Have you ever wondered what happened to Egypt after the Children of Israel left it in one night? We often place our focus on the Israelites as they journeyed through the desert to the promise land; but what about the Egyptians? In this blog we will take a closer look at the startling parallels of impact that America, and the world, will experience after the Church is removed at the Rapture.
“And it came to pass at midnight that the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock. 30 So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.” – Exodus 12:29,30
- This final judgment from God upon Egypt affected everyone in Egypt. It was death to the first born of every family in the land whose doorposts were not covered by the blood of a lamb.
The Passover is a messianic foretelling of a future Christ and the need for His atoning sacrifice on a future cross, (hence ‘the doorposts and lintel’) for our salvation.
PAW: If you want to make the Rapture, you had better be saved and walking in a right relationship with the Lord when He returns; because whether you’re ready or not; Jesus is coming for His Church, a Church that is ready for Him.
“But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. 35 For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape (Rapture) all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man (Bema Seat).” – Luke 21:34-36
- The phrase, ‘worthy to escape,’ is speaking directly to the Rapture. Jesus is the only One who makes us worthy to escape. We must be saved by His grace.
- The phrase, ‘stand before the Son of Man,’ is a direct reference to the Bema Seat judgement that will befall all believers just after the Rapture.
God’s judgment, on this side of the veil, will affect the entire world. It will begin first for the Church, who has been covered by the blood of Jesus. God’s judgment always begins in His house. The Bema Seat is the first of the judgments.
Then the world at large will experience God’s global judgment in a post-Rapture, seven-year tribulation.
On the same night of Passover, after the angel of death struck Egypt…
“…(Pharaoh) called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, “Rise, go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the Lord as you have said. 32 Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also.” – Exodus 12:31,32
- This command from Pharaoh to Moses and Aaron was the approval they were looking for in the first place; to be released from the bondage of Egypt and from its paganistic leader. The term ‘by night,’ meant that very night.
How like today, the Church, the body of Christ, is waiting to be released from the bondage of this world via their death or the Rapture. We long to be released from the oppression that permeates this planet. We, like the Israelites of Egypt then, long to go home to our eternal reward in heaven now.
“And the Egyptians urged the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” 34 So the people (Hebrews) took their dough before it was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their clothes on their shoulders. 35 Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. 36 And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.” – (vs.33-36)
- The Egyptians had been suffering under the ten judgments of God. While the Hebrews were spared from God’s judgment, the Egyptians were not; they were afraid for their very lives because of the God of the Hebrews.
The Egyptians ‘urged’ the Hebrews to ‘send them out of the land in haste.’ This is a type and shadow of the future Rapture; being ‘sent out of this land in haste.’
Moses had directed the Israelites to ‘ask the Egyptians for silver, gold, and articles of clothing.’ The Egyptians gave it to them to their own financial ruin.
We have heard a lot of talk about the economy and its pending collapse. My theory is that as long as the Spirit-filled Church is on the earth, the restraining force of the Holy Spirit continues to hold back evil, including global economic devastation. Once the Church is removed, economic calamity will ensue. This is also characteristic of the third horsemen of Revelation 6.
I believe that in the same way the Hebrews ‘plundered’ the Egyptians at the Exodus, so the Church’s immediate absence at the Rapture will ‘plunder’ global markets. For the most part, Christians are good stewards of their finances.
The Hebrews and Egyptians are OT prototypes of the NT Church and world. When we’re Raptured, this world will suffer a fate akin to post-Hebrew Egypt.
The picture of the Hebrews taking their dough, before it was leavened, and carrying it ‘in their clothes and on their shoulders,’ speaks again to their immediate nature of their departure that night. When they went to bed, they had no idea they were leaving Egypt just a few hours later; but that is exactly what happened.
NOTE: This is the origin of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the second of the spring feasts of the Lord. This feast speaks of Christ’ future death on a cross, which releases us, if we receive it, from the consequences of our sin; which is eternal death in Hell forever.
Israel leaving Egypt that night is akin to a sinner being freed from the bondage of their sin and experiencing salvation through Jesus shed blood.
History would prove that after the Hebrews left Egypt, that nation never rose to her former glory; in fact, it continued to degrade. Today, tourism is a major trade for Egypt as people from all over the world go there to look at the relics, the statues, the pyramids. and other evidences of an ancient Hebrew influence in Egypt.
This is a foreshadowing of what is going to happen to this world when all the Christians are instantly removed from their places of financial responsibility, blessing, positions of power and influence; not to mention all children, toddlers, babies and even the unborn.
NOTE: Born Again Christians have always been blessed of the Lord and have prospered comparatively. There has been many studies done to prove the fact that in general and on average, Christians live longer, are happier, have more wealth and better jobs than a non-believer.
Why is this? Because God’s blessing is upon them.
The Prophet Isaiah wrote about the impact on the world when these believers disappear instantly in the Rapture.
“Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; they will see the land that is very far off.
18 Your heart will meditate on terror: “Where is the scribe? Where is he who weighs?
Where is he who counts the towers?” 19 You will not see a fierce people, a people of obscure speech, beyond perception, of a stammering tongue that you cannot understand. 20 Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts; your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet home, a tabernacle that will not be taken down; not one of its stakes will ever be removed, nor will any of its cords be broken.” – Isaiah 33:17-20
- Here the prophet is speaking of a future event where a future people (the Church) will see the King (Jesus), in His beauty (glorified state), and the ‘land that is very far off’ (Heaven). In verse 18 Isaiah describes what the people who are left behind will feel; ‘your heart will meditate on terror.’
The questions that those who are left behind will be asking just after the Rapture event takes place, ‘Where is the scribe, where is he who weighs, and where is he who counts the towers?’ The prophet is describing a diverse people of industry who have instantly vanished from the earth. These are ‘a fierce people of obscure speech, beyond perception, of a stammering tongue you can’t understand.’
Many scholars interpret these people as Spirit-filled Christians who speak in tongues. Even though not all Christians speak in tongues, they are all filled with the Spirit because it’s the Holy Spirit of God who regenerates our spirit at salvation.
Isaiah goes on to say in verse 20, “Look upon Zion (Jerusalem), the city of our appointed feasts; your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet home, a tabernacle that will not be taken down (the future third temple); not one of its stakes will ever be removed, nor will any of its cords be broken.”
- At the time Isaiah wrote this, there was a temple in Jerusalem; but it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. This passage speaks of a third temple, yet to be built again, that will never be destroyed.
God has always provided for His people; in many cases to the abundance because He is true to His Word. When He removes the Church and their blessings from the earth at the Rapture; the people who are left behind are going to ‘feel the vacuum’ just like the people of Egypt did in the Exodus account when all of the Hebrews left in just one night.
“Then the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children. 38 A mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds—a great deal of livestock. 39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves.” – (vs.37-39)
- This passage states that 600,000 men, which didn’t include the women and children, were relocated that night.
This is where Bible scholars arrive at a number close to 3 million people. Think of the impact to commerce, to the national economy, to the labor force, and the many resources now drastically diminished as a result of this exodus.
No nation could survive such a ‘large and instantaneous walk out’ of its productive labor force, commerce stimulant, and social stability. Egypt was already weakened via the judgments of God; and now the Exodus and pending loss of Egypt’s army would seal her fate forever.
Later Pharaoh would reason to himself, “Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” – Exodus 14:5
- The parallel for a modern Rapture is that those people who are left behind are going to ‘miss us’ because they are going to feel firsthand the ‘lack of blessing’ and the effect it will have on the world because we’re not here.
The world hates us because they hate the Christ that we serve.
Jesus said it this way, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 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.”
– John 15:18,19
- As Christians, we are persecuted and discriminated against in the media, the workplace, and in our national laws. It’s easy to take a ‘pot shot’ at a believer because of our conservative and fundamental beliefs.
People who persecute us don’t even know that it’s because of the Christ within us that the blessing of the Lord and His restraining force is still on the earth.
Jesus goes on to say, “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. 21 But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake (thinking they persecute you for Me), because they do not know Him (God) who sent Me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin (not known of their sin), but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 He who hates Me hates My Father also (this address the Jews). 24 If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin (not known of their sin); but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. 25 But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’ – John 15:20-25
- All their complaining of our conservative ways, their persecutions of us, their harsh comments and gossip about our love for the Lord, and our unwillingness to conform to their wicked ways, is going to bite them so hard when we leave.
They, like the Egyptians of old, are going to want us back because although they may hate us, they love the blessing of the Lord that comes with us.
So it is with the global culture.
The Israelites did not even pack their provisions; they just left in haste on the very night of the first Passover.
“Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. 41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It is a night of solemn observance to the Lord for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the Lord, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations.” – (vs.40-42)
- God never does anything randomly; there is always a deeper meaning and purpose behind everything that He does.
The Hebrews were in the bondage of Egypt for 430 years ‘to the day.’ It is believed by many Bible prophecy scholars that the ‘mo’ed’ (appointed time) of each of the seven feasts of the Lord speak to specific events in history, and in prophecy, where God has done something in the past, He is going to do something in the future.
The Seven Feasts of the Lord (Leviticus 23) speak to this. The first four feast occur in the Spring and have already occurred in history. The final three feasts occur in the Fall and many Christians believe that they are just about to occur.
1. Passover – Christ Crucifixion – He came to earth to die for the sins of the world.
2. Unleavened Bread – Christ was buried in a borrow tomb for ‘three days.’
3. Firstfruits – Christ Rose from the dead, conquering death, hell and the grave!
4. Pentecost – Holy Spirit is given – the birth of the Church and the age of grace.
5. Trumpets – the Rapture of the Church, the joy of the Church.
6. Yom Kippur – Atonement – The 7-year Tribulation (Daniel’s 70th Week).
7. Tabernacles – The Second Coming of Jesus and His Global Millennial Reign.
- The final judgment from God upon Egypt was the death of the first born of any home that wasn’t atoned for with lamb’s blood on the doorposts and lintel according to God’s command. This was the first Passover and a messianic foretelling of what Jesus would later do on a cross for the sin of the world.
NOTE: Any person not atoned for by Jesus’ blood shed on the cross will be judged. Because the people of Egypt were pagan, they did not atone their homes from the coming judgment; as a result, they lost their first born.
We all know the story of how God miraculously delivered the children of Israel from the clutches of the pursuing Egyptians by opening up the Red Sea and providing dry ground for them to walk on while crushing the Egyptians in the sea.
When the Israelites saw that their deliverance was secure, Exodus 15 records how Israel worshipped the Lord on the shores of the Red Sea:
“Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? 12 You stretched out Your right hand; the earth swallowed them. 13 You in Your mercy have led forth the people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength to Your holy habitation.” – Exodus 15:11-13
- It’s in God’s mercy that He leads His people forward; those whom He as redeemed. Where does God lead us? To His holy habitation!
We know that we’re all going to heaven, God’s holy habitation, in the Rapture; but what about all of the people who are left behind?
“The people will hear and be afraid; sorrow will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling will take hold of them; all the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away. 16 Fear and dread will fall on them; by the greatness of Your arm they will be as still as a stone, till Your people pass over, O Lord, till the people pass over whom You have purchased.” – Exodus 15:14-16
- Descriptors like ‘sorrow, dismayed, trembling, melt away, fear and dread’ are words used here in this passage to describe what the Egyptians felt as the Israelites were supernaturally delivered through the Red Sea.
Pharaoh’s army was ‘still as a stone’ while God’s people ‘passed over’ to the safety of the other side. The glory of the Lord stood between the forward position of the Egyptian army and He was the rear guard of the Israelites as they passed through.
In the same way, God’s people need to know that the Lord will deliver His people from the judgment to come and from the enemy who is set out to destroy us.
What will God do with us? Where will He take us?
“You will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which You have made for Your own dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.” – Exodus 15:17
- God has prepared a place for us, His people, His Church, His bride. The Lord will reign forever and we with Him.
“The Lord shall reign forever and ever.” 19 For the horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them. But the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.” – Exodus 15:18,19
This recap reveals God’s delivering power over the oppressive forces of the enemy and also over the very laws of nature. God’s not limited by gravity, economics, or a geo-political crisis. He is God and there really is none like Him.
“Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained. 29 But the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 30 So the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Thus Israel saw the great work which the Lord had done in Egypt; so the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord and His servant Moses.” – Exodus 14:28-31
- God’s staying power is His delivering power and He has given us this same praying power so we can be faithful to the very end and not loose heart.
“For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” – Galatians 6:8-10
- The Egyptians sowed to the flesh and reaped corruption. The Israelites who followed after God sowed to the Spirit and reaped everlasting life.
We are the Church, the body of Christ, and our commission is to be faithful stewards of our faith, sowing to the Holy Spirit of God. If we do not grow weary while doing well, then we will reap a great reward if we don’t lose heart.
Jesus spoke of this in the Parable of the Minas in Luke 19
“Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately.”
– Luke 19:11
While it was true that the believers in Jesus’ day thought He would bring His Kingdom rule then; God had another plan.
“Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman (Jesus) went into a far country (heaven) to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas (money), and said to them, ‘Do business (occupy) till I come.’ 14 But his citizens (the world) hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’ 15 “And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. 16 Then came the first, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’ 18 And the second came, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned five minas.’ 19 Likewise he said to him, ‘You also be over five cities.’ – vs.12-19
- What we have here is a reward system that God has set up as part of His eternal Kingdom. Although as believers in Jesus, we will receive our rewards at the Bema Seat Judgment. When we return to the earth with Jesus after the seven-year tribulation, some of us will be issued greater degrees of responsibility than others.
We will co-rule and reign with Jesus as He rules from Jerusalem and oversees the global restoration of the war-torn earth under our delegated leadership. Our faithfulness here and now will determine who and how much we will co-rule and reign with Him then.
“Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. 21 For I feared you, because you are an austere (stern, strict) man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 And he said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ – vs.20-23
- I should like to pause here and say that each of us will have to give an account of how well we used our talents for the Lord in our lifetime. His command to ‘occupy till He returns is for all of us.
Quick Ten Talent Check List:
- Am I saved? This is the first and foremost thing we must do – receive Jesus.
- Do I pray, read my Bible and witness to others?
- Do I support my church in my attendance, ministry and financial stewardship?
- Am I supporter of foreign missions and special outreaches to my community?
- Am I a good steward of those people God has entrusted into my care – family?
- Does my attitude toward others reflect God’s love for them? Even under duress?
- Do I allow for a sinful lifestyle to be integrated into my Christian life & thought?
- Am I looking for the return of the Lord in the Rapture and living accordingly.
- Have I allowed fear, faithlessness and despair to hamper my trust in God?
- Do I give place for the devil on a regular basis as I live out my faith in Jesus?
If you are not doing as well on some of these as you should be or can be; I encourage you to get with it because in this context, the Kingdom of Heaven really is at hand! This is NOT about ‘works-righteousness,’ it’s about obedience.
“And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’ 25 (But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’) 26 ‘For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 27 But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.’” – Luke 19:11-27
- This passage speaks to the coming Judgment of the Nations that will commence when Jesus returns to the earth in His Second Coming.
Those who are found to be faithless enemies of the Lord and partakers of the beast’s mark and his NWO agenda, these will be cast into Hell.
Those who are found to be faithful survivors of the tribulation and who rejected the rule of the antichrist will be judged accordingly and allowed to enter into Christ’s Millennial Kingdom.
Egypt was left vulnerable as her national army was decimated in the Red Sea.
Her economic engine which ran her commerce was removed in one night as the children of Israel we ordered to leave Egypt, thus crippling her economy.
This once great nation that fed the nations of the world, saving them from a global famine under the leadership of Joseph, was itself reduced to a leader-less; army-less, man-less land full of death and destruction due to the plagues inflicted upon it by God. It never rose to her former glory even to this day.
I believe a similar fate awaits America and the world that befell Ancient Egypt. If we continue to falter in our moral, economic, political, and spiritual mandates forged by our founding fathers, many of whom were both Christian and patriots, then we will suffer a similar fate as the post-Hebrew Egypt experienced.
As long as the Church of Jesus Christ is on the earth, we can make a difference.
Our presence here invokes the blessing of the Lord within the context of our service and presentation of God’s Kingdom agenda on earth as it is in heaven.
“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive (para-lambano) you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” – John 14:2,3
After the Red Sea incident; which was God’s way of blocking the Israelite’s path back to Egypt and baptizing them into a new life and hope in Him; we find the Israelites at the base of Mount Sinai where they would receive the Ten Commandments; the basis of the Law, from the Lord via Moses their leader.
“And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” – Exodus 19:3-6
- ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians’ speaks of God’s purpose and destiny for Israel; that is, for them NOT to be in bondage to sin or world.
- ‘how I bore you on eagles wings’ speak to the careful protection God has for His people. It is said that an eagle does not carry her young in her claws like other birds; the young eagles attach themselves to the back of the mother eagle.
His metaphor speaks to the loving compassion, protection, and strength of God over His children who trust Him.
- ‘how I brought you to Myself’ speaks to both God’s deliverance from Egypt and its purpose; so God could commune in fellowship with His people.
- ‘if you obey my voice and keep My covenant’ speaks to the requirement of righteous and holy living; total obedience to the Lord Himself.
- ‘kingdom of priests and a holy nation’ speaks to the role we play as believers in Jesus. This is not just for pastors and teachers, it’s for all believers.
“So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him. 8 Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord. 9 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.”
So Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.” – (vs.7-9)
- ‘that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe…’ is a consistent theme with the Lord; He wants a direct relationship with His people.
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. 11 And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. 13 Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain.” – (vs.10-13)
- The concept of consecration (being set apart, holy to the Lord) and being in a state of readiness for the Lord to present Himself was the goal here.
The Lord made it clear that anyone who attempted ‘to go up to the mountain or touch its base’ shall die. The boundaries, archers, and stone slingers were in place to secure Mt. Sinai.
This speaks to those who attempt to gain entrance into heaven without accessing it via the Door who is the Christ. Jesus is the only way to the Father!
“So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. 15 And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not come near your wives.” 16 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.” – (vs.14-16)
- The concept of being ‘ready for the third day’ is a heads up passage for believers living at the time of the Rapture. I believe that it’s possible that some sort of a ‘bump,’ is going to occur three days prior to the Rapture that will signal the immediate season of the Lord’s return. This is designed by God to prepared His people for His return. We have had many ‘bumps’ over the past several months. Stay ready!
This would explain why Jesus said we would not know the day or hour, but He did say that we would know when He was near, at the very doors. (Matthew 24:36)
“And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. 19 And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. 20 Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.” – (vs.17-20)
- This is a picture of the Rapture if there ever was; many Bible scholars agree that the principles that are represented in the Sinai event speak to God’s desire to call a holy people unto Himself.
God is a consuming fire and His presence on Sinai was in the fire. The blast of the trumpet sounded long and loud as the voice of God was heard in the midst. The presence of God was manifested on the mountain; then God called Moses up; and he went.
What Moses experienced that day is something that you and I are about to experience in the glorious Rapture of the Church. We have been made holy by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. What happened in Egypt at the Exodus will happen again to America and the world at the Rapture. The Lord is returning for us soon and we will be going up to Him.
The goal here is to be aware of what is happening in the world, know that no matter has bad it gets, God is still in control and He is faithful to provide for us and to protect us as we move closer to the Rapture.
I am sure that the Hebrews living in Egypt on the night of Passover were not expecting to leave that very night, but at least they were prepared and ready to go when the order was given.
So also we must be ready; are you ready to fly?
Maranatha,
Encouragemen is a blog written by Pastor Rob Lee, who resides in Northern Missouri. He lives with his wife of 37-years, near their three adult children, their spouses, and children (their grandchildren). Pastor Rob is an Ordained Assemblies of God minister, a Lead Pastor (30+ years), police chaplain, and community advocate. He continues to serve, consult, and disciple men of God, including those who are in the ministry.
Encourage Men 