The Daily Word of Righteousness

First Corinthians, Fifteen, #26

Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins. (Isaiah 58:1—NIV)

Ask the Lord if there is to be a "rapture" any moment, or if His people are to arm themselves to stand in the evil day.

You will never hear the Lord in the spirit of prophecy speak of a "rapture" to Heaven—never! The "rapture" is a mental concept. It is not of the Spirit of God. Let the prophets judge what we are saying here.

Judgment is in the land. Are we going to warn the people, or do we choose instead to be a false prophet? If we choose to continue as a false prophet, they will die in their sins but their blood will be on our hands.

The general resurrection from the dead will take place at the end of the thousand-year Kingdom Age. At that time every person will give an account of Himself to the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul spoke of the earlier resurrection, that is, of the resurrection that will take place when the Lord returns.

If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection [out-resurrection] of [from] the dead. (Philippians 3:11)

It appears to us that those who are to participate in the first resurrection, the resurrection of the royal priesthood, will follow a somewhat different procedure.

Since their "sentence" is to be ever with the Lord it is not likely that they will return with the Lord, enter their body, stand before Him, and then receive a body full of corruption.

We think that Paul, as He was seeking to attain to the "out-resurrection," was striving to insure that His "house from heaven" would be blameless.

If we are correct in this, then it is true that we can enter into the process of judgment now. We can wash our heavenly robe in the blood of the Lamb as we confess our sins and, by God's help, turn away from them. We can gain victory over the world, Satan, the lusts and appetites of our flesh, and our self-will and self-centeredness.

Then the Lord, when He comes, will bring with Him a robe of such spotless purity, such freedom from worldliness, lust, and rebellion, that we shall be amply prepared to ascend to meet Him in the air and take our place as one of His warriors and kings.

We find that the aged Paul, after many notable works in the Kingdom, still was seeking to attain the out-resurrection. Since this was the case, perhaps we need to review our own standing before the Lord.

It is time now for God's people to turn again to the Book of the Law, so to speak. It is an "Ezra" time of weeping and separating ourselves from the "wives" (doctrines) we have married. It is a time of rain, the latter rain, that God is ready to pour out on a repentant Church.

Some of us have been Christians for many years. Let us tell the young people, the "Joshua generation," of the glory of God we have seen in time past. Let us inspire them to press forward to the Divine Glory ready to be manifested in our day. If we will do this we will discover that we are in the "time of the latter rain," the era of a Christian witness of unprecedented authority and glory that will prepare the world for the coming of the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords—the Lord Jesus Christ. (from First Corinthians, Chapter Fifteen)