Rev 2:7He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Rev 2:11He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
Rev 2:17He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
Rev 2:29He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Rev 3:6He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Rev 3:13He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Rev 3:22He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Obviously not everyone has ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches....
Many if not most Christians are not looking for the unexpected return of our Lord. They are not watching as the Lord repeatedly commanded us to. Consider the following groups
post-tribulation-not watching for the Lord's unexpected return today
pre-wrath-not watching for the Lord's unexpected return today
mid-trib-not watching for the Lord's unexpected return today
pre-trib-the only group watching for the Lord's unexpected return today (as He commanded us to).
That's one out of 4 groups-25%. And what did the Lord tell us to do-repeatedly?
Mark 13:32But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
33Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
34For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.
35Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
36Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
37And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
Could He be any more clear? Watch for His return, His unexpected return. When? Again, it is very clear-NOW. There is nothing in that passage-nada, zilch, zero that commands us to start watching at some future date. The command is to watch and continue watching for His unexpected return at all times, which means today, now.
More proof of the pre-tribulation rapture of the Church is the very fact that it is widely despised among Christians. That's right. If you want to see people who claim to love Christ get so angry their face turns blue and veins are popping out of their neck in anger-bring up the topic of the pre-tribulation rapture of the Church.
What is the big problem with this group of people who deny the pre-tribulation rapture of the Church? They have not one, but many problems. The first of which is their willful disobedience to do what they were clearly told to do: watch for His unexpected return always.
Luke 21:36Watch 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.
What's another problem? They have stolen the comfort our God clearly intended us to have in these last days concerning His coming:
1 Thess 4:16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
There is no comfort-zero in the Church expecting to enter the tribulation to play hide and seek with the anti-Christ waiting to get our heads chopped off.
The Church is not in the Bible anywhere past Revelation 4. That is an undisputable fact. Here is another fact, there are redeemed and rewarded men in heaven in Revelation 5
Rev 5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
7And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
8And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
9And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
10And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
And now for a bonus that many have not noticed before. In Revelation 2-3, the Churches are called out by name and each of them is told this:
Rev 3:22He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
After Revelation 4 the Churches are mentioned no more. Here's the bonus verse for you today. What does the Lord say in Revelation 13?
Rev 13:8And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
9If any man have an ear, let him hear.
If the Church is on earth, what happened to "let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."
The people who refuse to obey the Lord's clear command to be watching for His unexpected return today have to write 1,000 page e-books to place the Church in the tribulation. They have to explain to us why the Lord "forgot, but really meant to tell us the Church is in the tribulation." Here is a news flash-the Lord does not forget. Nor does He use His Word carelessly.
The tribulation is the time of Jacob's trouble. That too was made very clear and without any ambiguity.
Jer 30:7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.
Not everyone has ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Not everyone is a wise virgin who is prepared and stays prepared for the arrival of the Bridegroom. Not everyone obeys the clear command, repeated over and over again to be watching-NOW-for the unexpected arrival of the Lord.
And some of the best news is we do not have to convince anyone else of our knowledge that the Lord will do what He said He would do and show up for us at an unexpected time (like today). At the end of the tribulation everyone will be looking for Him, today, few are. The people who refuse to watch for His unexpected coming today need to consider what the consequences will be for not watching after repeated warnings to do so.
The purpose in writing this to you today is not so much to bash the disobedient as it is to encourage you. This world is heading quickly toward to the time of Jacob's trouble. Trump's declaration of Jerusalem as Israel's capital brings into clear focus the Lord's work in these last days. The entire world is burdening itself with Jerusalem, aligning themselves against Israel exactly as our Lord told us they would. What does that mean? We need to be ready, not for the anti-Christ, but for Jesus Christ our Lord to show up for us unexpectedly just as He promised He would. Glory to God.
grace and peace
