All the workings of God in us are to bring us to the place where it is no longer we who are living but Christ who is living in us.

The error of the "rapture" teaching is that it seeks to gain entrance into the external kingdom before the internal kingdom has been perfected.

It is disastrous to bring people into the Presence of Christ until the Presence of Christ has been brought into them. The fleshly believers will never understand this and will fall deeper and deeper into deception. In the last days the worldly believers will persecute the true saints viciously.

It is taught commonly among Christians that if we believe in Christ we are not required to keep the commandments He gave us, as recorded in the four Gospel accounts, or that the Apostles set forth in their writings. We ought to try to observe them, but since we are saved by grace through faith there is no penalty for failing to keep Christ's commandments diligently.

What an enormous error this is! What a misunderstanding of the new covenant!

Notice the following:

And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. (I John 2:3)

And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 12:17)

Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. (Revelation 14:12)

Concerning the last two verses, the argument is made that these are Jewish believers in that they keep the commandments of God.

But when Paul wrote concerning the fact that we are not saved by works but by faith in Christ he was addressing Jewish believers. Therefore, claiming that it is Jewish believers who must keep the commandments of God is not logical. It was Jewish believers to whom the grace of God first came!

The truth is, those of us who have the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ are supposed to be keeping the commandments set forth in the writings of the New Testament. The division between Jewish believers in Christ and Gentile believers in Christ that is taught today is unscriptural. It has proceeded from fleshly thinking. Such a division is specifically contrary to the teachings of the Apostle Paul concerning the one Israel, the one family of God.

The evidence we love Christ is that we keep His commandments. There is no true faith in Christ that does not keep the commandments of Christ. Such a barren "faith" is not faith at all but a mental acceptance of theological truth. There is no redemption, no Kingdom of God in it.

When we, through His grace, diligently do what Jesus instructed us to do, and what Paul commanded us to do as well as the other Apostles of the Lord, then we truly love Jesus. He who loves Jesus will be loved by the Father. Jesus will love that individual and will reveal Himself to Him. This is the beginning of the union stage of the marriage of the Lamb.

To be continued.