, which I also found astounding that they could say this, since it is a book that is difficult to refute. And the people that didn’t like the book could not and were not pointing out Scripture “in proper context” to soundly refute why Walvoord’s book is not accurate. For one thing, many people believe that in Matthew 24 Jesus is referring to Gentiles and Jews. But here, learned Jew and Gentile scholars of today BOTH believe that Jesus is speaking to the Jews only. And the time He is referring to follows the rapture and is leading up to His Second Return when He delivers His own people (the Jewish nation) in the Battle of Armageddon. In Matthew 24, therefore, He is warning them and showing them the signs to look for before His return.For me, the rapture issue is extremely important because it clearly indicates the nature and relationship of Christ to His beloved Church, which includes every redeemed born-again believer in Christ. To miss this and fail to understand this loving relationship is to fail to understand the very heart and nature of God. In fact, any time someone takes Scripture and either misinterprets it or takes it out of context (the very basis for ALL false cults), I question the source of their information, and whether they have discerned that the Scripture they are arguing is truly consistent with who God says He is. For a few years before I really began walking closely with the Lord, I was open to being deceived. I had Scripture all wrong because my idea of God was all wrong. It wasn’t until the Lord revealed Himself to me that Scripture began to come alive for me. And this is how God reveals His true nature – by revelation of His Word.
In trying to understand Scripture, we must be careful to prayerfully ask the Holy Spirit to reveal His truth to us. In Jesus time, people were confused wondering who Jesus was. Clearly, it had not been revealed to them that He was the Son of God.
Mat 16:13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
Mat 16:14 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
Mat 16:15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
Mat 16:16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Mat 16:17 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. NIV
And if we take a look at John, we have the testimony of one that had seen Jesus and had known Him to be the Savior of the world.
1Jn 4:14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
1Jn 4:15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.
1Jn 4:16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
1Jn 4:17 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. NIV
Notice what the distinguishing mark of a true believer in Christ is in verse 15 and 16:
If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
Many doctrines out there today do not reflect the love of God for His people or His Church and we need to be careful how we interpret Scripture. If we love God and He has revealed His love for us, then we have been given a great gift. For there is no greater revelation than to receive such a priceless gift especially when we could never deserve it. From this knowledge, we should be able to easily discern Scripture whether our interpretation is accurate, and has been revealed to us by God, or another source, ever so subtle, that will not reflect His true character.
