I would like to point out, that I personally have a relationship with God the Father, through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. I hear from Him, and am guided by Him through Father God’s Holy Spirit. And He put this burden upon my heart to post: “Persecution Is Coming To America,” now instead of on a later date. I want to make sure that those who participates in these future studies truly have given your allegiance fully to the Lord Jesus Christ before it’s too late. And know full well what to expect soon enough before the Lords appearance.

And what I mean by this, the Lord will appear and take His bride away from this earth into Heaven. Those who have given to Him all of your full commitment and allegiance to Him, who believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who loves Him and keeps His commandments and are in the perfect will of God, are is His bride. Persecution on a gross scale is coming before the Lord Jesus’ appearance in the clouds, what we call the “Rapture.” It is inevitable, and all born-again Christian are subject to it.

The Rapture

Now the word, “rapture,” is not found in the entire Word of God. So before you break out your exhaustive concordance, let me spare you the waste of time. The word, “Rapture” is not found anywhere in the entire Holy Bible, no matter what translation you read from. We use this word to best describe this event that will soon take place between His first coming, which is His birth; Life; Death; Resurrection and Ascension. And His return to put an end to Armageddon. You can read all about this in the Book of Revelation chapters 19:11-20:10; and 12:7-12.

For the Word of God describes this event in many places in the New Testament. But it does not name the event. We use the Word, “Rapture” because it best describes it, Rapture: ‘A state of being carried away. In Latin it also means “abducted.” Another words, ‘being caught up or carried away swiftly in a moment.’ The Lord Jesus had given this imagery as an example for us to understand it in,

Matthew 25:1-13 Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 

And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

The Lord Jesus also taught the event of the rapture in:

Matthew 24:27-31 Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Have you ever been in between the state of sleep and awake? A state of consciousness where you know what is going on around you, but enjoying the blessed bliss of sleep and are aware that you are enjoying that moment of space and time? There is no other way to describe it. In that space and time I heard an audible voice of the Lord in urgency, “I am coming back very soon! I AM COMING BACK VERY SOON!” The Lord is coming very soon. We don’t know when, only the Father knows (Matthew 24:36-44).

But Before the Rapture takes place, there are hard times coming to the saints of God in America. And I am not talking about the economy, inflation, high taxation and all that jazz. I’m talking about suffering for Jesus Christs’ name sake, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Are you ready for this time to come? This is the time where Jesus Christ is going to separate the wheat from the weeds. Sheep from the goats. The hypocrites from the true children of God, the righteous from the wicked, the godly from the sinner and the lawless ones in the spiritual sense, not yet in the physical.

Jesus has told us what’s to come, what we should expect. He has given much warning on this subject of persecution. So there should be no surprise when it does come to those who claim that they are true believers and followers of Jesus Christ. And when the rubber meets the real hard road, and are tested and tried soon after, will you fall away from the faith? Or will you be strengthened and refined?

Those who fall away from the faith after the fire of testing and trials, are simply self proclaimed Christians. Play actors who were not rooted and grounded in Christ. They really didn’t have this commitment/relationship with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Their lips boasted on one thing, but there hearts were far from the Lord. And the Lord is separating the false from the true children of God. He is also, at this time, judging the false religious church vs. the real church of whom He has built using trials and testing’s(Revelation 2-3).

So the questions need to be asked. Who are you in the spectrum that Jesus Christ ministers? For this will determine right now, whether you are truly in Christ, grounded and rooted in Him, strong in faith, or merely play acting. For those who are play acting will fall away from the faith. So who are you in this spectrum and be honest with yourself as you read:

Matthew 13:3-9 & 18-23 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.

And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.

Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Where are you right now in the Lord, in the relationship of Jesus Christ? Have you progressed, or digressed? Is your faith in Him strong enough to even consider honestly in your own heart without a doubt or the slightest hint of a pause, “I am ready for the harsh persecution. I am ready to die for the cause of Jesus Christ even to the point of death,” and mean it? Are you ready to be rejected, scorned, beaten, jailed, or even put to death for the Kingdom of God, and for the cause of Jesus Christ? Remember, Jesus had warned us in:

Mark 8:34-38 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.

Or in another passage of Scripture Jesus also ministered an eternal warning on this same line, Matthew 10:32-34 Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

Are you ready for the unashamed commitment to God? For this commitment Jesus Christ calls us to, is like a marriage covenant on earth. What He expects of us (between a husband and wife in every marriage, which He ordains) He expects also between us and Him 

Ephesians 5:22-33 Wives (or church), submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.

For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Promised Persecution

Most often times than not, when we see the word “promises.” We automatically associate it with blessings. There are two sides to the coin of truth though. It can go both ways, both blessings and curses. And it is all in the matter of perspective. Some people believe that persecution is a curse from the devil, and it can be. But it is intended to be a blessing in disguise non the less. God allows it to happen because trials and testing refines us, burns up that chaff in our hearts and lives and burns up the clutter.

It is also intended by God Almighty Himself to strengthen us. We had it so good for too long, which made the church soft, weak and pathetic in these last days. We have lost much in the process and gained little that is of any value. If you think that God does not allow persecutions to happen and for reasons of strengthening the church. Than you really don’t know God nor His Word. And I encourage you to go back and re-read the Book of Acts. And while you’re at it, read human history in the time of the Roman empire of the first century church. The Lord Jesus Christ guarantees persecution as we truly follow Him,

John 15:18-25 If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.

If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’

Matthew 24:9-13 Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

He who remains or abide in Jesus Christ and in the faith and confession thereof, will be saved, not delivered from persecution, but saved. Which means that when you or I die in Jesus Christ, if it comes down to it from being persecuted, we are guaranteed salvation, and the kingdom of Heaven in glory with our Lord and Savior as long as we abide in Him and not deny Him nor compromise our relationship with Him in the face of any adversity.

In Mark 13:2-11 But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.

John 16:1-4 These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.

John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

Now that we know the truth, we must embrace and cling to the cross, which Jesus Christ Himself had taught. With this we must embrace the inevitable fact of persecution. For this is our Judeo-Christian heritage. From the time of the bondage and slavery of Egypt (Exodus 1-14) for the Jews first, all the way through history to today. And even to the time coming soon, the last generation of Christians.

In the Book of Acts, Luke records Christians counted it all joy for being persecuted for the cause of Christ. Because they were found worthy to suffer for the Kingdom of God. Why were they joyful? They already counted themselves as dead already to the world and from the ways of the world and were alive to Christ.

Philippians 3:7-10 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.

This is the same Apostle Paul who truly have suffered for Christ, for the kingdom of God and for the Gospel’s sake, promised first in (Acts 9:15-16),

2 Corinthians 11:23-33 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned,(with rocks, and left for dead,) three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move.

I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.

This is the same attitude, plus, all this we must also embrace which is the ministry of the cross. Not one Christian is exempt! As it is written, 1 Peter 2:20-24 For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth

As it is also written: Luke 12:4&5 I tell you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him (referring to God The Father).” 

Meaning Of Communion

Again I say, the Lord Jesus has promised that we will suffer (John 15:18-19/John 16:33) and partaking of the Lord’s Communion exemplifies this reality. Taking the bread of Jesus Christ (symbolizes His body of death) and of His new wine: grape juice (symbolizing His precious blood, the cup of suffering.) By taking this when ever you or I do in remberance of our Lord Savior Jesus Christ, by this you truly proclaim the death of the Lord Jesus until He comes. As it is written:

1 Corinthians 11:24-26 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me. In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

I encourage you to check out “Be Fruitful And Multiply” to further understand why Christians will suffer other than for the reason that this world hates us and hates God. This massage serves as a reminder, to get right with God now and stay right with Him, for those who need’s to get right and you know who you are. Because you will surely die for the cause of Christ and of His Gospel or for denouncing Jesus Christ as Lord (Mark 8:35). And as you do, your last breath on earth, will be your first breath in eternity based upon your choices here on earth now: in Hell or in Heaven as it is written:

Philippians 1:20-21 according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

As born-again Christians, who knows Jesus Christ as Lord and continually abide in Him, persecution to death is great gain. And that is why we do not fear death, nor fear anything at all. Because there is nothing to fear as long as you or I have this assurance of salvation. And if you don’t have this assurance of salvation or in the back of your mind, you have doubts, and/or not quite sure, Check out: “There Is Hope”

To Be Continued in: Philippians 1 (Promised Persecution)