Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 184

July 6:   Revelation 4:1;   242/260(I);   ‘Come Up Here’

Revelation 4:1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, "Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this."

“After these things” refers to chapters 2 &3, the church age.  The Lord is about to deal specifically with the unbelieving Jews.  As He is doing so, multitudes of gentiles will be saved as well.  Those who reject Jesus during this seven year period called the tribulation, will be eternally separated from the Lord.  Before this seven year period can begin, Jesus will come in the clouds, Christians will see Him, a trumpet will sound and they will be literally drawn to Jesus in the sky.  As they ascend, and all of this will take place in a fraction of a second, their bodies will be changed into resurrection bodies, which are able to function in heaven.  Some say the church will have to go through the tribulation, but this is unscriptural.  During the tribulation, Jesus will be doing all He can to reach the unsaved Jews and gentiles.  He will also be pouring out wrath on those who refuse to accept Him and side in with the anti-Christ.  Christians are already saved and He does not have to deal with us to do what we have already done.  In heaven, we will stand before the ‘Bema Seat of Christ.’  This is where the Lord Jesus will reward us for our faithful work for Him while we were on the earth.  He has a plan for each of us, which He had for us before we were born.  We will be rewarded based on how much of what we were created to do was done.  You may say, “I do not know what He created me to do.”  You can know and the Lord would be unjust if He did not reveal to you His will for your life by the Holy Spirit.  Seek His will, do His will, this will thoroughly fulfill you and earn eternal rewards.