Reverse Rapture

Lego building blocks are a modern version of an old toy I played with as a child. The old toy had wooden dowels and wooden wheels that interconnected. You could build towers, windmills, shapes- just about anything. The word for the modern toy, “lego,” is derived from a Greek word that is in the Bible.

The New Testament part of the Bible was written originally in Greek. Greek language is very precise. Our modern English Bibles are very reliable due to scholarly translations. Lego, the word for “assemble,” is often used in conjunction with other Greek words. In various Bible verses, it appears in compound words meaning, “to gather together,” “assemble,” or “collect” (people, things, or offerings).

This word is used for gathering together to Christ at his return, our gathering with other believers as the church, and for bringing in offerings at a certain place and time. We gather to Christ, with other believers, and we assemble in a place. Being gathered is a mark of being a follower of Jesus.

To whom, or with whom, do you gather? The old saying goes, “Birds of a feather flock together.” Another slogan is, “You can know a person by the friends they keep.” Whether we are aware of it or not, we all are drawn to the crowd that resembles us. Just like the TV show “Cheers,” we want to go where everyone knows our name, where we feel welcome, where we fit in. Friends are usually similar to us.

In America, society has become an incredible mixture of moralities, values, and lifestyles. Social media, commentary, and images proliferate preferred lifestyles and beliefs. Clashes between cultures arise.

Unavoidable divisions ensue as the old resists the new; as experimental lifestyles are forced upon the majority for reluctant acceptance. It is “in your face” and disturbing. What will the end of this look like? Do individual rights trump societal norms? Where are the old ways? Do parents abdicate responsibility for raising children to adulthood? Is “anything goes” the new norm? Apparently, it is.

But not in my Christian worldview.

I must be realistic and accept the fact that historic norms of behavior have eroded. There has been and continues to be a dynamic force that is pulling people in two opposite directions. One is, “Do your own thing.” “Answer to no one.” “Rules do not apply.” “Resist, rebel, destroy.” The other is, “Repent to God.” “Trust in the Lord Jesus.” "Obey God's word."

I like the architecture of the kingdom that comes from Christ. So, I must adopt a spiritual way to live that’s right, joyous, peaceful. (Romans 14:17)

As the world approaches the climax of human history, there is a ripening of the harvest. It is coinciding with maturing in the body of Christ. More believers are learning their ministry, how to walk in the steps of Jesus; how to do his works. The fields are white and ready for harvest. We can change the world.

A sorting is occurring. The scary part is that sinners are already being caught up in a dragnet, a reverse rapture. They are being collected into like-minded people groups who share a common disdain for God. They hate what is pure. They run after greed and sensuality. A flood of filth envelopes them as they make unholy alliances to justify their wickedness.

They scarcely know it, but they have already been selected for extinction. As Jesus said, “So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous…”

Ron Wood is a writer and prophetic teacher in NW Arkansas where he lives with his wife, Lana, near their two children, Scott and Rebekah, and their six grandchildren.

Email: ron@touchedbygrace.org.

---END--- 603 words, May 2, 2018, WCEL/NWADG column “Reverse Rapture”