The remnant, the elect, are being judged today. Their personal cross is purging the self-love, self-centeredness, self-seeking from each of them.

There are many doctrines, many "waters" that in our day are being drunk by God's innocent sheep and lambs. Some of the waters are poisonous and produce spiritual death. Yet it is not readily apparent that this is what is happening.

One of these doctrines is the "escape by rapture from the tribulation." Because escape by a rapture is an unscriptural concept, an elaborate scheme of interpretation has been developed in order to create an apparent harmony with the multitude of passages that do not support this idea.

It is our point of view that one of the more harmful elements in the scheme that has been developed to give credence to the so-called "rapture" is the division of the Kingdom of God into a spiritual "Gentile church" and a natural "Jewish kingdom."

If an individual were to sit down and attempt to develop a way of making a reasonable interpretation of the Scriptures impossible, he could not find a better means than suggesting that the Body of Christ is a spiritual Gentile church while the physical nation of Israel is destined to inherit the Messianic Kingdom on the earth.

The most elementary knowledge of the nature of the Messianic Kingdom and redemption, beginning with Abraham, does away immediately with any division of the elect into a Jewish elect and a Gentile elect.

Warping the interpretation of certain Scripture passages in order to support the "pre-tribulation rapture of a Gentile elect" has removed the destiny of the so-called "Gentile elect" from the writings of the Hebrew prophets—a removal in direct conflict with Peter's statement:

Unto whom [the Hebrew prophets] it was revealed, that not unto themselves [physical Israel], but unto us [Christians whether Jewish or Gentile by natural birth] they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. (I Peter 1:12)

The result of the removal of the destiny of the saved Gentiles from the writings of the Prophets has been the erection of a wall between the Old Testament prophecies and the true Israel of God, the Christian Church, the Body of Christ, comprising people who are both Jewish and Gentile by physical birth. This wall effectively prevents the Christian people from understanding the nine objectives of the unifying and maturing of the Body of Christ because the wall causes them to apply the Old Testament prophecies only to physical Israel.

The lack of understanding of the Kingdom has harmed God's people. Today, in many instances, the Christians are not moving forward into the latter-rain revival but are sitting back helplessly, waiting for a "rapture." They may give verbal assent to the need to bear witness of the Kingdom to the world, but in actual fact, apathy is reigning over them.

To be continued.