Daily Devotional, Year 3 – July 30 (The Time of Jacob’s Trouble, Part 9: “Rapture-Ready, or Earthly-Entangled?”)
By admin On February 16th, 2021.
.
Daily Devotional, Year 3 – July 30
.
.
.
.
The Time of Jacob’s Trouble,
.
Part 9:
“Rapture-Ready, or Earthly-Entangled?”
To read Part 1, click here…July 13th (Jacob’s Trouble, Part 1: Alone With God)
.
.
.
.
.
“R-U-RED-E?”
.
.
.
Have you seen the above bumper-sticker? It actually is a clever way of saying, “Are you ready (for the Rapture)?”
.
Global Warning – cropped image – Christ Coming by Julian Osley – Wikimedia – Share Alike License
.
.
.
.
.
“THOU HAST A NAME THAT THOU LIVEST, AND ART DEAD!”
Revelation 3:1
.
Yes, there are many folks today, who like to think that, “I am Rapture-ready!” There are even some ministries which incorporate this popular saying, “Rapture-ready”, into their ministry’s formal title.
.
And if one listens to various radio and television ministries, this phrase, “Rapture-Ready” is often heard.
.
Second Coming – Resurrection Morning – Jan Luyken – Bible – Wikipedia – US Public Domain (2)
.
.
.
.
.
But is today’s Church community truly, “Rapture-Ready”?
.
If Jesus were to return today, how many of us would actually be ready to leave earth?
.
Question Marks – At a loss – svg – Wikimedia Commons – Share-Alike License
.
.
.
.
.
“YE SHALL NOT ADD UNTO THE WORD…”
Dueteronomy 4:2
.
Well, this website has many articles which debunk this unscriptural name, “The Rapture”.
.
And instead, this website attempts to exalt the proper, God-given name, “The Coming of the Lord”.
.
It is so critically important to not side-step around what God has named, and invent our own terminology, especially a name that carries with it so much theological baggage, as does the name, “The Rapture”.
.
.
.
.
.
“IN SUCH AN HOUR AS YE THINK NOT, THE SON OF MAN COMETH!”
Matthew 24:44
.
But for the sake of today’s devotional, let’s suppose for a moment that “The Rapture” was actually a biblical name!
.
And let’s also suppose that the “Pre-Tribulation Rapture” was actually a true doctrine! (which it’s not!)
.
And with such a theological leap, let’s ask the question, “Am I truly ‘Rapture-Ready’?”
.
Well, are we? Are we actually Rapture-Ready? Are we truly prepared to meet the Lord if He were to return today?
.
.
.
.
.
.
“WE ARE NOT SAVED!”
.
In the prophecy of Isaiah, there is a very unnerving statement concerning these last moments of time…“The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” Isaiah 8:20
.
Now, many would immediately answer, “Oh, but this verse doesn’t apply to the Church! This only applies to Israel, or perhaps it only applies to those apostate Christians over there!”
.
.
.
.
.
“ITCHING EARS”
.
But listen to Paul’s assessment of the condition of the churches in the last
days…“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” 2nd Timothy 4:3, 4
.
And to this above passage, the same crowd will answer, “Oh, no, no, no! This passage does not apply to us! This prophecy only concerns those churches which exist during the future Great Tribulation, after we have been already Raptured out of the earth!”
.
Audience hands – cropped & altered – Wikimedia – Universal Public Domain
.
.
.
.
.
“EXAMINE YOURSELVES…PROVE YOUR OWN SELVES!”
2nd Corinthians 13:5
.
And so, this is the problem: the Christian community, for the most part, is unwilling to seriously examine our true condition and true standing with God!
.
But if we did, we just might be appalled and distraught to discover our undone and apostate condition!
.
Prayer – USMC – Wikimedia – US Govt. Public Domain
.
.
.
.
.
“PURIFY YOUR HEARTS YE DOUBLE-MINDED!”
James 4:8
.
In the first place, we must consider what the Lord requires from His professed followers in these last moments before His return…“but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.” 1st John 3:2, 3
.
Here we have a very greatly ignored Bible command: to purify our hearts even as Jesus is pure!
.
USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain
.
.
.
.
.
“GAIN THE…WORLD, AND LOSE HIS…SOUL?”
Mark 8:36
.
But is this what the Church is doing? Are God’s people actually purifying our hearts, even as Jesus is pure?
.
Or have we gone backward into this selfish world? Have we not slighted our commission to, “walk, even as He (Jesus) walked?” (1st John 2:6)
.
Have we not mostly traded away our heavenly pursuit, for the vain pursuits of this present world?
.
Just look at the statistics! Take notice that surveys have shown that Bible ignorance is at an all-time high! Statistics also show that divorce and re-marriage are also at an all-time high in the Christian community!
.
.
.
.
.
THE ‘CARES OF THIS LIFE’
Luke 21:34
.
And let’s face it! There are so many earthly pursuits which have all but paralyzed Christians: clubs, careers, comedians, television, radio, Internet, magazines, novels, newspapers, lavish resorts, bigger houses, nicer cars, faster boats & sports vehicles, amusements, politics, parties, social and family engagements, “the entrepreneurial spirit”, “The American Dream”, hobbies, games, and a wide variety of similar pursuits!
.
Oh, perhaps a few of these aforementioned pursuits might not be so bad, especially for the unsaved world.
.
But when these pursuits combine, they rob Christians of time, energy, and heavenly desire.
.
And as a result, they begin to eclipse our 100% devotion to the work of God!
.
.
.
.
.
“WORKS OF THE FLESH ARE MANIFEST”
Galatians 5:19
.
And because the Church has so greatly ignored our great commission to purify
our hearts into His likeness, our character shows the tell-tale signs of our undone spiritual condition!
.
We are perhaps, quick-tempered, and argumentative.
.
We may have returned to drinking, partying, etc…
.
Or we still are enslaved to our appetites and worldly fashions.
.
Or we mock and criticize those with whom we are at odds.
.
Or we cuss, or engage in foolish talk and jesting.
.
Or we are so absorbed with politics or some other worldly interest, that our
conversations with others usually swerves to one of those earthly topics.
.
Or we are no longer able to engage in unceasing prayer and Bible study and constant meditation on Scripture.
.
Or we end up in divorce or re-marriage, because we didn’t truly value our 
marriage, nor exemplify Christ into our everyday behavior.
.
Or we are constantly falling into lust of one kind or another.
.
Hands Toasting Drinks – Cheers! cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
Gluttony – cropped and colored image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
Anger during a protest by David Shankbone – cropped image – Wikimedia – Share-alike License
.
.
.
.
.
If the Church is ever going to truly be ready for Christ’s return, we
must put away all earthly and sensual behavior and put on Christ!
.
Yes, to “put on Christ” should be our all-consuming, moment-by-moment passion!
.
Exclamation Mark – Wikimedia – Public Domain
.
.
.
.
.
GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY!
Proverbs 25:25
.
The Good News is, that God has graciously allowed the Christian a little more time to put away these earthly entanglements, and “order his conversation aright”! (Psalm 50:23)
.
Listen once again to another of Isaiah’s prophecy concerning these last moments…“In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth.” Isaiah 2:20, 21
.
This above passage will be fulfilled when God’s people finally realize that our love of this present selfish world is preventing us from fulfilling our God-given commission to purify our hearts from all our double-minded pursuits.
.
Picture – Lot Escapes Sodom – www.thebiblerevival.com offers free Bible clipart – Public Domain.
.
.
.
.
.
TO READ PART 10, CLICK HERE…
April 29 (The Time of Jacob’s Trouble, Part 10: “Peter’s Conversion”)
St Peter – Brandl – 1724 – National Gallery Prague – Wikimedia Commons – Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license
.
.
.
.
.
.
TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Help me to put away my vain pursuits, that I may devote my life to Thee….
Prayer-for-USA-Wikimedia–300×192
.
.
.
.
READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read…July 13th (Jacob’s Trouble, Part 1: Alone With God)“, or you can also read… July 13 (The Two Spirits In The World, Part 3: “The Two Fountains of Pleasures!”)
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
.
.
.
.
THE END
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN
.
.
.
VALLEY OF DECISION CONSTELLATION
.
SO WHERE ARE THE “MULTITUDES”?…
.
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,” Isaiah 2:2, 3
.
.
So where are the multitudes in this constellation? Well if you look at this sketch to the right, carefully, you will see an ENTIRE GALAXY making a slow trek up the steep slope toward the summit of one of the mountains. It is the mountain which is to the north in this sketch. This is the galaxy commonly called Andromeda. It is estimated to have possibly a trillion stars! Is a trillion stars a big enough multitude? Oh yes! Listen to God talking to Abraham…
.
“And He (God) brought him (Abraham) forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and He said unto him, So shall thy seed be.” Genesis 15:5
.
.
But this mountain in which this multitude of stars is climbing represents a very awesome and wonderful Bible concept. This mountain in Scripture is known as Mount Zion. And it is also known as the Mount of Blessing. It represents that spiritual mountain which Believers must climb, in order to reach the City of God.
.
Listen to Scripture… “But ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living 
God, the heavenly Jerusalem…To the…church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven…” Hebrews 12:22, 23.
.
Well it sure seems that this verse is correct when it says the words… “which are written in heaven”! Because this galaxy in this constellation group is a wonderful picture of the Church as it makes it trek to the summit of this starry mountain; a picture of God’s Church…His faithful people…written in the heavens. These are the Signs of Heaven, promised long ago to be revealed before that “great and terrible Day of the Lord”…
.
“And I will show WONDERS IN THE HEAVENS and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.” Joel
.
Andromeda Galaxy – Adam Evans & Wikipedia – Share-Alike License
(Joel 2:30, 31 Drawing of Abraham counting stars wikipedia public domain. Click here for full size. Andromeda Galaxy by Adam & Wikipedia share-alike license)
.
.
.
.
READ MORE…
The ‘Valley of Decision’ Constellation
.
.
.
.
.
.
TOMORROW:
July 31 (Finding Perfect Peace, Pt. 9, “Living By God’s Precious Promises”)
ABOVE PICTURE: Holy Bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Lic.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
20+ MINUTE AUDIO STUDY IN JEREMIAH 
.
ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.
.
THIS STUDY #209 IS PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…
.
above picture: Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain
.
.
Those who are interested in using photos on this page may click on provided link below each photo, to get to Wikimedia Commons for various licensing names, details, and tags, and all other necessary info on any particular photo. Most tall, narrow photos have been cropped or reduced by this website to make them a better fit on phone screens.