Group Bible Study

Some Christians do not believe there will be a rapture of true believers in Christ. I don't know how they get around the common understanding of the verses below. I agree with them that the word rapture is not found in the Bible. The word  Rapture  is a word we use to describe the Church, the people of God, being  caught up   to meet the Lord at His coming. The English word comes from the Latin word  rapere , meaning  rapid.  The Latin phrase  rapere  is from the original Greek word,  harpazō,  translated as “caught up” in the King James Bible and English Standard Version, as in the passage below.  Harpazō  means: "to strip, spoil, snatch. To seize upon with force; to rob. It is an open act of confiscatory violence. To snatch or tear away, yank away, pluck out of, remove by swiftly and aggressively grasping." [1]  Here’s the passage in the Scriptures that talk about the people of God being “caught up.” 13 But...

Over the last few days, we have looked at various signs that will herald Christ's Second Coming to earth. We cannot determine the exact time, the day, or the hour of Christ's return, but those who are living their lives with a heavenly awareness should know the season. The Lord expects His people to be aware of the things happening on the earth that point to Christ's soon coming. So, although we cannot set dates, we should be mindful of the signs of the times. Those who have signed on to Antichrist's kingdom and are part of his new economy will be deceived. To them, the Lord Jesus will come like a thief in the night, and not expected by those living outside of Christ. When Jesus comes, they will look for places to hide  (Revelation 6:16),  but to the believers, it will be a different situation. They will be aware of what is happening.  Paul the Apostle wrote to the Thessalonian believers to make them aware that there would be certain signs of the times that would...

We are continuing to look at the various signs that Jesus gave to warn us of His Second Coming. After warnings about deception, false religious figures, wars, and revolutions, Luke then tells us the following:  “There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven” (Luke 21:11).  Matthew recalls an extra few words more than Luke.  He said those things would be the beginning of birth contractions:  7 “ Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.   There will be famines   and earthquakes in various places.   8 All these are the beginning of birth pains” (Matthew 24:7-8). Let's think about what Jesus could have been referring to by using the analogy of a woman in birth pains When a pregnant woman begins the birthing process, the pain is not severe, and the birth contractions are several minutes apart. The closer she gets to the birth of the child, however, ...

Prophecy of Wars and Revolutions:  We are continuing in our daily meditations to consider what Jesus and the apostles taught about the signs leading up to the Second Coming of Christ, found in Luke, chapter twenty-one. The first sign was a period of great deception, a time that this writer feels that we are in right now. Secondly, Jesus warned us of false religious people that will make claims that they are the Messiah or Christ. We must not be deceived! Even though there will be those seeking to deceive us into following them, Jesus told us that this is  just an early sign along with wars and tumults: 9 And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.”  10 Then he said to them,   “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom (Luke 21:9-10). Deception, false leaders, wars, and revolutions are all early warning signs. Jesus warned us that nation will rise a...

Over the last few days, we have been looking at the Parable of the Ten Virgins. We saw that the Lord warned His people that there would be no second chances and that the five foolish virgins who were not ready when the Bridegroom came, were shut out. Today, we jump to another passage in the Scriptures where Jesus warned of the same thing: 23 Someone asked him, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?" He said to them,  24 "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you,  will try to enter and will not be able to .  25 Once the owner of the house gets up  and closes the door , you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' "But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.'  26 "Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.'  27 "But he will reply,  'I don't know you or where you come from . Away from me, all ...

We are continuing to look at what Jesus taught about the Last Days and His Second Coming. He told a parable about ten virgins waiting to light up the way for the Bridegroom, a picture of the Lord Jesus in His coming. All ten were asleep before the Bridegroom came, but five had prepared extra oil, while five had nothing extra. They were not expecting that the Bridegroom would be coming so late at night: 7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.  8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’  9 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’  10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.  11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’  12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I ...

We are continuing from yesterday our study of the Parable of the Ten Virgins (scroll down for previous meditations), focusing on what Jesus was prophesying about His return. The Lord said that the Bridegroom’s coming would be at the darkest point, at midnight. The five wise virgins that were prepared and had extra oil went into the Marriage Supper with Him as soon as He came. He didn’t come for a while and disappear and come again later. Christ didn’t talk about two separate comings for His arrival, one before the darkness and one in the midst. There will be great joy welling up from within when we make our entrance into the banqueting hall with Christ. We will not come with Him into the wedding hall as witnesses to His marriage;  we are to be married  to Him . Not a wedding on earth; this is a wedding  in heaven . This celebration will be many times more glorious than any marriage you have ever seen, and I remind you again, if you are a believer in Christ, you are...

We are continuing from yesterday to look at the prophetic Parable of the Ten Virgins. The five wise virgins prepared ahead of time and had extra oil ready for the darkness of the nighttime. The five foolish virgins presumptuously thought they wouldn’t need extra oil, and so did not prepare to face as much darkness as ensued. Let’s read the second part of the parable: 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’  9 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’  10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.  11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’  12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’  13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the...

Two thousand years ago, Jesus worded the following parable by prophesying that His coming would be a long time in waiting.  “The bridegroom was a  long time   in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep" (Matthew 25:5).  The darkness has descended on us and, for the most part, the church is asleep. The prophecy by Jesus indicates that before His coming, this would be the situation: 1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise.  3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.  4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.  5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming , and they all became drowsy and  fell asleep .  6 “ At midnight  the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’  7 “Then all  the virgins woke up  and trim...

16 But He said to him, "A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many;  17 and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, 'Come; for everything is ready now.'  18 "But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, 'I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused' (Luke 14:16-18). I was separated from my wife and two children for nearly three months in the year 2000 when I left them in England to start work as one of the pastors in a large megachurch in Cincinnati, Ohio (I was born in England). You bet I was counting the days for our reunion! How lonely I was without the ones I loved. It brought me to tears many times. As the time grew closer for their coming and our reunion, I began to prepare everything for us to be close again. I checked the flight times, again and again, I planned where we would eat on the way from the airport, I cleaned the house meti...

In our daily meditations, we are thinking about the prophecies of the signs that lead up to the Second Coming of Christ. Jesus gave several early warning signs that would precede His Coming. His first warning was that there would be a time of great deception:  “Watch out that you are not deceived” (Luke 21:8).  We are now living in that time of deception. Our enemy, Satan, has individuals in place who have gained control of all types of positions of influence in politics, media, and education. From places of power, they promote anti-God philosophies such as evolution, but also values and deception that seek to bring society to a new level of degradation. The enemy is out to corrupt and control minds.  We are in a spiritual battle that will increase until the time Christ returns. We live in a time when we should get a firm grip on the truth of Scripture and give no credence to the manipulation devices of the enemy, that seen in the media, television, and the Interne...

In our daily meditations, we are thinking about the time when Christ will come in all His glory, and the wedding of the Lamb will begin (Revelation 19:7-9). In the Parable of the Wedding Banquet, the Lord tells us of a time that is soon coming, when King Jesus will come for His people, all those who have entered into covenant relationship with God through the substitutionary death of His Son. He will be at the wedding banquet.  The passage tells us of His coming into the midst of the wedding celebration and seeing a man that is not wearing the provision of the King, the gift of wedding clothes. This custom we read about in the story of Samson's wedding in Philistine country, when Samson had to supply the wedding guests with the customary linen garments (Judges 14:10-13). Jesus spoke a parable to illustrate what it will be like at the time of His coming again:  1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying:  2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared...

We are continuing our thoughts (scroll further down for yesterday's meditation) on the topic of what it will be like when the Lord Jesus comes in His glory in the Second Coming. After the snatching up of God's people (The Rapture—1 Thessalonians 4:13-17), the anger of our God will be displayed toward those who do not know God. We don't like to think of an angry Lord Jesus, but that is the truth that Paul the apostle wrote about, as well as other prophetic writers: This will happen when the  Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire   with his powerful angels.  8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.  9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). When God first began dealing with me as to my eternal destiny, i.e., where I would go when I die, I had a picture of the coming of the Lord Jesus in ...