In Loving Memory
April 29, 1947 - September 5, 2020
Update: On Saturday, September 5th, 2020, the founder, administrator, and head moderator of this forum, Valerie S., went Home to be with the Lord. Her obituary can be found on https://memorials.demarcofuneralhomes.com/valerie-skrzyniak/4321619/index.php.
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
2 Timothy 4:7-8
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing .
Uh, Justin, I see a problem in what you said. You said those who remain in fellowship with God will go in the Rapture, the implication being that those who are out of fellowship with Him will be left behind to endure His wrath. How strong does that fellowship have to be? Do we have to be in prayer every half-hour or every 5 minutes? Do we have to be reading the Bible all day long? Do we have to constantly feel God's presence? Obey Him at all times, keeping all sinning to an absolute minimum if at all possible (seeing as we can never hope to eliminate it altogether)?
Every born-again, blood-bought Christian will be caught up. Period. It's not a privilege that we must earn, even by our fellowship with God; it's the culmination of the salvation package. Only because of what Jesus has done for us that we're even accounted to be worthy to escape; our works will never make us worthy, not even the quality of our fellowship with God. Because Jesus lives in our hearts, when the trumpet shouts, we're going to blast off! I can't wait; can you? 
Now, with all that said, Justin, I can only agree with the rest of what you said in your opening post. You made some excellent points. And you are right--as you said above, "In essence..EVERY BORN AGAIN Christian will GO." "And ALL of us are declared WORTHY not because we are..but becasue HE IS." Amen to that, Justin!
Kathy G.
OK, Justin, thanks for clarifying! 
And you are so right--to feel that we have to be good enough to deserve escaping God's wrath is a terrible burden that none of us can bear. Because none of us can be good enough, even as Christians. I am so thankful that God has fixed it so that we don't have to be good enough, since we could never measure up anyway. You're right--the work has already been accomplished. Our job is to accept His gift of salvation and then rest in His work.
Justin, I love this scripture. When we realize that God sees the end from the beginning and knows who will choose Him as God and Lord, it causes us to LOVE HIM even more. I am overwhelmed when I realize that God so knew me and planned for my life not only before I was born, but before one thing was created. How awesome is that. It gives us a place of rest. We can relax and know that God is in control and no matter how crazy things get here, we are safe in His big, powerful hands. Thanks so much for your lovely thread Justin.
