9-15-23

David Jeremiah has a new book. I have not read it yet, but below is the excerpt from the ad I saw for pre orders. I love how he compares the Ark to the Rapture.

“Contrary to children’s books and nursery décor, the story of Noah’s ark is not a cute tale about animals marching two-by-two. It is a vivid picture of God’s judgment, and it is an image that Jesus evoked when speaking to His disciples about what to expect in the Last Days.”

Our world today is just like Noah’s. Despite warnings, people do not expect judgment. Noah’s neighbors did not expect a flood—and neither do yours. Deep down most people, if they give any thought to eternity at all, tend to think they will have a chance at the last minute to say or do the right thing to secure their place in God’s Kingdom.

But the Rapture doesn’t work that way. It is instant and irreversible.

Just like the ark that Noah was building could have been seen for miles, the warning signs for this generation are all around us. The clouds are gathering. Distant thunder is rumbling. And the door to salvation stands open.

For now.

There will be a day when God shuts that door as securely as He shut the door on the ark, and no amount of knocking, pounding, or pleading will open it.”

I know that there are Christians who do not believe in the rapture because that word “rapture” is not in the bible. (Most of those people have not really read the whole Bible but someone told them it was not). Some of those people feel that God is too loving and would not destroy the world, but if they knew about Noah, they would know that He has done it before.

God is indeed loving! He loves us so much he sent his son to die for us and each of us parents know what that cost Him. The Bible is filled with verses about his love,

1 Cor 13:13, and now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

God loved first so we learned love, but being that loving Father, he has rules, going against those rules is “sin”.  We all sin, but if we follow Jesus, HIS death saves us from an eternity separated from God (hell).  Part of loving is discipline.  I didn’t like to spank my children, but if they ran into the street, I needed to make them fearful so they would not get hurt or worse. They needed to “fear” me in that respect.

I am so grateful to be in a church that preaches “love” but also preaches the rest of the gospel and reminds us how we need to live. Are we being loving to the world if we never tell them about Noah or the rapture? If we do not tell them about sin and the wages of sin, are we fulfilling God’s calling for us? We will never wake some people up. They are forever lost, unless Jesus somehow gets through to them. Our job is to point as many as possible towards heaven. Plant the seeds that only God can harvest.

Shirlene Peterson