by Ron Graham
5/3/2012
“For
I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye
should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to
Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”
Romans
11:25.
To many
Christians, endlessly attempting to set a date for the Harpazō (Rapture of the
saints) has become an obsession. I’m going to do something different; I’m going
to explain why the Rapture hasn’t occurred. As Paul makes it plain in the verse
above, there will be no Harpazō until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in.
It’s important to understand that until the exact number of Gentiles makes up
the completeness of the Ekklesia (assembly of the called out), we will remain on
this planet in these corrupted bodies.
Since God alone
possesses the knowledge of the timing of the completeness, or fullness, of the
Gentile Ekklesia there is nothing more important for us to concern ourselves
with than Christ’s command to His followers. “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and
preach the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15. The emphasis of our Messiah’s
command here is not on the word “go”, but on the word “preach”; evangelism is
the goal and a major key to bringing about the fullness of the Gentile Ekklesia.
Because
Christians are so ready for the Harpazō to occur they pick and choose dates,
many times to the exclusion of all else hoping that they can move up the date of
that awesome event. Sadly, while the followers of Messiah Jesus become more
focused on the Rapture, the lost world just keeps on rolling down that wide
destructive path that leads to Hell – unabated.
Here’s an
example of what I mean by “unabated”. In many parts of the U.S. there are
special turnouts on highways designed for those big rigs that have lost their
brakes. These turnouts are positioned on steep downgrades so the drivers who
have their wits about them can guide these big rigs onto one of these special
graveled turnouts and avoid the destruction of themselves, their equipment, and
others that might be in their path. In the same sense, we, the followers of
Messiah Jesus, are positioned along the highways of life armed with the Gospel
of hope. We are the special “turnouts” positioned just off that highway which
leads to destruction. We were designated by God to station ourselves alongside
those who have embarked on that avenue of no return which leads to Hell. If we
aren’t there for those who are lost, that highway is left wide open without any
barriers for those folks to avoid destruction (damnation).
“Wherefore
comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:18. As Paul explained the
Rapture of the Ekklesia to the Thessalonians, he wanted them to find comfort in
knowing that that awesome event would occur soon. Can you imagine what would
have happened if all Christians stopped witnessing back in Paul’s day because of
their belief in the nearness of the Rapture? Some did just that and he had to
correct them to get them back into the evangelistic mode.
Over the years
since I’ve turned my life over to Messiah Jesus I’ve seen many predictions by
folks who attempt to set dates regarding the coming Rapture, both public and
subtly laid between the lines of commentaries. Whether their date setting is
intentional or not, they are all contrived predictions and nothing more than
deceptions. This all leads to more conjecture on the part of the saints who are
now growing more and more impatient as they anticipate the Rapture. When it
happens it happens, ‘til then we’ve got work to do.
It would be best for the Ekklesia of
Christ to saddle themselves with the business of the Father, diligently seeking
to do His will instead of continually pondering an event that will occur when we
least expect it. There are many dead people walking around who need to know
Jesus, or tomorrow they may wake in Hell. Way too many Christians spend their
time seeking the time frame for the Rapture or bicker with each other about
whether or not the Rapture is Biblical. While they are distracted by such things
they ignore their responsibility to be the light of the world.
The lost of this world are consumed
with the day and have no idea about the lateness of the hour, nor do they care.
This foolish attitude of the lost discourages many saints and too often those
who were excited about evangelism turn to other things to console themselves
because of so much rejection of Christ’s message. Too many saints turn from
evangelism to other focuses with the attitude that someone else will do the
evangelism and the witnessing as they pursue more noble tasks. Perhaps their
message is rejected because they lack biblical knowledge, they are unprepared
scripturally.
“Henceforth
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also
that love his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:8. We should all long for
Messiah’s appearing, but notice Paul isn’t advocating sitting in our homes
staring out the window at the sky in anticipation of that great event.
Jesus
gave us a job to do and it is the most important job associated with our walk
with Him. It is not our job to go out and drag people into worship halls simply
to fill the pews, but to enlighten everyone we can of the truth of the Gospel of
Christ. “Go ye therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded
you…” Matthew
28:19-20a.
There’s a lot more to this verse than meets the eye. We
are not only to preach the Gospel of Christ (His death burial and resurrection),
but we are to baptize those who believe and to teach them the scriptures. Not an
easy task for those who don’t study their Bible.
I believe God
looks on His children who are apathetic towards the command He gave them (the
preaching His Gospel) as selfish. Believe me, I’m as anxious for the Harpazō as
anyone, but I must be about my Father’s business right up ‘til the end.
Since we
are to be raptured at a point when the fullness of Gentiles is complete, would
it not be much more advantages and productive to be out there on the battle
front preaching the Gospel instead of incessantly dreaming of the Rapture? We
should be helping the Holy Spirit all we can to facilitate that fullness of the
Gentiles mentioned above in anticipation of the last Gentile coming in.
Think of a
sailing vessel that needs a specific number of hands to man the various
positions associated with piloting that ship. They can’t sail until the exact
number of sailors needed has come aboard. That’s what Paul alludes to when he
says “until the fulness of the gentiles
comes in”. The Rapture isn’t going to occur until that last sailor
(gentile) comes on board.
There is no
doubt in my mind that this world is very close to its finale. Living in the
prophesied last days is exciting as well as encouraging – some see it as
frightening.
Every day we watch events unfold that point to the soon return of
our Messiah Jesus and there should be a sense of urgency as to the lateness of
the hour weighing paramount on our minds. A very small amount of discernment is
all that is necessary these days as we watch the current state of world affairs
becoming more and more unstable. This is enough for us to know that Jesus is
coming soon.
The Rapture of
the Ekklesia must occur before Jesus’ Second Advent, and that fact proposes
great expectation in the minds of those who have become adept at understanding
prophecy. Being obsessed with the coming rapture to the exclusion of evangelism
is the same as turning our backs on our Messiah’s command. Just what kind of
ambassadors for Jesus are we when we disregard His command to preach the Gospel
to all nations? If
you’ve helped lead someone to the Lord, praise God, but don’t stop there. After
all, there are many more lost folks wandering aimlessly down that destructive
highway.
“After
this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all
nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and
before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their
hands;” Revelation 7:9.
There will be many ways in
which God will send His Gospel message to the lost after the Rapture and many
will come to a saving faith in Christ during that time. But there will be a gap
between the Rapture and the proclaiming of the Gospel, and those who die during
that gap will most likely die in unbelief.
Therefore it is
imperative that we, the Ekklesia of Christ, preach the Gospel to everyone we can
NOW. No matter how much we might disagree with another person for their choice
of lifestyle or the abuse they’ve laid on us personally, we do not have the
luxury to pick and choose who we witness to. Tell them all exactly what Jesus
did for them, and plead with them if necessary, that their hearts might be
softened and they might see the truth before it is too late. The Holy Spirit is
hard at work convicting these folks; we too, should work hard at doing our
part.
There is a verse
that is used quite often by many commentators as they write about the last days.
It’s invariably used as a closure to their articles. “And when these things begin to come to pass, then
look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”
Luke 21:28.
Actually, if you study
the context of the entire chapter Jesus is warning the Jews of the impending
destruction coming at the end of the Tribulation week. The Ekklesia of Messiah
Jesus won’t be here to lift up their heads as we will have already departed
planet earth via the Rapture. The insistence on the use of this verse, as a
gesture to calm the tide of apprehension, has given rise to a form of apathy.
The problem is that many have become so focused on the Rapture event that they
have ceased all preaching of the Gospel.
I’m always
thrilled when some of my readership tells me they’ve passed my commentaries on
to others, whether it be to those on their email list or they’ve printed them
off and mailed them to others. Some of you have even asked if it is alright with
me that you do this. Please, pass them on to as many as you can, they are Holy
Spirit inspired words and all glory is given to God. If you have no other way to
contact the outside world with the truth, then a great way to preach is to send
these commentaries on to everyone you can. If I can help from here let me know,
I love answering questions about my Lord and Savior.
“If
ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15. That’s the question at the
heart of the matter of evangelism. Do you love Him? Do you love Him enough to
keep His commandments?
Prophecy is exciting and a great study, and there is much
to learn. We’ve studied and learned of the Harpazō and that it is imminent,
which means it can occur at any moment. There is nothing standing in the way of
that awesome event except possibly that one person God has been putting on your
heart to seek and speak to. Go get ‘em.
God bless you
all,
Ron
Graham
All
scripture is “theopneustos” God breathed
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bless
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NOTE from CMR________________________________
Ron Graham is one of my favorites, one of the few that I can proudly put on my blog without reading the article first ... of course, I can never resist reading it - and wouldn't miss it for anything! It often speaks to my own spirit and convicts and holds me more accountable. I need that. Thanks, Ron.
Compliments of
ROYAL HEIR