In the last post, we talked about the possibility of an event I call the Revival of Unity to be at our doorstep. If this is indeed true, it means we are on the verge of something unprecedented, exciting, and beyond our current comprehension. And if so, what does this mean for us?

We should not assume restrictions upon God or assume he will work in a certain way. We need to be open to what God will do without limiting our mind on what he will do. We need to be on his page and not expect him to be on ours. Only then are we free to be in his will and be a part of his ultimate plan for us and for the world.

And how do we then prepare for this? Well, whether one believes it is time for the Rapture or time for a Great Harvest of Souls, our response should be the same. We need to lift our fellow believers up to God in prayer and ask God to empower all his children. We need to pray within the armor of God, resist the devil, and pray for God’s favor. We should remind ourselves that our battle is a spiritual one and fight on our knees. We should pray for God’s will to be done and not what we wish to have done. We need to let our hearts be open to however he desires to work and whatever character of his he wishes to express. Bottom line: Armor up and yield yourself to the Holy Spirit.

Here is a poem that expresses these thoughts and wishes:

Armor Up

Heavenly Father, our world has become a confusing place.

Yet, your Word has told us of the coming of such a thing.

We believe a paradigm shift is coming, and at a feverish pace.

Similar to that at your first coming – this truth in our heart does ring.

Many were unprepared for your first arrival and what they had to face.

We want to operate with you during this time and what you will bring.

Help us not to hinder in how you will work to extend your grace.

May all darts of our enemy fail and allow your truth through us to sing.

Let us rest in you and allow our shield of faith against those darts to brace.

May the helmet of our salvation cause our minds to focus on you, our king.

And our breastplates of righteousness forge ahead battling for truth in our race.

May our shoes, the gospel of peace, bring knowledge swiftly of you as if on a wing.

Allow us to battle with the Sword of the Spirit, your very words we embrace,

Which stand the test of time and their truth for eternity will ring.

Keep our hearts and minds open to you as we grow in love and grace.

Causing our faith to deepen despite the enemy from all sides pressing.

Your peace dispels the darkness even in the valley giving it no space.

Your light abolishes despair and anguish for your brilliance is so piercing.

In you there is no darkness; none at all – not even a trace.

All becomes clear if we rest in you and to your truth we cling.

Thank you, Father, for your faithfulness, your Word, and your Son

Who gives us relationship which for us you have forever won.

--Randy C. Dockens--

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

In my last post I showed how the church has gone the same route as did Israel in creating disunity within its ranks and structure. Because of this disunity, and because of the increased persecution of Christians around the world, some look forward to the Rapture as a means of rescue. Yet, it may be that God is setting us up for something more foundational: unity with him.

There are two ideas that are currently prominent about what event should occur next according to biblical thinking. One is a Revival of Unity. This makes sense as Christ came to make unity of Israel’s disunity and the unity between himself and us. Now, Christ will make unity of the church before he receives her as his bride. Paul stated that he wanted to present Christ’s church to him in unity in the faith (Ep 4:13) and as a bride without blemish (Ep 2:27). There are things mentioned in Daniel chapter 7, Joel chapters 1 and 2, Habakkuk 2;14, Matthew 24:14, and other places that speak of things happening where things will look and become extremely bleak and almost hopeless, then the Lord steps in suddenly, power is given to his followers, and restoration of many things occur with one of these being unity between God and his church. This allows a revival, a harvest of souls, before Christ finally comes for his own, because these verses state than after these things occur, “then the end will come.”

The other event is the Rapture which we find in 1st Thessalonians 4 and in 1st Corinthians 15. This is a snatching away of those who believe in Jesus Christ so that he can then deal with Israel as a nation and deal with those who have chosen to reject him.

Both events are in Scripture. We should pray for revival and at the same time prepare for his coming. We should never put God in a box and assume he will work a certain way but be prepared to operate in the direction he leads. The order of Revival of Unity and then the Rapture makes sense as it will make a stark contrast between the outcomes before and after this event so people will know the Lord was involved in the disappearance of so many people. Also, this will allow the different beliefs in the Rapture Event to coalesce into one.

There are four different views of the timing of the Rapture: (1) before the Tribulation Period where believers are saved from God’s wrath which has been termed the seven-year Tribulation Period. What defines the timing of God’s wrath is what defines the other views regarding the timing of the Rapture; (2) mid-way during the Tribulation Period, as some believe the second half of the Tribulation Period, termed the Great Tribulation, is God’s Wrath because it is more severe than the first half of this time period; (3) three-quarters during the Tribulation Period, as some believe that the Tribulation is broken up into Man’s wrath, Satan’s Wrath, and God’s Wrath, and only the very last part is considered to be God’s Wrath from which believers will be protected, and (4) no Rapture Event at all. It is possible for these views to collapse into one.

Now if we look at the Time of the Gentiles, that is, the Church Era, it can be divided into four sections:

(1) The Early Church. This was when the Holy Spirit was first given and was allowed to work miraculously causing many to accept Christ as their Savior and they could then replicate what they had seen, heard, and experienced.

(2) The Decline of the Church. Unfortunately, this started not too long after the expansion of the Church throughout the Roman Empire. Greek, Hellenistic, and Gnostic thought processes began to infiltrate biblical interpretation and Church structure. The Church became hierarchical in structure which created an environment for those at the top of this hierarchy to crave power more than Christ. This inhibited the working of the Holy Spirit because those in influential seats of power were not allowing the Holy Spirit to lead them. Anyone who spoke out against them and their hypocrisy revealing that individuals had the power of the Holy Spirit to bring others to Christ rather than relying on the Church organization itself to achieve such a feat were suppressed by those in power, their validity attacked and made out to be heretics, and Church officials had many of these individuals put to death. Therefore, the gifts of the Holy Spirit became suppressed without people now seeking them or even knowing about them.

(3) The Reformation of the Church. This was a reawakening of the Church to many aspects of the Early Church but still with many weights and flaws of the previous hundreds of years by misguided leaders. Satan was quick to jump on this bandwagon to cause doctrinal disputes which split the church into an ever-increasing number of factions. With no one willing to listen to those trying to counter their waywardness and being unwilling to listen to correction or warning, it created more and more factions until, today, there are hundreds of various denominations which cannot get along and which bicker with each other rather than seeing how to unite under Christ.

(4) The Revival of Unity. This is a true reawakening of the Church to the Early Church beliefs and practices. Some call this the Kingdom Age, but I believe it is not so much a new thing, but a returning to something the Church once was. It is believed we will see the Holy Spirit being outpoured in significant ways that will likely jar many as we may again see signs and wonders by the Holy Spirit as a true testament to his power. As in the Early Church, this will lead many to put their faith in Jesus Christ. I can’t say with certainty this is true, but we should not limit what God can, and will, do. What he has done in the past, he can certainly do again. We live in unprecedented times, and I’m sure God will work in unprecedented ways.

The Jewish leaders during the time of Christ had to come to grips with things not going as they believed. We must do the same. By adding in this fourth part of Church history, it becomes obvious as to when God’s Wrath will start, so the three Rapture beliefs coalesce into one timing of the Rapture. Of course, those who do not believe in a Rapture at all would see this fourth part of Church history to move directly into Christ’s second coming. But there is still much prophecy in both the Old and New Testaments that must be fulfilled between the Rapture and Christ’s second coming.

If all of this is true, and it does seem to be supported by Scripture, how are we supposed to prepare for these events? Stay with me, and we’ll discuss this next time.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens