The Daily Word of Righteousness

The True Hope: "Rapture" or Resurrection?, #24

Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (II Thessalonians 1:11,12)

Our hope is that the Lord Jesus will come in the fullness of His power and glory, raise us from the corruption of death, clothe us with a body of glory like His own body, and then fill us with Himself so His glorious coming is multiplied by our coming with Him.

This is the Day of the Lord, the one true coming of the Lord. The Lord will come with His army of righteous saints. The land will be as the garden of Eden before them, filled with the fair works of the flesh. Behind them will be a desolate wilderness as they destroy all that Satan and the self-will of mankind have accomplished.

Then, under the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit, the sons of God will rebuild all that has been ruined by the great tribulation and the wrath of God. All who see them will understand that they are an integral part of God, of God's Christ, and of the holy city of God, the new Jerusalem. This is the royal priesthood, the Bride of the Lamb, the Israel of God.

We are called to reveal the glory of Christ when He appears in the clouds of the heaven. Whether or not we actually are raised from the dead, rise to meet Christ, and are revealed with Christ, depends on how faithfully we pursue our discipleship. If we endure patiently the many tribulations we encounter, holding fast to God's Word, behaving in a righteous, holy, and obedient manner, God will count us worthy to be part of the parousia of the Lord.

The first resurrection of the dead, the resurrection of the blessed and holy royal priesthood, must be attained by an uncompromising seeking of the Lord.

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

If the Lord desired to be revealed in His Glory by Himself He would have set up His Kingdom two thousand years ago. The purpose of the Church Age has been to prepare the Body of Christ so the Head and Body of Christ, the Servant of the Lord, the Ruler of the nations, may be revealed together in glory.

At the time of the most horrible spiritual darkness of earth's history the light of God will arise on the members of Christ's Body. The wicked will be destroyed. The nation of Israel will be delivered. The nations of the saved will come to the Light of God shining from the glorified saints.

The nation and kingdom that refuse to serve God and Christ through the saints will be destroyed. The nations of the saved will bring themselves and their wealth to the Church to receive eternal life, deliverance, guidance, healing, and every other blessing. The nations of the saved are the inheritance of Christ and His saints.

When the saints are one in Christ in God, then the nations will believe God indeed has sent the Lord Jesus. They will come to the Church to learn of the holy God of Israel. All the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

To be continued.