Are the words “being raptured in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” right?

　　Question: The Bible says, “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” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). how do we explain this verse?

　　Answer: When anticipating the Lord’s return, we should rely on His prophecies. They’re the most accurate. In the part you read, who exactly did you quote? Is it the Lord or is it a man? “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.” Where are these words from? Did the Lord Jesus speak them? He didn’t. The Lord Jesus never said that, nor has the Holy Spirit ever said it. These words you read are merely quoted. They were said by Paul. Do Paul’s words speak for the Lord Jesus? Do they speak for God? Regarding the great mystery of the Lord’s return, only God knows. If a man dares to explain and blindly define it, that’s a serious problem. Paul was not Christ. He was nothing but a corrupt man. So his words are filled with man’s imagination and impurity. His words are not truth nor the basis of rapture. We should base it on God’s words in the Bible. This accords with truth. When it comes to being raptured up, you didn’t use the Lord’s word as basis, but instead, you used man’s word, Paul’s word as the basis. This is wrong. Because only the word of Christ is truth and authority. The Lord Jesus is Christ and king of the kingdom of heaven. Since it is so, why don’t you seek the truth in the words of Lord Jesus? Why accept man’s word as truth? Is that the Lord’s will? By following this way, it’s easy to follow man. When it comes to the rapture, we haven’t been listening to the Lord but listening to man. That could be really dangerous. In the beginning, God created man with the dust on earth, allowed us to perform our duties and take care of things on earth, and asked us to obey Him, worship and glorify Him. So God’s ordained destination for man is on earth rather than in heaven. God has also told us clearly that His kingdom will be established here on the earth. And He will dwell with man here on earth and make this world His kingdom where Christ reigns. Therefore, God’s kingdom will finally be realized on earth, not in heaven. Man wants to be brought up to heaven, but this is a product of imagination and excessive desire. It goes against the truth and doesn’t accord with the work of God. And as for the rapture to the kingdom of heaven, we should find basis in God’s word. This is the most accurate way, compatible with God’s will.

Source: Daily Devotionals

What Is Forgiveness of Sin? Can People Enter the Kingdom of God After Being Forgiven of Sin?

By Qiao Ning

　　The greatest longing for those of us who believe in the Lord is to enter the heavenly kingdom, and so we often imagine how beautiful it must be there. Of course, we are also confident about our entry into heaven, for it says in the Bible: “In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:14). We therefore believe that our sins are forgiven after we have faith in the Lord, and that we are then no longer sinful. We also believe that, when the Lord comes, we will immediately be raised up into the heavenly kingdom. Thinking of these things gets us very excited, and we long for the Lord to hurry to us. This is what I longed for before too. But later, after fellowshiping and discussing this matter with my brothers and sisters, I came to a new discovery, and here I’d like to fellowship what I gained with you all …

What Is the Meaning of Rapture? Why Is Rapture in the Air Wrong?

By Chen Li

　　The meeting began. Pastor Yu was leading brothers and sisters in reading the Bible, “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” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Then, Pastor Yu fellowshiped, “Now is the late period of the last days. It is the critical moment of the Lord returning. The Lord could come at any time to receive us. Then we will be raptured into the clouds to meet the Lord. We will be able to avoid the disasters on earth and enter the kingdom of heaven without experiencing the taste of death. Brothers and sisters, we are truly so blessed to be born in the last days!” Hearing the Pastor’s words, everybody was excited and eagerly yearned for the Lord coming soon so that they could escape the worries in the world and would be with the Lord forever.

A Meeting Tells You What the Judgment of the Lord Is

By Xiaomai

　　At a predetermined time, the brothers and sisters meet at go to Sister Wang’s for Bible study. Today it was at 7 p.m.

　　At 7 p.m., as the brothers and sisters arrived one after another, the room became noisy. When Sister Dong was talking with others, there was a knock at the door. Sister Wang rose to open the door, and it turned out to be Sister Lin, who walked in while singing a song, “In the last days there will be a great white throne; the Lord Jesus sits on it, from whose face everyone will pass through a sea of glass where their entire life’s transgressions will be showed….”

　　Attracted by Sister Lin’s singing, the others all clapped their hands and sang along. After Sister Lin came, smiling, to the chair and sat down, the singing gradually faded.

　　Sister Wang walked up to Sister Lin, sat down and asked curiously, “Hey, why did you sing this song today?”

July 8, 2018 – Luke 24:6-7

　　For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

- Proverbs 1:32

　　Thoughts on Today’s Verse…

　　Three days after the Lord Jesus’ crucifixion, He rose again and appeared to man. All those who truly believe in the Lord have faith in this fact and applaud God’s might.

　　From the fact of Jesus’ resurrection, we know the authority and power of God’s word. As God speaks, so He brings to fruition all that which He has spoken. Such as, “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light” (Gen 1:3). The heavens and earth and all things are established and made complete by the words of God. When the Lord Jesus preached and did His work, His one word made the blind see, made cripples walk, resurrected the dead, and calmed the wind and sea. … All of these prove that the authority of God’s words is inestimable and that the Lord Jesus is the unique God Himself.

Source: Daily Devotionals

July 7, 2018 – Job 28:23-26

　　God understands the way thereof, and he knows the place thereof. For he looks to the ends of the earth, and sees under the whole heaven; To make the weight for the winds; and he weighs the waters by measure.When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder:

– Job 28:23-26

　　Thoughts on Today’s Verse…

　　These verses tell us that Job was knowledgeable about God. Although he did not see God, through practical observation, he experienced and knew God’s actions from various phenomena in his daily life, for example: The sun, the moon and the stars all travel precisely along their own track; the rotation of seasons and the change of weather are predestined; every kind of living creature thrive and multiply within one constant rule—all this is ruled over by God not by man. Job had truly appreciated that God’s deeds are everywhere, and that God’s wisdom is wondrous and unfathomable. Thus, he was certain of God’s true existence and the fact that God is the source of man’s life, and the fact that it is God who leads all things, provides for all things and command all things. In addition, Job applied his knowledge of God’s sovereignty and authority to his real life. He believed that all he possessed had been bestowed upon him by God, and had not come off the back of his own labor. Just as God says, “Job had never seen God, the implication of which is that although he had heard of God, he did not know where God was, or what God was like, or what God was doing, which are subjective factors; objectively speaking, though he followed God, God had never appeared to him or spoken to him. Is this not a fact? Although God had not spoken to Job or given him any commands, Job had seen God’s existence, and beheld His sovereignty among all things and in legends in which Job had heard of God by the hearing of the ear, after which he began the life of fearing God and shunning evil. Such were the origins and process by which Job followed God.” We should emulate Job—to realize God’s wonderful sovereignty in all the things He created with our heart, obey all the environments arranged by Him in our daily life, and feel God’s true existence in our real experiences.

Know more: Daily Devotionals 

3 Tips Tell You How to Follow God

By Li Xing

　　All devout Christians yearn for the return of the Lord and entering the wonderful kingdom of heaven prepared by Him. Yet very few of them have reflected on whether God approves of their belief in Him, nor have they rethought what kind of belief is following God and what kind of belief is following men. Today, let’s fellowship some key truths determining the success or failure of our belief in God and discuss what genuinely following God is.

First, one who follows God must obey His words and depend on Him in everything.

　　Honoring God as great does not just refer to us reciting many chapters of the Scripture, praying to and praising God, or working and spending for the Lord outwardly; it mainly refers to us living by His words after reading them, and truly relying on Him in practical life. Though we can’t see God, we shall obey everything from Him; especially when we read His words, we should accept them, act in accordance with His intention, and treasure His words as our principle of life and guidance of action. And when anything happens to us, we shouldn’t speak or act according to our personal hobbies or desires. Particularly when it comes to important issues, we should even more seek God’s will in His words to act on His intention precisely; even if it might do harm to our benefits, we shouldn’t give up practicing His words. Only when we regard God’s words as our principle, give first place to satisfying God, and fulfills His requirement: “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30), can we be called a true follower of God.

July 6, 2018 – Ephesians 5:17 – Seek the Lord’s Will

　　Why be you not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

– Ephesians 5:17

　　Thoughts on Today’s Verse…

　　From this verse we know that only the wise can understand the will of the Lord, because when things befall the wise, they won’t treat them according to their conceptions and imaginations, but seek the will of the Lord at all times, understand the will of the Lord, and do things according to the Lord’s will. This is the man that God approves. But in reality, we easily follow our own desires to treat the people, things, and objects we personally encounter, and are influenced by them. Thus, we neglect to quiet before the Lord and seek His will. As a result, we did not understand the Lord’s will and have done many unwise things, and fell into Satan’s cunning scheme, becoming the unwise. So we should learn to be wise, to seek the will of the Lord in everything. Only by grasping the Lord’s will and demands, and practicing according to His will can we have a God-loving heart and be approved by God. Just as God’s words say: “Loving God requires seeking God’s will in all things, and that you probe deep within when anything happens to you, trying to grasp God’s will, and trying to see what God’s will is in this matter, what He wishes you to achieve, and how you should be mindful of His will.”

More attention: Daily Devotionals　 

How to Keep Temper When Hurt by Others

By Titie, United States

　　In our life, we always feel we lose face on account of others’ words or looks. And sometimes, we develop prejudices against them for this reason, with our hot blood flaring up, even resulting in a conflict between them. In the face of such a circumstance, as a Christian, how should we treat it in accordance with God’s heart? As regards to this, I’ve found out a path to practice and I want to share it with you.

　　After I arrived in America, I began engaging in nursing in an old couple’s home. There, the following scene was an everyday occurrence …

Who Completely Cured the Hepatitis B of My Mother

By Xiangming, Spain

　　When I was ten years old, my mother got hepatitis B, and the doctor said that it was difficult to be rooted out.

　　To heal my mother’s illness, my father had taken her to many places from the north to the south to see doctors and she had taken much medicine but her condition didn’t improve at all. Because the virus continuously attacked her hepatocytes, my mother’s liver was seriously damaged. Following it, she got weaker and weaker with a sallow complexion, only being able to do some easy housework. In addition, under the torment of illness, my mother’s temper got very bad and she often flared at something that was not worth mentioning. At that time, because of this, my family was full of my father’s groans and my fear rather than former cheers and laughter.

　　From the news, I learned that many sufferers having hepatitis B like my mother left the world because their condition deteriorated. Afterward, I knew that in our village, a person, around my mother’s age, also had the same illness as my mother and died in the end due to unsuccessful medical treatment. Thus, when I saw my mom was woebegone because of the torment of illness, I was afraid that she would die sooner or later as her health became grew worse. In those days, whenever I thought of these, I would secretly shed tears under my quilt and often cried out in my heart: Who can save my mom?

July 5, 2018 – 1 John 4:12

No man has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwells in us, and his love is perfected in us.

– 1 John 4:12

　　Thoughts on Today’s Verse…

　　God has the substance of love. His will is that brothers and sisters can love one another. But in real life, many people don’t know how to love them. For example: When we see their weakness, or their words or actions go against our wish, we start to despise and dislike them without love, tolerance or patience. Let’s see how the Lord Jesus loves people. God says, “To humanity He was always tolerant, never vengeful, but forgave them their sins, exhorted them to repent, and taught them to have patience, forbearance, and love, to follow in His footsteps and sacrifice themselves for the sake of the cross. His love for the brothers and sisters exceeded His love for Mary. The work that He did took as its principle healing the people and driving out demons, all for the sake of His redemption. No matter where He went, He treated all who followed Him with grace. He made the poor rich, the lame walk, the blind see, and the deaf hear; He even invited the lowliest, destitute ones, the sinners, to sit at the same table with Him, never shunning them but always being patient, even saying, ‘When a shepherd loses one sheep out of a hundred, he will leave behind the ninety-nine to seek the one lost sheep, and when he finds it he will rejoice greatly.’ He loved His followers as a ewe loves her lambs. Though they were foolish and ignorant, and were sinners in His eyes, and furthermore were the humblest members of society, He considered these sinners—men whom others despised—as the apple of His eye. Since He favored them, He gave up His life for them, as a lamb was offered up on the altar. He went about in their midst as if He were their servant, letting them use Him and slaughter Him, submitting to them unconditionally.”

July 4, 2018 – Matthew 13:10-13

　　And the disciples came, and said to him, Why speak you to them in parables? He answered and said to them, Because it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whoever has not, from him shall be taken away even that he has. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

– Matthew 13:10-13

How to Be an Honest Christian in the Workplace?

By Yang Qifeng, Canada

　　Looking at the coffeemakers which were heaped up on my testing-table, my monitor said impatiently, “Young man! Look! You test the products so slowly that so many of them are heaped up. When you see that the QC who checks over the products isn’t here, you don’t need to test them. Directly give them to the other members of staff. If the QC asks you whether you have tested the products, you can say you have done. The former employee didn’t test all the products. Therefore, the products were not heaped up. How can you be so stupid?” “The previous employee tested the products very fast and didn’t heap them up,” my colleague opposite to me said contemptuously. Hearing their words, I felt very aggrieved in my heart …

　　I work in an appliance installation company and am responsible for testing the quality of the export coffeemakers. These machines need to be tested by putting some water into them one by one. As soon as I’m not careful, my hands will be blistered by scalding water. In order to prevent any quality problems emerging, I tested each of them carefully. However, to increase the output and gain more awards, my monitor urged me to work quickly more than once. I felt a little shaken within: Since the previous employee didn’t test the products one by one and nothing happened, then I won’t test all of them. But then I thought: I’m a believer in God and God requires us to be honest people. If I don’t test the products one by one, then I’m irresponsible as well as cheating others, and I’m not an honest person that brings God joy. I’ll test what I should test. Therefore, I prayed to God silently in my heart, “Oh God! I’m willing to put into practice being an honest person.” After the prayer, I still tested the products one by one. Seeing that I didn’t do according to what she said, my monitor blamed me in front of my colleagues, “You’re too stupid and your mind is inflexible.” Hearing that she talked about me like this, I thought: This is not because I’m stupid or I can’t do like that. Before I believed in God, I also cheated others. Now that I believe in God, I should practice according to God’s words.

July 1, 2018 – Mark 12:30

　　And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength: this is the first commandment.

– Mark 12:30

　　Thoughts on Today’s Verse…

　　From this verse I understand that if we wish to love God, our hearts should face God in word and deed, and we should give our hearts to Him and satisfy Him in all things.

July 2, 2018 – Ecclesiastes 1:2

Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

– Ecclesiastes 1:2

Thoughts on Today’s Verse…

　　This verse tells us that our pursuits in life, such as fame and fortune, status, money and fleshly enjoyments, are all vanity and meaninglessness because we do not bring when we are born and we do not take when we die. We cannot help but ask ourselves: If all is vanity, then why do we live? How to live can get rid of vanity? At this moment, a passage of God’s words struck me, “For without the guidance of God, no matter how much rulers and sociologists wrack their brains to preserve human civilization, it is to no avail. No one can fill the emptiness in man’s heart, for no one can be the life of man, and no social theory can free man from the emptiness with which he is afflicted. … Man, after all, is man. The position and life of God cannot be replaced by any man. Mankind does not just require a fair society in which everyone is well-fed and is equal and free, but the salvation of God and His provision of life to them. Only when man receives the salvation of God and His provision of life to them can the needs, yearning to explore, and spiritual emptiness of man be resolved.” From these words we can see that only when mankind accept God’s provision of life to them, seek to know Him, and gain the truth can they solve emptiness. Thanks for God’s guidance!

Recommend more: Daily Bible Devotions

July 3, 2018 – Proverbs 3:6

　　In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.

– Proverbs 3:6

　　Thoughts on Today’s Verse…

　　From this verse, we can see God hopes that we can rely on and believe in Him in everything. Then when things befall us, God will surely show us the way and guide us. However, many times, we cannot see God’s deeds because of our little faith in Him. When we are faced with some matter, we don’t rely on God but do things depending on our own ability. And we really feel pained when the results are not as we wished. Not until we meet with difficulties do we come before God, pray to Him and entrust our difficulties to Him. This reminds me of a passage of God’s words, “So there is a very important lesson to be learned here. What is this lesson? It is that people need to look to God in all things and, by looking to God, they achieve a reliance on God. Only by relying on God do people have a path to follow. Otherwise, they can do something correctly and in conformity with the principles of the truth, but if they don’t rely on God, then what they do is just man’s deed, and it does not necessarily satisfy God.” From God’s words, we can see that only firmly believing in God and acting according to His will in all things are something that a creature should do and that God approves.

　　More attention:

　　God and the Bible section selects articles that reveal the mysteries of the Bible and clarify the relationship between God and the Bible, helping us know the truth about God and the Bible more clearly. 

How Should We Welcome the Jesus Christ When He Knocks on the Door?

After believing in the Lord, brothers and sisters all like singing the song “The Beloved Is Urgently Knocking on the Door Outside”: “The Beloved is urgently knocking on the door outside. His locks are filled with the drops of the night dew. Come on, get up to open the door for Him; don’t let our beloved walk away. …” Every time we sing it, we are very moved inside, and it has a great impact on us. We all want to keep the beloved, and be the first one to hear His voice and welcome Him when He knocks on our door. It can be said that, we believers in the Lord are all longing for it. But what does it mean that the Lord knocks on the door? And how should we welcome Him when He knocks on our door?

　　In the Age of Grace, when the Jesus Christ came to do the work of redemption, His deeds and His teachings spread all over Judea and His name also became well-known among the whole generation. For the people of that time, the Jesus Christ was knocking on their door when He preached the gospel everywhere with His disciples. The Lord Jesus said, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). The Lord wanted people to repent and confess before Him, so that they were forgiven their sins and were redeemed from the condemnation and curse of the law. At that time, many Jewish people saw the wonders performed by the Jesus Christ as well as the authority and power of His words, such as feeding five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish after giving thanks, calming the wind and sea with one word, resurrecting Lazarus with just a word, and so on. As the Lord Jesus spoke, things were fulfilled and accomplished. His words are just like the words spoken by the Creator when He created the heavens and earth and all things; they equally hold the authority and power. Besides, the words said by the Lord Jesus to teach man and rebuke the Pharisees cannot be said by us mankind. His words all reveal God’s disposition and being, and show forth the authority and power of God. Actually, whatever the Lord said and did struck everyone to the core of his being. It can be said that the Jewish people of that time had already heard the Lord’s knocking.