Scriptures are shared, today, responding to a question on whether babies and small children will be taken up at the Rapture. While children can be very important as life companions who minister, call forth, and challenge adults and their peers to openly display such human resources as creativity, love, patience, respect, strength, tenderness, and wisdom that otherwise would remain hidden and unseen, children often disrupt and upset believers in their service and stewardship to Christ. Children may make great demands upon ones energy and time, because they are easily bruised, in poverty (i.e., without income, inheritance or savings), infirm, sickly, and weak. Additionally, children often inspire vain hopes (i.e., expectations grounded in emotion, fantasy and imagination that are not enduring, and that are contrary to divine law, sacred promise, prophecy, and eternal purpose). All believers should employ balance, caution, consistency and thoroughness when dealing with small children. Divinity may be understood as embracing infants and minor children in the same way earthly parents receive them—as vessels for self-expression and fulfillment, and as a peculiar manifesting of godly possibilities. Upon the earth, children are resilient and able to thrive through unqualified acceptance, prior commitments, and the stability provided by specific non-negotiable, life conditions. Because children also inherit the condition of sin in the earth, they too need the divine provisions of grace from GOD through Jesus Christ. Included are atoning blood, fellowship with mature believers, forbearance, forgiveness, hope, joy, sacred discipline and training, sanctification, sealing, and status with Christ as joint-heirs. Estella Precious Oyene, who participates with me in THE BIBLE STUDY GROUP (a Public Group on Facebook presently having 19,307 members), posted the following there on August 24 at 8:22am:
Will babies and young children be taken at rapture?
THE GOLDEN ARROW: But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 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. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1st Thessalonians 4: 13-18, KJV)
THE DOUBLE DAGGER: Justifying GOD? (03/15/2015); Understanding Spiritual Growth? (03/13/2015); Babies Given A Second Life? (01/25/2015); About “The Just” (10/29/2014); Antidotes to the Poisons (10/30/2014); Family and Beliefs of Children? (08/29/2014); Stories Repeated in the Bible? (08/30/2014); About the Second Coming? (01/18/2014)
Estella Precious Oyene, be encouraged! As with their parents, salvation for a child is by sacred operations of GOD, not by their own efforts or that of their caretakers. Through Christ, salvation comes as a lawful inheritance, and is not a product of human innocence and simplicity. In the holy writings, Jesus Christ and his apostles often speak to adults calling them “little children” to acknowledge their absolute dependence upon GOD for rebirth, their new standing as blameless, their vulnerability, and their shared needs for fullness, maturity, and stability. As adults who are developing to be Christian believers, we often dismiss and overlook the many sensitive issues surrounding the salvation of our smallest children that are raised by those outside of the body. In addition to concerns that on the surface are practical and reasonable about how much sacred knowledge a child must possess to understand the things of religion, there are questions on how a minor child may correctly exercise their own self-will to choose or deny being in relationship with Christ. Some, who are bitter and resentful even accuse GOD charging that salvation is coerced, forced and violently thrust upon children (they repeatedly say, brain-washing) because the little ones are young, and unsuspecting. In the spirit of the Adversary, the Devil, some cry that there is great cruelty and injustice on the part of GOD, for divine judgment and Christ harvesting believers from the earth may condemn a mother, and separate her from her nursing child! Be not deceived. It is ones spirit content from the makeup of divinity that certifies them as belonging to Christ not their age, hair color, intellect, size, weight, or other individual characteristics. Consider again the following points that come to us through the Holy Bible:
(1.) Psalms 127: 3, King James Version (KJV): 3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
(2.) Psalms 131: 1-2, KJV: 1 LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. 2 Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.
(3.) 1st Corinthians 7: 10-15, KJV: 10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: 11 But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife. 12 But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. 13 And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy. 15 But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.
(4.) Matthew 19: 13-15, KJV: 13 Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. 15 And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.
(5.) Romans 8: 5-10, KJV: 5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
(6.) Romans 8: 13-19, KJV: 13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
There is much more that could be said, and that must be correctly understood and spiritually taken into account. (For example, (7.) Numbers 14: 30-32, KJV: 30 Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. 31 But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. 32 But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness.) Even so, I trust this collection of verses will be useful. Be it unto you according to your faith.
THE BLACK PHOENIX
Washington, DC
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