1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 - “For the Lord Himself will descend form heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.  And the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”

“Maranatha” is a Hebrew/Aramaic term meaning, “The Lord is coming soon.” God has called us to preach about the Rapture of the church. How do we define “The Rapture”? The meaning of “the Rapture” in the original language was “snatching up.” Biblically, it is the event described in the passage above, where Jesus suddenly snatches his faithful church out of this world to meet him in the air. We will go to heaven with him. Those faithful servants who are alive at the time will not face physical death, but will go directly to heaven with him. The world plunges into a period of terrible judgment known as the Great Tribulation, which lasts seven years. At the end of those seven years, Jesus returns again, with all the saints with him, to set up his Kingdom on earth. We call that event “the Second Coming,” because it will be the second time Christ actually lives and walks upon the earth – at the Rapture he does not actually reach the earth. Jesus lands on the Mount of Olives, north of Jerusalem, and enters the holy city, which will become his capital, the place from which he reigns on earth for 1000 years. This is the meaning of “The Rapture.”

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1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 - “Do not treat prophecies with contempt.  Test everything. Hold on to the good.” 

1 Corinthians 14:29 - “Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should test what is said.”

TESTING THE GIFTS – The New Testament says that we should test all prophecies in the church – and this is true whether the prophecy comes as a verbal revelation, a vision, or a dream.  Unfortunately, very few Pentecostal or Charismatic churches today test any prophecies.  They accept everything people say, even though many so-called “prophets” today mix up their own imaginations with true divine revelations.  In the true Work of the Holy Spirit, we must develop a consistent practice of testing the spiritual gifts.  The Bible commands this and the Spirit requires it.  If we allow false prophecies into the church alongside true words from the Spirit, then the Holy Spirit will stop speaking in that place completely, leaving us to our own imaginations.  This happens even with seemingly “harmless” false prophecies that promise people prosperity or victory over their problems. 

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1 Thessalonians 2:9 - “Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.”  

Acts 20:33-35 - “You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions.  In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak.”  

Paul knew that many religious leaders in his day saw their ministry as a way to get financial gain.  (1 Timothy 6:5).  This is often a bad testimony for the gospel.  Paul wanted to reach the lost, and unbelievers are naturally suspicious that preachers just want their money.  He made a decision that many of his peers rejected – as do most preachers today.  Paul did not depend on tithes or offerings for his income.  He worked hard at manual labor – so that he would not have to get money from the people whom he converted.  He left behind his emerging career as a Jewish Rabbi, which would have given him social prestige, pride, influence in the community, and good income.   continue