The Rapture (seriously)
23 Jan '15 02:552 edits"What We Believe" 26 Feb '14 22:23 Thread 158140 (Page 1)
8) "Church: We believe that the church, which is the Body of Christ is composed of all church age believers. The church is a spiritual organism, and all believers are in union with Christ and is not based upon affiliation with Christian denominations or organizations. (1Cor 12:12-14; Eph 1:22)."
9) "Satan: We believe that Satan, as the Scriptures state, is the greatest creature ever to come from the hand of God (Ezek. 28:12-13). He is presently the ruler of this world (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2), which he usurped from Adam in the garden (Gen. 3:1-5). He was the "anointed cherub who covers" (Ezek. 28:14). He led the angels in worshipping the Lord Jesus Christ in eternity past. He became arrogant by reason of his perfect wisdom and beauty (Ezek. 28:16-17) and became disenchanted with his position and rebelled against God. He led a rebellion against God taking with him a third of the angels (Rev. 12:4). He was sentenced to the Lake of Fire by God with a third of the angels (Mt. 25:41), but has been graciously granted an appeal by God. Human history outworking of this appeal of Satan's. He is now the openly declared enemy of God. Satan's objective both then and now is to be like God and to usurp the throne of heaven (Isa. 14:14). He was defeated at the Cross by Christ. His sentence will be executed at the completion of human history and will then be thrown into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:10-15)."
10) "Dispensations: We believe that a dispensation is a period of time during in which God employs a particular plan and man is tested to see if he will be obedient to that specific plan. We also believe that a dispensation is a period of human history explained in terms of divine revelation. History is defined as a series of administrations or eras. Each dispensation reflects the unfolding of God's plan for mankind and constitutes the divine viewpoint of history. It is essential for believers to understand dispensationalism in order to orient to God's will, plan, and purpose for their specific period of history that they are living in (Eph 1:7-11; 3:16; Rom 16:25-26; Col 1:26; Joh 1:16-17)."
11) "Rapture: We believe that the next great event in the fulfillment of prophecy will be the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to gather the church to Himself in the earth's atmosphere. He will receive to Himself believers who have died and believers who are alive at His coming. This is also known as the "Rapture" or "Resurrection of the Church" (1Cor 15:51-57; 1Thess 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-14)."
12) "Tribulation: We believe that the rapture of the Church will be followed by the fulfillment of Israel's seventieth week. The latter half of this seven-year period is the time of Jacob's trouble, the Great Tribulation (Jer 30:7; Dan 9:27; Mat 24:15-21; Rev 6:19)."
13) "2nd Advent of Christ: We believe that the Great Tribulation will culminate in the (pre-millennial) return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth to set up His kingdom. At this time He will literally land on the Mount of Olives and will deliver the nation of Israel from her enemies. This event will mark the literal 1000 year reign of Christ on planet earth (Zec 14:4-11; Mat 24:15-25; 2Thess 1:7-10; Rev 20:6)."
14) "Eternal State: We believe that the soul and the human spirit of those who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation immediately pass into His presence at the moment of physical death (2 Cor. 5:8). The soul and the human spirit remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the body at His coming. At this time, soul, human spirit and body reunite, and shall forever be associated with His glory. The souls of unbelievers remain after death in conscious misery until the final judgment of the Great White Throne at the close of the millennium. At this time, the soul and body reunited shall be cast into the eternal Lake of Fire. Not to be annihilated but to be salted with everlasting destruction and banished from the presence of the Lord forever (Luk 16:19-26; 23:43; 2Co 5:8; Phi 1:23; 2Th 1:7-9; Jud 6:7; Rev 20:11-15)."
15) "Responsibility of the Believer: The responsibility of the believer after salvation is to desire the sincere milk of the Word and to be continually nourished by it so that he may grow spiritually in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is God's desire that first every man be saved, and secondly that every believer in Christ come to intimately know Him through the inculcation of the Word of God (1Titus 2:4). The effectual work of God's Word brings the believer into adjustment with God's purpose, plan, and will. The internal execution of God's Word brings glory to the Lord (Rom 12:1-2; 2Cor 13:9; 1Titus 4:6; 1Pet 2:2; 2Pet 3:18)."
16) "Church Ordinance: We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Lord's Supper to be observed until His return (1Cor 11:23-36)."
17) "Sovereignty: We believe that God, existing as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is sovereign. He exercises supreme and absolute rule over all creation as a part of, and consistent with, the essence and attributes of deity (1Chron 29:11-12; Dan 4:35; Psa 24:1; Eph 1:11; 1Titus 6:15). However God in His sovereignty will not violate the free will of man. The free will of man and the sovereignty of God coexist by divine decree (1Titus 2:4-6; Rom 5:8-10: 32-33; 16:24-25; John 3:16, 36)."
18) Spirituality: Though salvation is the result of one decision to believe, spirituality is the result of continuous decisions to depend upon the Holy Spirit and to be filled with the Spirit. The believer is mandated not to quench nor to grieve the Spirit by personal sin and by rejection of His grace and power. In addition, to walk by means of the Spirit and be filled with the Spirit, the Christian life can only be fulfilled by the power of the Spirit (Gal 5:16; Eph 4:30; 5:18; 1Thess 5:19). We also affirm that a believer's intimacy with the Holy Spirit, also known as fellowship, is suspended once he commits personal sins. This intimacy is restored when he names and cites his sin(s) to God (1 John 1:9)."
19) "Spiritual Gifts: We believe that God the Holy Spirit, in grace and apart from any human merit, administers a spiritual gift to believers in this dispensation. Some permanent spiritual gifts in existence today are Pastor/Teachers, Evangelists, and Administrators. We further maintain that the temporary spiritual gifts ceased with the completion of the canon of scripture. These temporary gifts were, apostleship, prophecy, speaking in tongues, interpreting tongues, healing and working of miracles (1Cor 12:13; Eph 4:7-12; Rom 12:4-8). Though spiritual gifts of miracles and healing have ceased, God may, and does, heal and miraculously intervene by His direct action (Isa 46:10; Mat 28:18; Jam 5:16)." -Pastor Bill Wenstrom (2 of 2)
http://www.wenstrom.org/modules.php?name=StaticText&pagename=what_we_believe
Note: This summary statement, as taught by Pastor Wenstrom, is based on the authority of the original languages in which the Word of God was written. I too believe this statement word for word. Further comment on the Rapture to follow.
8) "Church: We believe that the church, which is the Body of Christ is composed of all church age believers. The church is a spiritual organism, and all believers are in union with Christ and is not based upon affiliation with Christian denominations or organizations. (1Cor 12:12-14; Eph 1:22)."
9) "Satan: We believe that Satan, as the Scriptures state, is the greatest creature ever to come from the hand of God (Ezek. 28:12-13). He is presently the ruler of this world (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2), which he usurped from Adam in the garden (Gen. 3:1-5). He was the "anointed cherub who covers" (Ezek. 28:14). He led the angels in worshipping the Lord Jesus Christ in eternity past. He became arrogant by reason of his perfect wisdom and beauty (Ezek. 28:16-17) and became disenchanted with his position and rebelled against God. He led a rebellion against God taking with him a third of the angels (Rev. 12:4). He was sentenced to the Lake of Fire by God with a third of the angels (Mt. 25:41), but has been graciously granted an appeal by God. Human history outworking of this appeal of Satan's. He is now the openly declared enemy of God. Satan's objective both then and now is to be like God and to usurp the throne of heaven (Isa. 14:14). He was defeated at the Cross by Christ. His sentence will be executed at the completion of human history and will then be thrown into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:10-15)."
10) "Dispensations: We believe that a dispensation is a period of time during in which God employs a particular plan and man is tested to see if he will be obedient to that specific plan. We also believe that a dispensation is a period of human history explained in terms of divine revelation. History is defined as a series of administrations or eras. Each dispensation reflects the unfolding of God's plan for mankind and constitutes the divine viewpoint of history. It is essential for believers to understand dispensationalism in order to orient to God's will, plan, and purpose for their specific period of history that they are living in (Eph 1:7-11; 3:16; Rom 16:25-26; Col 1:26; Joh 1:16-17)."
11) "Rapture: We believe that the next great event in the fulfillment of prophecy will be the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to gather the church to Himself in the earth's atmosphere. He will receive to Himself believers who have died and believers who are alive at His coming. This is also known as the "Rapture" or "Resurrection of the Church" (1Cor 15:51-57; 1Thess 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-14)."
12) "Tribulation: We believe that the rapture of the Church will be followed by the fulfillment of Israel's seventieth week. The latter half of this seven-year period is the time of Jacob's trouble, the Great Tribulation (Jer 30:7; Dan 9:27; Mat 24:15-21; Rev 6:19)."
13) "2nd Advent of Christ: We believe that the Great Tribulation will culminate in the (pre-millennial) return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth to set up His kingdom. At this time He will literally land on the Mount of Olives and will deliver the nation of Israel from her enemies. This event will mark the literal 1000 year reign of Christ on planet earth (Zec 14:4-11; Mat 24:15-25; 2Thess 1:7-10; Rev 20:6)."
14) "Eternal State: We believe that the soul and the human spirit of those who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation immediately pass into His presence at the moment of physical death (2 Cor. 5:8). The soul and the human spirit remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the body at His coming. At this time, soul, human spirit and body reunite, and shall forever be associated with His glory. The souls of unbelievers remain after death in conscious misery until the final judgment of the Great White Throne at the close of the millennium. At this time, the soul and body reunited shall be cast into the eternal Lake of Fire. Not to be annihilated but to be salted with everlasting destruction and banished from the presence of the Lord forever (Luk 16:19-26; 23:43; 2Co 5:8; Phi 1:23; 2Th 1:7-9; Jud 6:7; Rev 20:11-15)."
15) "Responsibility of the Believer: The responsibility of the believer after salvation is to desire the sincere milk of the Word and to be continually nourished by it so that he may grow spiritually in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is God's desire that first every man be saved, and secondly that every believer in Christ come to intimately know Him through the inculcation of the Word of God (1Titus 2:4). The effectual work of God's Word brings the believer into adjustment with God's purpose, plan, and will. The internal execution of God's Word brings glory to the Lord (Rom 12:1-2; 2Cor 13:9; 1Titus 4:6; 1Pet 2:2; 2Pet 3:18)."
16) "Church Ordinance: We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Lord's Supper to be observed until His return (1Cor 11:23-36)."
17) "Sovereignty: We believe that God, existing as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is sovereign. He exercises supreme and absolute rule over all creation as a part of, and consistent with, the essence and attributes of deity (1Chron 29:11-12; Dan 4:35; Psa 24:1; Eph 1:11; 1Titus 6:15). However God in His sovereignty will not violate the free will of man. The free will of man and the sovereignty of God coexist by divine decree (1Titus 2:4-6; Rom 5:8-10: 32-33; 16:24-25; John 3:16, 36)."
18) Spirituality: Though salvation is the result of one decision to believe, spirituality is the result of continuous decisions to depend upon the Holy Spirit and to be filled with the Spirit. The believer is mandated not to quench nor to grieve the Spirit by personal sin and by rejection of His grace and power. In addition, to walk by means of the Spirit and be filled with the Spirit, the Christian life can only be fulfilled by the power of the Spirit (Gal 5:16; Eph 4:30; 5:18; 1Thess 5:19). We also affirm that a believer's intimacy with the Holy Spirit, also known as fellowship, is suspended once he commits personal sins. This intimacy is restored when he names and cites his sin(s) to God (1 John 1:9)."
19) "Spiritual Gifts: We believe that God the Holy Spirit, in grace and apart from any human merit, administers a spiritual gift to believers in this dispensation. Some permanent spiritual gifts in existence today are Pastor/Teachers, Evangelists, and Administrators. We further maintain that the temporary spiritual gifts ceased with the completion of the canon of scripture. These temporary gifts were, apostleship, prophecy, speaking in tongues, interpreting tongues, healing and working of miracles (1Cor 12:13; Eph 4:7-12; Rom 12:4-8). Though spiritual gifts of miracles and healing have ceased, God may, and does, heal and miraculously intervene by His direct action (Isa 46:10; Mat 28:18; Jam 5:16)." -Pastor Bill Wenstrom (2 of 2)
http://www.wenstrom.org/modules.php?name=StaticText&pagename=what_we_believe
Note: This summary statement, as taught by Pastor Wenstrom, is based on the authority of the original languages in which the Word of God was written. I too believe this statement word for word. Further comment on the Rapture to follow.
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