In all the debates and discussions on the rapture doctrine (a yet unfulfilled teaching, as was the resurrection for the Sadducee's) a distinction, a point of debate came up. There are some that teach that only the spiritual christians will be taken, not the carnal ones. I heard about this in it's refutation, but I think this idea misconstrues a very important and oft repeated teaching of the Lord. The discussion made trivial Christ's whole point in what He was teaching!
The admonition, of Jesus, that I am talking about, is the one where He warns us to "watch and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things, and to stand before the son of Man." In another passage with the same theme, He tells us of ten virgins, five of whom were taken, and five who were not. The five who were not, did not have their lamps burning when the bridegroom came. They had already been warned that they were to be "the light of the world." Obviously, they did not take it to heart.
We, the church, are to be the light, the salt, watchmen who give warning, witnesses who make disciples, good servants who invest His Word into our society. We are to "proclaim the feasts of the Lord"(Leviticus 23:4), which are the prophetic announcements of His redemption plan.
The Church lets herself get distracted by mere social concerns, but her calling is to spread the gospel. Her employment is the distinctive mark of her identity. "He that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad."(Matthew 12:30) "Every tree that does not bear fruit will be cut down and cast onto the fire."(Luke 3:9) So, our directive could not be more clear than this! Matt 28:18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
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