A careful reading of 1 Thessalonians 4:9-18 reveals; not Jesus’ second coming to earth, but rather His coming to mid-air to “catch away, rapture, or call for His bride-body-church” (which is also called “the bulk or main harvest”), to come up where He is, to be with Him and await the rest of His body, the church, to join us after “all Israel” living after the “great tribulation” is complete, for Romans 11:13-36, says the time of the Gentiles is over; thus, only Jews that are alive after the seven-year tribulation period will then be saved—the rapture ended the Gentiles time to be saved, so after the rapture only Jews can be saved. That is what Romans 11:25-26 says, so read these two verses several times, until we know after the rapture not another Gentile will be saved, accept Christ Jesus, or have sweet, peaceful relationship with the Lord. It is now or nothing for Gentiles, so do not let people persuade you Romans 11:25-26 is not true.
Romans 11:13-36—For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. 15 For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16 For if the first fruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember you do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” 20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? 25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; 27 for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.” 28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, 31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. 32 For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all. 33 Oh, the depth of the riches of God’s wisdom and knowledge! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! 34 “For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor?” 35 “Or who has first given to Him, and it shall be repaid to him?” 36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
First Thessalonians 5;1-24 explains chapter 4, “the catching away, rapture, calling of Christ’s bride-body-church to come to mid-air to be with Him”, as “the day of the Lord coming secretly as a thief comes at midnight, when everyone is sleeping”, yet God commands us to always be spiritually awake and ready for Christ’s coming for His bride, body, church”, or He will come at a time we are not expecting, so we must always be alert and expecting Him, which is thoroughly explained in Matthew 25:1-13.
Matthew 25:1-13—1 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was DELAYED, they all slumbered and slept. 6 And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 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.’ 10 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. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
First Peter 3:1-18 is God’s warning His DELAY is His grace and mercy, giving rejecters time to repent of their sins, believe His word, receive Jesus Christ, and live exclusively for Him, but some reason God’s DELAY is because His “great and precious promises” (2 Peter 1:2-4), are not true, therefore, they do not understand they are true, and given to us, so we can “partake of His divine nature or become what Christ is (Romans 8:26-30; 1 John 4:17).
Jim Nabors
