Why I Believe that God Has a Purpose to Why the Rapture Has Been Delayed Several Times
I remembered a number of times I expected the Blessed Hope to come. I remembered the time I expected Jesus to return some time after John Paul II died, some time after Benedict XVI resigned and I got frustrated to why the Rapture didn't happen when Pope Francis, the first Pope to have graduated his priesthood in the Jesuit Order got elected as the new Pope. Yet why didn't He come?
The signs are obviously there. I read Matthew 24 and the newspaper and I have no doubt that they match. I read 2 Timothy 3 and the peril of the last days are there. I read Daniel and Revelation and activities in the Middle East already show signs of Jesus' coming. I even hear of the plans to build the Third Temple of Jerusalem. There's even more research on how to breed more red heifers which were part of the ceremonial law. More unsaved Jews are getting trained to sacrifice animals. Doesn't that many any frustrated Christian excited that Jesus could be calling them home soon?
Yet there is one crucial part of prophecy that I just overlooked. It's Matthew 24:14 that says that the Gospel must first be preached as a witness unto all nations before the end will come. The preaching of the Gospel is indeed a sign of the times. I remembered a preacher once said it's foolish to wait for Jesus to bring His elect away from the Earth while churches become stagnant in soulwinning. Jesus said that before the end will come that the Gospel must first be preached!
If there's any reason why He hasn't returned yet it's because He has already is because of what 2 Peter 3:9 says. He doesn't want it that any should perish but all should come to repentance. That's why there is the Great Commission that must be fulfilled first as a sign of the times. It doesn't matter how many nuclear bombs the Middle East has or many times the New World Order tries to form itself - the Rapture won't happen unless the whole Earth is first saturated with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
What's the significance of preaching first as a witness unto all nations? I believe it to be this way. Jesus has delayed His coming for the reason and is holding back whatever His Father wills it so the Gospel is preached first. There would be no excuse for somebody to get left behind when the Trumpet will sound. The Gospel of Christ must be preached to people to warn them about sin, Hell and Judgment. People will have no excuse to be left behind if they ignored the warning messages during the fulfillment of one of the signs of the times - the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
The signs are obviously there. I read Matthew 24 and the newspaper and I have no doubt that they match. I read 2 Timothy 3 and the peril of the last days are there. I read Daniel and Revelation and activities in the Middle East already show signs of Jesus' coming. I even hear of the plans to build the Third Temple of Jerusalem. There's even more research on how to breed more red heifers which were part of the ceremonial law. More unsaved Jews are getting trained to sacrifice animals. Doesn't that many any frustrated Christian excited that Jesus could be calling them home soon?
Yet there is one crucial part of prophecy that I just overlooked. It's Matthew 24:14 that says that the Gospel must first be preached as a witness unto all nations before the end will come. The preaching of the Gospel is indeed a sign of the times. I remembered a preacher once said it's foolish to wait for Jesus to bring His elect away from the Earth while churches become stagnant in soulwinning. Jesus said that before the end will come that the Gospel must first be preached!
If there's any reason why He hasn't returned yet it's because He has already is because of what 2 Peter 3:9 says. He doesn't want it that any should perish but all should come to repentance. That's why there is the Great Commission that must be fulfilled first as a sign of the times. It doesn't matter how many nuclear bombs the Middle East has or many times the New World Order tries to form itself - the Rapture won't happen unless the whole Earth is first saturated with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
What's the significance of preaching first as a witness unto all nations? I believe it to be this way. Jesus has delayed His coming for the reason and is holding back whatever His Father wills it so the Gospel is preached first. There would be no excuse for somebody to get left behind when the Trumpet will sound. The Gospel of Christ must be preached to people to warn them about sin, Hell and Judgment. People will have no excuse to be left behind if they ignored the warning messages during the fulfillment of one of the signs of the times - the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
At this last days, I think the time could come anytime soon for this reason - the Gospel is getting preached faster than before. Missions are becoming more abundant. Persecution isn't stopping the Church from demolishing the gates of Hell. There's more and more missions for the Gospel and Satan can't do a thing to stop it. Satan is permitted to har It's only a matter of time before all nations will be saturated then the Trumpet will finally sound for the Elect of God to be taken away to meet the Lord Jesus in the air.
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