Israel and the Rapture

What does Israel have to do with the rapture? Well, Israel is God’s timepiece so to speak. We can look at Israel and determine where we are on the prophetic timeline.

The State of Israel is established

On May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel. U.S. President Harry S. Truman recognized the new nation on the same day. Since that day, Israel has been at war. They’ve been in a hot war, cold war, or defending against terrorism since May 14, 1948.

The Prophetic Timeclock

If current events lead to a time of peace in Israel the prophetic timeclock will have moved an hour closer to rapture! If the defeat of Iranian proxies Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis is accomplished and peace is established in Israel the Day of the Lord and Rapture is at hand! 1 Thess. Chapter 5:2 & 3 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night [Rapture]. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction [tribulation period] comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.

Unholy alliance

In 2 Chronicles chapter 18 Jehoshaphat entered into an un-holy alliance with Ahab which almost cost him his life. Only his shout to the Lord saved him. Israel will once again enter into an un-holy alliance with the world. Daniel 9:27 Then he [Antichrist] shall confirm a covenant with many for one week. But in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate. Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.

Israel is delivered

Israel will again shout out to the Lord and be supernaturally protected during this one week [seven year] period. Rev. 12;15-17 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood.

But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Enemy from the far north

In Ezekiel 38:11 an enemy from the far north will invade Israel during a time of peace. Ezekiel 38:22 The Lord will bring judgement upon this invading enemy from the far north and save Israel once again!

Rapture and the great tribulation period

This time of peace in Israel coincides with rapture and the beginning of the great tribulation. 1 Thess. Chapter 5:2 & 3] For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night [Rapture]. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction [tribulation period] comes upon them. As labor pains upon a pregnant woman. Rapture happens before the great tribulation begins. 1 Thess. 5:9-11 For God did not appoint us to wrath [the great tribulation period], but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ [Rapture]. Who died for us, that whether we wake [live] or sleep [dead], we should live [Rapture] [1 Thess. 4:16] together with Him. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

1 Thess. 4:16-18 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. [Rapture] And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

Luke 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. [Rapture]

What does it mean to BELIEVE?

 

Highlight

Acts 13:48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. What does it mean to believe?

Explanation

God chose some before the foundation of the world to be in Christ. Eph 1:4 & 5. He also said that whoever believes in Jesus shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16. So whether we've been appointed for eternal life or not, it doesn't matter, we all have opportunity to repent, believe in Jesus, and to be saved!

Application

To believe in Jesus is more than just a mental acknowledgement. According to the Amplified bible, believe means to trust in, rely upon, and cling to. Here's the exact reading of John 3:16 from the Greek manuscript.

Because, God has Loved in such a manner the satan's world, so that He Gave His Son, the only Begotten Risen Christ, in order that whoever is Continuously by his choice Committing for the Result and Purpose of Him, should not perish, but definitely should, by his choice, be Continuously Having Eternal Life. [Committing means putting your entire being under the orders of another.]

So, if we believe in someone, then we should express that belief by doing what they ask us to do. We should put our entire being under the orders of that person.

The bible contains examples of people who believe in a shallow way, merely mentally acknowledging Jesus and not putting themselves under His authority.

Simon believed and was baptized. Acts 8:13. Even though he believed and was baptized, Peter told him he better repent because he was full of bitterness and captive to sin. And perhaps the Lord would forgive him. (If repentance was genuine) Acts 8:22.

Response

Lord, help us to realize that to believe in Jesus is more than just a mental acknowledgment of who He is. To believe in Jesus means to trust in, rely upon, and to cling to Him. To believe means to put myself under His authority and keep His commandments.

A New You

Because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, there needs to be a new you! Romans 3:23

Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way, death came to all people, because all sinned

John 3:3 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”

We’ve all sinned

We’ve all sinned, according to Romans 3:23 & 5:12. Jesus said flesh gives birth to flesh. We’re born into this condition. Jesus said unless we’re born again, we will not enter the kingdom of God. We all have a natural birth. Ie, flesh. This is natural birth from our mothers. But what is “born of the Spirit"?

We need a personal relationship with Jesus

In Acts 8:12 The people of Samaria believed Philip when he proclaimed Christ, and they were baptized. But the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them! Acts 8:16. They had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. So, they listened and accepted the message, performed all the motions, but they had not entered into a personal relationship with the Lord via the Holy Spirit.

Simon believed and was baptized. Acts 8:13. Even though he believed and was baptized, Peter told him he better repent because he was full of bitterness and captive to sin. And perhaps the Lord would forgive him. (If repentance was genuine) Acts 8:22.

Believe Jesus

We need to get past all of our own ideas about who God is and how He interacts with His creation. We need to start believing Jesus and what He says about God and His creation. To Believe is more than a mental acknowledgement. Believe means to trust in, rely on, and cling to. (Amp) If we believe in someone, then we should probably express that belief by doing what they ask us to do.

Experience Jesus

The Samaritans experienced this personal relationship with Jesus by the laying on of hands of Peter and John. We can experience this personal relationship with Jesus by keeping His commandments.

John 14:15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever. (Holy Spirit)

17 The Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. (Via the Holy Spirit)

Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. _Jesus

Saved by Grace or by Works?

 Luke Chapters 11-15. We should just skip these chapters. Jesus is demanding too much of us! We have to repent or perish. Our relationship with Him has to be more important than any other relationship or thing in this life. We have to hate mother, father, wife, husband, children, etc. We need to humble ourselves. We must consider the cost of following Him. We have to give up everything or we cannot be His disciples.

Following Him has to be a lifetime decision. There is no turning back! We must forgive others of their sins, or we won't be forgiven. We have to not only hear the word of God, but also obey it. We need to fear Him who has the power to cast us into hell. If we blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, we will not be forgiven. We must confess Him before men. We have to guard against greed. We need to watch and be ready for His return. We have to enter in through the narrow door. My question is, doesn't Jesus understand Eph. 2:8-9? Which says, we're saved by grace not by works?

Ephesians 2:8-2:9

Eph. 2:8-2:9 has been mis-used and abused by the church. It means that without Jesus' work at the cross, we'd all be going to hell. There's no work we could have done to prevent that. So, there's no boasting. We need to repent and accept what He did for us. He provided the way for us to have a relationship with the living God who created all that is. But that doesn't let us off the hook. We have to keep His commandments. The church has used Eph. 2:8-9 to water down Jesus' words. "We can't do what Jesus told us to do because we're all sinners, but we are saved by grace and not by works so it's OK."

Let's just make a pledge, take an oath, make a commitment, or promise to do what He wants us to do. That will be sufficient! But Jesus said you can't make one hair black or white! Matt. 5:33. What makes you think that your pledge is going to help you. Your pledge is evil! I'm the only one that can help you. Keep my commandments! But I try and I fail. That's exactly the point. I want to keep His commands, but I can't do it. I need to confess that I can't do it and that I need Jesus to change me! I need him to make me into a new creation that is able to keep his commandments.

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Luke 11:28 He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” Again, are we saved by grace or by works? Because obeying Him is work. (But it's not work if your born again. It's a light yoke. It's blessed rest and recreation to your soul!) That's the key.
Explanation – When we not only hear what the Lord is saying to us, but also obey what He is saying, we cultivate our relationship with the Lord. We enhance that relationship. Thus, blessing is encountered because of the doing and not just the hearing.

Application

Obeying is work. But we’re saved by grace, not by works. Eph. 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. This means that we don’t deserve salvation! We’ve all fallen short of God’s standard. Jesus fulfilled that standard and was sacrificed on the cross. He took all of our sins and failures upon Himself! Jesus set us free! We were unable to set ourselves free from the bondage of sin. (So, there is no boasting!)

If the ultimate blessing of being saved is free, why should one be concerned with works and further blessing? Well, because Jesus said so. Matt. 7:24-27. Build on the Rock. Matt. 25:14-30, the parable of the talents. John 14:15, “If you love me, keep my commands.” 1 John 2:3-5. 3 We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. These sayings all involve work and relationship!
And again, Verse 4, Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. Again, this is work!
5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: This is how we have assurance. This is how we can have eternal security!

Keep His Commands

Initially, I started trying to keep His commandments because I didn't want to go to hell. After I was saved and baptized, I tried to keep His commandments because I wanted to be religious and do what unsaved people weren't doing. But I couldn't do it. I tried and failed! That's exactly the point. We can't keep His commandments. It's impossible to do it on our own, with our own strength. Trying to keep His commands makes one realize that without His help, one can do nothing.

This drives a person to repentance and confession. Confession goes like this; Lord, forgive me. I've failed to keep your commands. I want to keep them, but I can't do it without your help. If it's going to happen, you have to do something in me. You have to change me. I need to be born of a new nature. I need to be born again! Please install this new nature within me Lord so I can do what you ask me to do and grow in my relationship with you! Help me to love you with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength. Help me to keep your commands.

So, His commands firstly help one to realize that without Him one can do nothing. They drive one to confession and repentance and into the arms of His mercy and grace. This then enables Jesus to install a new nature into said person. Now, one is able to Love Jesus with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength and keep His commandments and grow in their relationship with Him!

Response

So, initial salvation is free of charge. All we need to do is confess and repent. But I want to grow in my relationship with Jesus, which involves work. I want to grow in my relationship with Him because I love Him. Just like Jesus said in John 14:15. If you love me, keep my commands. In other words, what's my motive for doing the works? Why do I keep His commands? I keep them because I love Jesus. I love Him because He died for me on the cross. I’m thankful for that wonderful work that He accomplished on my behalf. Doing works for any other reason than that requires a motive check and reset, if necessary.

I keep His commands because He's enabled me to do it. He's given me a new nature. He's changed me! This is a light yoke and easy to be born, being that I have a new nature. This is blessed rest and recreation to my soul! Matt. 28-30.

Then, I need to ask myself (because keeping His commands is directly related to my love for Jesus), Is it possible to be saved and not love Jesus? Is it possible to be saved and not have a relationship with Jesus? Well maybe, initially. But we need to grow in our relationship with Him so that we can participate in the wedding feast. We need to cloth ourselves with the proper wedding garments. Matt. 22:10-14.