WHY EVERYONE NEEDS TO BE WATCHING FOR THE LORD–INCLUDING THE LUKEWARM CHURCH AND THE PASTORS WHO WON’T TALK ABOUT END TIMES AND POST-TRIBBERS–THIS STORY IS DEDICATED TO YOU AND ABOUT THE MARVELOUS LIFE AND TESTIMONY OF MY FRIEND BERNADETTE (by Susan Davis)
I lost a good friend, a while back. She died in her forties and it was unexpected–totally without warning. One Sunday, she went to church and after church she did not feel well. By the evening, she had passed away as her heart gave out on her. No one knew that that day would be her last day on earth. I learned of her passing the next day. After I found out that she had died, I discovered that she had called me on the day of her death requesting prayer because she said she didn’t feel quite right and wanted me to pray for her. I had missed her call from the day before and did not get to pray with her or even talk to her the day she died. So a day later, I listened to what would be one of the last phone messages she would ever leave.
My friend, I believe with confidence went to heaven to be with the LORD. I believe this because she was absolutely crazy in love with the LORD. She was one of those people who was sitting on the edge of her seat waiting for the LORD to break through the sky and come and get her in the rapture. She was probably made fun of and persecuted over her exuberant excitement for the return of the LORD.
Well if there ever was a case for the way Christians should be viewing the rapture–I would call it the “Bernadette” EVIDENCE. If there was no URGENCY for the Christians to be sitting ON THE EDGE OF THEIR SEATS looking for the LORD’s Return also known as the “rapture” or “catching away”–then people like Bernadette would be focused on the world–disinterested in having a SPOT-FREE–AND WRINKLE-FREE garment as required by CHRIST for them to be “RAPTURE-READY.” But here is the thing: YOU NEED A SPOT-FREE AND WRINKLE-FREE garment to get into heaven regardless of how you get there…
So if the requirement to enter heaven is to be READY–RAPTURE OR OTHERWISE–then why in the world is ANY CHRISTIAN OPPOSED TO THE RAPTURE MESSAGE? If the Bible says there is an event in which you will be changed “in the twinkling of an eye” and NO ONE KNOWS THE DAY OR THE HOUR of this moment then LOGICALLY ALL CHRISTIANS SHOULD BE SITTING ON THE EDGE OF THEIR SEATS LOOKING FOR THE LORD JUST LIKE BERNADETTE.
The ONLY argument against this LOGIC is the lie being told to the Christians by the enemy of their souls who comes to KILL them–STEAL their admittance into heaven and DESTROY them for all eternity. MOST people believe that they can control their future by making plans days–weeks–months and even years ahead in their minds. That’s a great strategy for those who are angling to end up on the broad road to hell where MOST people go. There isn’t another human being alive who can guarantee that someone else is assured any future plan they could possibly conceive in their own mind.
I can tell you with certainty that my friend Bernadette did not know that the morning of her death would be her last morning on earth. How very foolish it is for pastors to preach about having many years into the future–how very foolish for Christians to believe them–how foolish it is to promote anything but being ready NOW and not many years into the future.
