[written 2006] The book I will quote from, I believe is a must-read, and urgent. I hope that this review will give the essential parts of the book. In reading this, sort of forget about the title as the book is not really about churches. It is about how an individual can go to Heaven or not. Please take this very seriously as it means how your real self, your soul will spend eternity. I know beyond the slightest doubt that these events will happen. We need to be ready. I hope that your faith is way beyond mine, but you may know someone who could use a reminder. George L. Hagen
The Church That Will Miss the Rapture, by Colene Ledford, Creation House – book review
Reading this book brought me ever closer to understanding the Bible prophecies of the things that lie ahead of us with Jesus coming soon. Colene Ledford gives details from the Bible and her explanation of each Bible passage, and her text closely follows the Bible. I can only sketch what is a rich, easy to read and worthwhile treatise on how to truly be saved, and how not to be.
Her Introduction: For many years I have studied Bible prophecy, with prayer and fasting. As I studied, the words began to come together like pieces of a giant puzzle. They began to make the big picture of what God planned for His children from the beginning of time. God’s love for his children is immeasurable, and He will do all He can to bring as many to Him as will come. God knows that His children must be made aware and be informed of the things that are to come upon the earth. Only then can they be prepared fully and be ready when He comes in the clouds for His saints (faithful ones). Bible prophecy is being unsealed every day now for we are truly in the last days. We have an obligation to share these revelations.
There are three types of people here on earth: the godly, the ungodly, and the sinner. This book is based on this question: If the righteous or godly scarcely be saved (1 Peter 4:18), why? And when the Godly are raptured, where do the ungodly come in? Who are the ungodly? These are those who have been saved but have iniquity in their lives, unrepented sins. And of course the dedicated sinners are those who have never acknowledged the Lord as Savior of their lives.
I have written the entire book by the leading of God’s Holy Spirit. My intentions are not to offend anyone, but to enlighten God’s people to His Word. I will explain who will be in the church that will miss the rapture, and why.
Chapter 1. God Will Do All That He Planned To Do
God had a plan from the beginning. He will do all that He planned to do. He is an awesome and almighty God. What is God’s pleasure? What does God want? When we study His precious Word in the Bible, the answer is plain: God simply wants children who will love Him, obey Him, want to be close to Him, be faithful to Him, and serve Him. From the beginning He wanted only those who chose to love Him. He will never force anyone to love Him. He made each of us in His likeness; we are free moral agents to make decisions on our own. But God wants children who are godly and righteous, nothing less. He did not spare the angels that fell. He brought a flood on the old world to destroy it. (Genesis 6:5-8) [Note: Ms. Ledford actually details many Bible passages, but I will simply list the references to save space.] He destroyed nations and cites, and through it all He delivered the godly.
When God gave his Son Jesus as the sacrificial Lamb for our sins, He had done all that He could to bring us back to Him. Each of us must make the choice to follow Him for everlasting life, or reject Him. God did not promise that the path would be easy for us but He promised He would send His Holy Spirit to be our Comforter and our guide. (John 14:26).
Because of the original sin of Adam and Eve, God knew that all would be born into sin, but we would not be condemned for that. We would only be condemned if we rejected Jesus as our Savior. All we had to do was repent our sins, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and receive Him into our heart. When we acknowledge this, we become a new creation with God’s Holy Spirit living within us to lead and guide us. God’s plan is to have children who love Him unconditionally and who are willing to be tried and tested. He will then do all He planned to do, and He will have children who love Him and want to be with him throughout eternity.
Chapter 2: God’s Word Is Like A Jigsaw Puzzle
God has given us His precious Word to use as a road map through life here on earth. The Holy Bible was written by holy men of God, moved upon by the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit), and it will only be understood fully by men and women of God moved by the Holy Ghost. This is why we need preachers, teachers and writers moved by the Holy Ghost.
The three types of people on this earth are the godly who are walking with the Lord and obeying His Word. Second are the ungodly, those who have been saved but have iniquity or sin in their life. The sinner is one who has never acknowledged the Lord as Savior nor asked Him to come into his heart.
Chapter 3: Prophecy
The definition of the word prophecy is “history in advance”. There are 8000 prophetic words in the Bible and 5000 pertain to the coming of the Lord. The prophet Daniel spoke many prophecies but he understood them not because it was not the time of the end. (Daniel 12:8-9). But now because we understand these words of prophecy as well as all the other prophecies in God’s Word, this must be “the time of the end”. Prophecies in God’s Word are being fulfilled every day. God’s promise is that every prophecy will be fulfilled before the end of time. God told Daniel that knowledge would be increased at “the time of the end”. Today is there any limit to the increase in knowledge we have at our disposal?
We now know that we are living in “the time of the end”, and the words that were closed to Daniel are now being revealed every day to those who are seeking and searching. In 1st Corinthians 1:12-16 Paul tells Christians that only by the Spirit of God can we understand the Word of God. In many places in the Bible reference is made to the phrase “of that day” or “in that day”. It often means “in that thousand years”. [The author then discusses the chronology of God’s timetable and the number seven, God’s perfect number.] Let us live each day as if it were our last one, and plan each day as if we will live forever. We have only our lifetime to prove ourselves worthy to be called the children of God. He placed within each of us the desire to know Him and to love Him. He loves us and wants us to be prepared to spend eternity with Him. Let us not fail to perform this task with our lifetime fulfilled in service to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Chapter 4. The Door
The DOOR is the door that is Jesus Christ. (John 10:9)
Jesus is the only door to salvation and eternal life. That door is open to all who will believe and receive Him as Lord of their life. Jesus is also the door to our Father God. Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me. (John 14:6) This door is open for now, to whosoever will come, but for how long? God’s Word says that this door is going to be closed. When will it close, who will close it, and why will it be closed?
Jesus gave a parable in Matthew 25:1-13 saying that only half of those who are expecting to go with Him in the Rapture will be ready when he does come. Once those are caught up with Him in the clouds, the door is shut. As we study God’s Word in many places it says that our garments of salvation must be white and clean. Those who are left will have spots and blemishing on their robes. All is not lost for them though because they have the Spirit of God in them and their names are written in the Book of Life. However, they must go through the tribulations that are to come upon the earth where they are tried and tested by fire. This means that only half the Christians who are expecting to go with the Lord will actually be able to go with Him in the Rapture.
Do we have enough Spirit of God in us to be able to go with Him? The Scriptures warn us to be alert and to be ready for we know not when the Son of Man our Lord will come. Many will seek to enter but will not be able to.
The word iniquity covers a lot of things. Half of those who come forth to join the Rapture will be told by Jesus “depart from me all ye workers of iniquity” (Luke 13:24-28). They will be told by Jesus it is because they have iniquity in their hearts and He does not know them. They will have to go through tribulation to be tested. How many of us have little things in our lives that should not be there? Is there anything else that we need to do to be ready to meet him? God only wants children who truly love him and are serious about wanting to spend eternity with Him.
Chapter 5. Resurrection and Rapture
As believers, we look forward to the day of the first resurrection and rapture of the saints of God. We will not be ignorant or complacent as we see the time approaching for His coming. (Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10). God wants us to be prepared when our time comes. As believers when our bodies die here on earth, our souls go to be with the Lord. All who are saved in their lifetimes and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior [and have no iniquities] will be there.
[This section must be read carefully to discern that the author is talking about tribulation and not the Rapture. The author gives a very interesting discussion of the events that are to take place in these last days including the tribulation period after the Rapture. She also sketches God’s promise to the whole house of Israel, God’s chosen people. Tribulation will be a most terrible period for the people on the earth. The house of Israel and the ungodly Christians, who have their name written in the Book of Life but who have iniquity will go through this, as well as everyone else left on earth at the time.] We know that there will be a great multitude [of Christians] left here on earth to be tried, tested and then killed for their testimony. (Revelation 7:9-11, 14-17). You can be saved and still not be ready to meet Him in the air. If you are not ready you will go into the tribulation. There, if you overcome by standing true to Jesus and your testimony even to your death, you can then stand before the throne of God with unblemished robes. Satan in the form of the Antichrist or beast will have power over all on the earth at that time after the Rapture. All whose names are not written in the Book of Life will have to worship him. He will require everyone to receive his mark 666 or they cannot buy or sell. All who take this mark will be damned to an eternity in hell.
[Ms. Ledford discusses how those who are already dead will be treated, but this review is primarily for those still living, so this, while interesting is left out.]
The door is still open and will be until our Lord’s return. Use the time wisely.
Chapter 6. The Sinners Who Will Be Left Behind
When the door of salvation has been shut for the Gentiles, where does that leave the Gentile sinners at the time of the Rapture? If you had never accepted the Lord as your Savior, you are considered to be a sinner, and the saving power of the Spirit of God is not in you. As a sinner, when Jesus comes and the door is shut you will be damned to an eternity in hell, no exceptions. You as a Gentile and a sinner cannot be saved during the tribulation period. If you are alive during the tribulation period you will not be able to overcome without the Spirit of God. In fact you will not want to. A delusion will be put upon you and you will believe the lies of the Antichrist and be damned to an eternity of hell with Satan. Paul’s words in Scripture are direct. (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12) When they had the chance to accept the Lord as their Savior, they rejected that chance to be saved. Maybe they think they can be saved anytime, but not so. When Jesus comes in the clouds and you are not saved, you are doomed. [If you have been saved, those with no blemishes will go in the clouds with Jesus; those with spots will stay behind but can redeem themselves in the tribulation.] For the unsaved, the door will have been closed when the Rapture occurs. You will not have another chance; you missed your last chance to receive Him as Lord.
God’s will is that none should perish and that all should accept Him as Lord and Savior of their lives. He has promised that the gospel of the kingdom of God would be preached in all the world. All including you will have heard the gospel sometime during your lifetime before the Rapture. All will have at least one chance to accept Jesus as their Lord, or to reject Him. (Matthew 24:14). But the choice belongs to each of us. He will still love you and hear your prayer of repentance as long as you live or until the Rapture occurs, whichever is first. After that it will be too late for you.
The greatest miracle ever is salvation where you are passed from death into life everlasting. If you have accepted Jesus but your robe is not white and clean when the Rapture occurs, you will have a second chance to make it white in the tribulation. But this is only for those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, that is those who have been saved but who have some blemishes. [No one though should wait for the tribulation to become completely clean as it will be a terrible experience.]
Chapter 7. The Unpardonable Sin
The unpardonable sin is to blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. (Luke 12:10). With the Holy Spirit you receive spiritual gifts. The gifts are from God to be cherished and used for His glory. This is God’s plan to bring us closer to Him. However, there are those who have turned back to sin after receiving these spiritual gifts. It is hard to believe that anyone would ever turn back to sin, after tasting the heavenly gifts, but it does happen. (2 Peter 2:20-21). This indeed is the unpardonable sin. Once you have tasted of the heavenly gifts of God, given by the Holy Spirit who is alive within us, and have fallen back into sin, there can be no more repentance. With this, God’s Holy Spirit is grieved and will forever be withdrawn. To sin willfully after receiving God’s heavenly gifts is truly the unpardonable sin.
Chapter 8. The Church That Will Miss The Rapture
The book of Revelation is predictive. This is what it was written for: to unfold the future, to chart the course and destiny of the church. (Revelation 1:12, 19 4:1). This is a book of undiluted optimism for God’s people, assuring us again and again that we are under God’s protection, with come what may a life of everlasting blessedness ahead. In Revelation, God chose seven churches out of hundreds all over the world to show and forecast the whole period of church history. These were from the time John wrote Revelations to the end of time. [The author gives a summary of each church. Especially interesting was the Church Age of Ephesus during Nero’s time in Rome when he burned the city and then blamed Christians for it. Each church age is interesting with the Emperor Constantine taking a prominent lead in Christianity, one of the bright spots in the dark ages. The rulers that followed him however, made a mockery of Christianity. Martin Luther resisted the onslaught of wicked Rome and brought some light in.] We are now living in the Church Age of Philadelphia. The door to salvation is still open but it will be shut during this church age.
The seventh and last church age will be the Laodicean Church age, after the Rapture. Then, all of the saints have been taken in the Rapture so only lukewarm Christians are left. This is the church that will miss the Rapture. Christians who were alive at the Rapture but had blemishes will go to tribulation. They will need to fellowship with the Lord to be able to overcome all the temptations and trials that will come upon them. Those who have never accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior cannot be saved even during the tribulation.
Chapter 9. God’s Chosen People
God’s chosen people are the Jews. Even though they rejected Him, He refused to abandon them. He blinded their eyes until the Gentiles came to fullness. But He has an everlasting covenant with the Jews. (Romans 11). The whole house of Israel from all times will be resurrected and gathered from all nations. They will be given spirit and led back to Israel. There though they will experience tribulation.
The Gentiles must have God’s Spirit in them when they die or they will not hear the cry to come forth at the Rapture. We must have believed, repented, and received Him as Lord of our life to hear His voice when he calls for us in the Rapture. (John 10:27). **End of review**
This is a very important book that everyone should read. I have only summarized the rich store of information that the author gives. Take time to read the book!
George L. Hagen, Wednesday, July 05, 2006