Summary of Bible references on the Rapture

Rev 3:3 "Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you."

1 Thess 5:4-6: [4] But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. [5] Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. [6] Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

The Day of the Lord will come upon believers (who would have taken the Mark) as a Thief. Also, please note that at each one's death, the Lord comes personally to Judge their Soul. So this can also refer to the wicked dying premature deaths.

God Bless.

And Revelation 3:10?

Also what about the verses that say there will be 2 in the field one will be taken (as a close intimate friend) and one will be left (divorced)?

Also why are some of those who are raptured standing on a glassy sea (peaceful) and later those who came out of the tribulation are standing on a sea that is mingled with fire? Two separate seas. Why is that?

Why does Paul say "and are left". Obviously it can't refer to those who are still alive because he just said "who are still alive". So what does that mean?

Also if the restrainer has to be removed before the antichrist is revealed, then obviously you don't think that refers to the raptured saints so what does it refer to?

If this happens after the tribulation, after the Antichrist sets himself up in the temple claiming he is god, after the mark of the beast and after beheading those who refuse the mark of the beast how could it come like a thief in the night where you are caught by surprise?

Because the Wicked will not expect their Judgment. (They will worship the Beast and think he will reign forever as a god or false messiah. But Jesus Christ, the True God/Messiah, will return and defeat him.) The righteous will, and so on them it won't come as a Thief. But the wicked won't expect the Final Judgment (won't believe in it), and so on them it will come as a Thief.

My goal with this blog has nothing to do with pushing a "pre trib" or "post trib" doctrine. I post links from Sandy Armstrong who is fully convinced of a pre trib rapture and I post links from Stan Johnson who is fully convinced that there is no pre trib rapture.

My feeling is all these teachers of eschatology have their own little timeline of what is going to happen and yet they can't tell you the first thing, when the tribulation begins. Therefore there is no way to verify their timelines, so I'm not interested.

Instead my feeling was there must be much more to it than that and I wanted to collect all the verse references in the Bible I could on this subject. I probably reject 3/4ths of what I hear from adding to this blog. Why? Well it has to offer insight into the word of God and it can't be so redundant that it wastes people's time.

I don't care if someone subscribes to "pre trib" or "post trib" what I do care about is insight into the word of God. Sandy Armstrong and Stan Johnson do that. It isn't redundant and it offers insight. What I also find comforting is that both have admitted that they have been wrong on this subject.

That is the third thing that will cause me to reject a teaching instantly, if they are so arrogant as to think they have all the answers. Anyone who has studied this for 30 or more years knows that every single person who has taught on this subject did not have all the answers. I believe that is of the Lord, He wants it to be here a little, there a little. This sister gets a piece to the puzzle and that brother gets a piece to the puzzle. All I am interested in is trying to collect all the pieces to the puzzle.

2Corinthians 11 -- Counterfeit apostles

The church is composed of people from every tribe and nation and yet I have made a very big deal over the election fraud in the US and the rally to “Stop the Steal” in Washington D.C. on December 12th. What about people in other countries? I spent eight years in Taiwan, what about them? Taiwan’s fate hangs in the balance right now. If the CCP are able to steal this election and put people into power in the US that they control then Taiwan will fall to China. In fact if the US falls to China so will South Korea, and even Japan. All of Asia will be completely taken over by them, the only counterweight to China in Asia is the US. That is why Australia and New Zealand are watching this situation so closely. Sky news and NTD are two organizations that can see clearly that their future depends on this election. Likewise with Israel, they are the only counterweight to all the Arab nations in the Middle East. Without the US as an ally a totalitarian government will control Asia and the Middle East. To me the situation with Taiwan and Israel is just like the situation with the US and the UK during WWII. If the UK did not have the US as an ally all of Europe would have been controlled by Hitler. Consider this, we all know about the “Antichrist” and the false prophet setting up one world government with one currency and putting the mark of the beast on everyone to control them. To us that is still hard to believe and seemingly far off. Yet to China that is essentially what they have right now. “Stop the Steal” is not about who won an election, it is about whether or not the “Free world” can stand. The only thing standing between the Antichrist and one world government is the US. They tried to steal it and the only thing preventing them from stealing it is the Lord’s people who have woken up and are preventing their house from being broken into. The outcome here will impact every tribe and nation on earth. The Lord said before you can plunder the strong man's house you have to bind the strong man. Democracy is being plundered and the first step in that process is to bind the US.

1 I wish you would bear with me [while I indulge] in a little foolishness; but indeed you are bearing with me [as you read this].

I have heard that preachers are only suppose to speak for 15 minutes because that is all the congregation will bear. They want big bands, worship services, and a church service that entertains. This is the hallmark of the apostasy.

2 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy because I have promised you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that, even as the serpent beguiled Eve by his cunning, your minds may be corrupted and led away from the simplicity of [your sincere and] pure devotion to Christ.

We have seen the apostasy, that is precisely what has been happening. The US, the entire world, has been led away from pure devotion to Christ. If you read about the Maccabeans and the Hanukkah celebration that is precisely what they were taking a stand against. First you kick God out of the schools, no prayer, no Bible. Then you see all kinds of things fill the void. Look at our TV and movies, they have changed dramatically in the last 50 years. Much more sex and violence than we had back then. The internet is filled with pornography. Corrupt the kids when they are in elementary school and the enemy will have a hook in their brain from then on.

4 For [you seem willing to allow it] if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted.

Let’s discuss what this different gospel is. First, they will negate the necessity of faith in Jesus to be saved. As long as you do what you think is good then that is OK. Second they will undermine the faith in one God and Father. Since God is the God of all then “all Gods” are referring to this God. This is a direct contradiction to the word of the Lord that He is the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but by Him. They will deny specific commands and laws in the Bible like capital punishment. This is arrogant and opens the door for anyone to treat God’s word in a way that you can pick and choose what you will receive and what you will reject. They will teach people to commit fornication. They will teach ecumenism as a way to short circuit preaching the gospel. On the surface ecumenism sounds good, the oneness of all Christians. But when someone denies the faith once for all delivered to the saints, that is not something you can tolerate. Look at what ecumenism has become, Chrislam. Catholic church united with Islam and with Judaism. So what they are really teaching when they say “ecumenism” is to tolerate that woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess and teaches my servants to worship idols and commit fornication. Also, instead of referring to preaching the gospel as preaching the gospel they call it “proselytizing” and condemn it as unfriendly. This is a big deal, you must not share the gospel with atheists, you must respect the “freedom of religion” of every person. So preaching the gospel is now “disrespectful” of someone’s freedom not to believe. Along these lines they teach you to worship in silence, just like Paul said, they worship dumb idols that make you dumb. They will teach there is no hell, that Islam and Judaism and Christianity all worship the same God. Again, blurring the lines of the gospel in an attempt to deceive the elect. They will undermine the faith by referring to certain passages in the Bible as “magic” and “God is not a magician”. They will confuse and distort what the Lord did on the cross. Jesus bore our judgement for sin on the cross. He didn’t commit sin, but He bore the full judgement for the sin that we have committed. In that way He has paid the full price for our redemption. But they will distort that and say Jesus became a sinner for us, it isn’t our sin, it is His. In this teaching liberating us from sin becomes liberating us to sin. They will undermine marriage and reject God’s condemnation of homosexual acts.

You tolerate all this beautifully [welcoming the deception]. 5 Yet I consider myself in no way inferior to the [so-called] super-apostles.

The “Pope” is clearly a “super apostle” as many other charlatans also try to claim this of themselves as well. If you do not practice discernment concerning this you will be led astray and even embrace the antichrist.

6 But even if I am unskilled in speaking, yet I am not [untrained] in knowledge [I know what I am talking about]; but we have made this evident to you in every way, in all things.

There is a clear distinction here between the content of what Paul is speaking and the way in which it is delivered. The false prophets and “super apostles” do not waste time on the content, they can get that from any book, their focus is on the way in which they speak. They are skilled in the use of every means of persuasion. They are skilled, just not that much in knowledge of the word.

2Corinthians 11:7-13 How did the churches become apostate?

7 Or did I [perhaps] sin by humbling myself so that you might be exalted and honored, because I preached God’s gospel to you free of charge?

Isn’t that something. I once heard a story about a man who sold hats, a woman came into his store looking for a hat and couldn’t find anything she wanted. Finally she asked the owner do you have anything nicer? So he went in the back, took one of the hats with him and put a feather in it and significantly increased the price. She bought it. Many people equate the price with the value. She was looking for a $100 hat and all he had were $50 hats.

8 I robbed other churches by accepting [more than their share of] financial support for my ministry to you. 9 And when I was with you and ran short [financially], I did not burden any of you; for what I needed was fully supplied by the brothers (Silas and Timothy) who came from Macedonia (the church at Philippi). So I kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so.

So how do you find a reliable source? This is not an easy question, it has been something we have had to struggle with for 2,000 years.

10 As the truth of Christ is in me, my boast [of independence] will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia (southern Greece).

Wow. OK, great point, are they independent? I am a teacher and am not “independent” of the board of education. They have a say in what I can and cannot teach. Paul was not dependent on anyone, that gave him the liberty to speak whatever the Lord spoke to Him regardless of whether or not people liked it. For example, everything I have said concerning a “different gospel” is taken from things that the Pope has said. He would not like that. So it all begins with the beginning, Paul was an apostle of Jesus Christ. He was sent by Jesus Christ. No other group or organization controlled him.

11 Why? Because I do not love you [or wish you well, or have regard for your welfare]? God knows [that I do]! 12 But what I am doing I will keep doing, [for I am determined to keep this independence] in order to cut off the claim of those who want an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things they brag about. 13 For such men are counterfeit apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.

Wow, if Paul wasn’t so humble you would think he had a very big head. Instead I have to believe he knew exactly who he was and what he was doing. What he is saying here is that the “counterfeit apostles” are going to fashion themselves like a counterfeit bill. They will imitate his ministry which is the real thing. The problem is that their motive is to make merchandise of the saints, so in this one key point you will easily be able to distinguish between the real deal and funny money. I shy away from actually saying what he is saying because I know it will offend many, but basically anyone seeking financial support from those they bring the gospel to are different from Paul’s ministry in this key point. That doesn’t mean they aren’t sincere but it does mean that they have compromised their ministry because they aren’t independent. Anyone who wants to claim “they are an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ” well, I would check this point before receiving their ministry.

This is how the church became apostate. Jesuits and FreeMasons with fat bank accounts joined the board of directors, they financed construction, and cameras, and all the equipment needed for their worship teams. They didn't tell the pastors what to preach, they only told them what not to say. Don't talk about sin and don't talk about the rapture or the antichrist. This ultimately became a prohibition on talking about anything "political" which meant to avoid all current events. Bibles in schools -- political. Abortion -- political, etc. But that was only one prong of the two pronged attack. They also raised up teleevangelists who were FreeMasons. They pushed the "prosperity gospel", they focused on the worship of material things. Fornication was not condemned, and being rich was a sign of being blessed by God.

If you want to speak the word of God you must be independent of these ones. I know many who monetize their ministry, they sell books, there are ads that play on their videos, and they ask for donations. Paul says you should not muzzle the ox that treads out the corn, so it is not forbidden. But I would warn you that you do not want anyone to control your ministry. People should be able to fellowship with you, share concerns they might have, but ultimately if the Lord leads you to be very unpopular, you need to be faithful. You cannot possibly speak the word of God without greatly offending Satan and his minions.

2Corinthians 11:14-21 Satan's masquerading as an apostle

14 And no wonder, since Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 So it is no great surprise if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness, but their end will correspond with their deeds.

Apparently there were a lot of these guys at the time of Paul, yet we don’t know any of them. We know there were “judaizer” and “those of the circumcision” who Paul referred to as “the concision”. We know there were counterfeit apostles. But what happened to them? Ashes to ashes and dust to dust. My brother once said he doesn't like to read any book that is less than 500 years old. The point being that the books that stand the test of time have something of value in them. We have the apostle's writing but what else do we have from the early church?

16 I repeat then, let no one think that I am foolish; but even if you do, at least accept me as foolish, so that I too may boast a little.

Wow, “oh snap”, is that why they called him foolish? How do these counterfeit apostles respond when Paul does not take a dime but rather works with his own hands to support his ministry, “oh, he’s foolish”. That should be your first warning. Whether someone tries to sell books or not is one thing, but if they want to slander and mock those that choose not to, that in my opinion is clearly over the line. You now know they are in the camp of the slanderer.

17 What I say in this confident boasting, I say not as the Lord would [with His authority], but foolishly. 18 Since many boast [of worldly things and brag] about human accomplishments, I will boast too. 19 For you, being so wise, gladly tolerate and accept the foolish [like me]!

We need to humble ourselves, take the lowest seat at the table and not presume to be wiser than others. If you do that you may find you are sitting next to Paul. Think how arrogant some were that they “tolerated fools like Paul”. Today we have false apostles boasting of their gold chains, luxury cars, mansions and private airplanes. They also boast in how many view their ministry online, how many books they have sold or how many people attend their church.

20 For you tolerate it if anyone makes you his slave; or devours you and your possessions; or takes advantage of you; or acts presumptuously; or hits you in the face.

So many are upset that I am “mixing the Bible with politics” even though I have never talked about political parties or ever urged anyone to vote or how to vote. I have mentioned names to illustrate a point, I have underscored sin, I have used them as examples for our admonition. What I am not doing though is tolerating it if they make us slaves, I do not tolerate it if they devour widow’s houses, I don’t tolerate it if they take advantage of you by stealing your vote, I don’t tolerate it if they violate the constitution, and I don’t tolerate it if they try to take these things by force. How about those who are boasting at how much they make and how influential they are. Did they stand up for members of their flock during the mortgage crisis when the banks were stealing homes? Did they stand up for their flock when elections were being rigged, and people were calling to defund the police and empty the prisons?

21 To my shame, I must say, we have been too weak [in comparison to those pseudo-apostles who take advantage of you]. But in whatever anyone else dares to boast—I am speaking foolishly—I also dare to boast.

“Dare to boast”, I love this expression. We all will appear before the judgement seat of Christ where we will be judged for every word we speak. The pseudo-apostles seemingly are oblivious to that as they have many boasts. Paul on the other hand sees this as being daring.

False apostles will make merchandise of you, mock anyone who doesn't make merchandise of you, they will boast in how big, important and influential they are. Yet when it comes to protecting the flock from the wolves they are nowhere to be found. Also they are boastful without any fear of the coming judgement.

2Corinthians 11:22-33 You are not Lord, Jesus is Lord

22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.

I don’t think anyone in Christianity really cares about that today, but they often will care about who your daddy was.

23 Are they [self-proclaimed] servants of Christ?—I am speaking as if I were out of my mind—I am more so [for I exceed them]; with far more labors, with far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, and often in danger of death.

In my own experience I expect to get beaten every time I speak. I expect that what I have written here today will cause some to hate me. In my experience you cannot be a servant of Christ without speaking words that Satan will hate. There have been many hateful responses to the words I have spoken, but Paul definitely exceeds me. But who knows, my life isn’t over yet. But look what he is putting on his resume, Gamaliel? Nope. Labors, imprisonments, beatings, those are things that show this guy is not a hired hand that flees when the wolves show up.

24 Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned.

This is where it takes faith. If Paul is beaten and stoned doesn’t that mean he is a wrong doer? Someone recently told me that Trump was impeached as though that was evidence he was a wrongdoer? (impeach means tried, not convicted. He was tried and found innocent, generally when you are found innocent it means you are innocent but apparently not for Trump). So no, being beaten and stoned means the Jews hated him. Having the Jews hate you at the time of Paul is like getting the good housekeeping seal of approval on your ministry from God.

Three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent adrift on the sea;

Not all the attacks are from people. You have to learn to trust in the Lord in many different situations. This is why some people quit, they can't take it. So this proves that Paul is not a quitter.

26 many times on journeys, [exposed to] danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger from my own countrymen, danger from the Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger on the sea, danger among those posing as believers;

This prepares you to stand against these thieves. We were at a rally in Atlanta and there were about twenty ANTIFA thugs with baseball bats and other weapons prepared for a fight. No one was bothered, there were plenty of men at that rally making it very clear they were not afraid of these dangers (Georgia has laws allowing open carry).

27 in labor and hardship, often unable to sleep, in hunger and thirst, often [driven to] fasting [for lack of food], in cold and exposure [without adequate clothing]. 28 Besides those external things, there is the daily [inescapable] pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel [his] weakness? Who is made to sin, and I am not on fire [with sorrow and concern]?

Paul going through all these things reveals his concern for the churches and his concern for those who are weak. This is why it reveals that he is a servant of Christ. What a contrast to the super apostles living in mansions, flying in private jets, eating at 5 star restaurants.

30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that reveal my weakness [the things by which I am made weak in the eyes of my opponents].

So the “prosperity gospel” boasts in rings, cars and houses. Paul is boasting in hunger, and thirst and lack of clothes. No wonder they said he was “foolish”. No wonder he is beside himself when he hears them say that they are “servants of Christ”.

31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, He who is blessed and to be praised forevermore, knows that I am not lying. 32 In Damascus the governor (ethnarch) under King Aretas guarded the city of Damascus in order to arrest me, 33 and I was [actually] let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and slipped through his fingers.

You would think someone wanted by the authorities would keep a low profile. But that would be a mistake. If they arrest him he wants everyone to know why, therefore he has to be very bold in speaking so that everyone will know. Jesus said that He was in the Temple teaching every day but they didn’t arrest him till night time when no one was watching. Jesus knew they were trying to kill Him, the disciples knew it, but His response was to step into the spotlight, not slink away to the shadows. Youtube said they would censor anyone who claimed election fraud in this 2020 election. Dan Bongino has a channel on Youtube and his response was to dare them to censor him. This was not false bravado. He is one of the most popular channels on Youtube but even more he is one of the owners of Rumble which is a competitor of Youtube and has seen their ratings skyrocket as a result of censorship on Youtube. He made it very clear if they censor me on Youtube ratings on Rumble will continue to skyrocket. That may seem absurd. Yet look at how the mighty have fallen. The ratings for Newsmax have been higher than the ratings for Fox news. Facebook has lost about 70% of its stock value from its high. CNN has crashed and burned. It would have been completely absurd to suggest this could happen just two years ago. The NBA and NFL ratings have plummeted as a result of their “woke message”. A year ago they were considered invincible. When they threaten you and you then step into the spotlight to speak it is a sweet savor of Christ saying “you are not Lord, Jesus is Lord”.

We are on a collision course


The question I have is when? We know that there will be a lot of layoffs from Christmas on, so that will cause the economy to collapse. We know that already repos of cars are up and car loans are down, so that is already crisis mode for banks, imagine what happens when people lose jobs, that also will skyrocket. We also know that house sales are down and mortgages are down and no one is refinancing their house, which was a significant stimulus to the economy as people would borrow against their home to do major purchases. We also know this is worldwide, not just in the US.

Now suppose China was going to attack the US, I could see them wanting to complete all their Christmas orders first, but the minute that is done the least disruptive time to their economy would be as soon as the last Christmas order ships.

We are also seeing the truth concerning the vaccine is out. Germany, UK, Australia and the US all are seeing the data and evidence that the vaccine is a kill shot. Because of these studies that have been published you can infer that there are a hundred or even a thousand more being done as we speak and will be released in the coming months. I suspect that what governments know secretly is more than what has been published and so it is reasonable to suspect that a response to this kill shot is already being formulated at this moment.

The war in Ukraine is also continuing to ramp up with missile attacks on Russia using US weapons and US advisors. If Russia felt they needed a pretext before attacking the US they have it.

If you were to destroy the US then you would be in chaos. You would have to have a new world reserve currency and we see that BRICS has already prepared for that.

Also if I were to attack the US I would want many soldiers dropped behind enemy lines ready to cause mayhem. We have seen over 5 million illegals enter the US, we have seen over 120 food processing plants in the last 18+ months attacked and sabotaged, and we have seen around 10 power transmission stations attacked. If you take out the US power grid with an EMP we would have a blackout for the entire country for at least a week before the power begins coming back on in spots. However, once the power goes out it would be easy for a guy with an axe and bolt cutters to cause significant damage to a power transmission station. They aren't guarded and during a blackout the police would be overwhelmed. If you were to sabotage and smash up about 100 of these transmission stations they would not be able to get the power back up. If you focus on major cities then they could stay in total chaos and darkness for months. Anarchy would rule. All you would need is 1,000 men and based on conservative estimates they probably have at least 10,000 soldiers already in place in the US. The most effective time to shut down the power would be in the winter. You can have 14-16 hours of darkness in almost all the country. Without power you wouldn't have heat, you wouldn't have water, you wouldn't have refrigeration, gas stations wouldn't work, ATMs wouldn't work, it would be total chaos, riots, anarchy, looting, and killing.

However, if you were to wait just 3-6 months it could be catastrophic. Hearings on topics like the border, election integrity and the vaccine. Immigrants could be deported. To my impression you have Scarface in his house surrounded by the coming judgement. This is the collision, the final shootout. If you wait till April for a surprise attack then lack of heat is not nearly as big an issue, the nights aren't nearly as long.

Consider something else, in the US we will have large snow storms. It is not a big issue because we have plows with sand and salt that work immediately. But suppose the power was out, the lights on the road are out, and there is no gas because the pumps are out. You wouldn't be able to plow or clear the highways and they would simply stay closed until the spring thaw. If you wait till April this would not be an issue for nine months and by then they could have the power back up. This would make it very difficult for the military and the national guard to deploy, even if they had their own supply of gas.

Wow, that prophesy about the collision course says only 20% of the church are ready for Him, that is His remnant and bride. That would be around 30 million in the US.

Can you imagine if 30 million were raptured in the US? That would be huge! What an impact on the country. Likewise, imagine if 80% of "christians" are left behind. You would have 120 million left behind and another 180 million unbelievers.

Pulling 30 million Christians out of the country in the rapture would "shatter" the country into pieces!

Interesting

https://rumble.com/v21jtcw-wake-up-america-by-dumitru-duduman.html

Wake Up America - by Dumitru Duduman

PROPHECY-- STARVATION

Deception is the rider on the white horse

2Corinthians 12 -- The Lord’s Second Coming

1 It is necessary to boast, though nothing is gained by it; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.

In this chapter Paul reveals quite a bit about the rapture. I think it is necessary as part of a book that deals with the new testament ministry whose goal is to bring us successfully to the rapture and yet nothing is gained by it. As a teacher I often feel the same way. We end the year with an exam. Some teachers put up a daily count “so many days till the Regents”. I don’t do that because to me there is nothing to be gained by doing that. Likewise I often feel there is nothing to be gained by those who focus intently on “when” the rapture is. Still it is necessary to discuss this.

2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, [only] God knows—such a man was caught up to the third heaven.

This is very strange way to present this. He has prefaced this chapter with a chapter on pseudo apostles and counterfeit apostles and I suppose they all will trumpet their dreams and visions that they had. Probably a great way to draw a crowd of people with itching ears. In that same chapter he described how the apostasy would take place. The serpent would beguile Eve to lead her away from the pure devotion to Jesus Christ. I think these dreams and visions are certainly a favorite tactic of the serpent. But here we have come to the very end of the New Testament ministry and Paul is telling us about the rapture. The word we call “rapture” is the greek word here used for “caught up”. The first one is to the third heaven, not sure what is going on with that. When we get raptured are we in the body or not? Not clear. But he is very precise that it took place fourteen years before.

3 And I know that such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, [only] God knows— 4 was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words which man is not permitted to speak [words too sacred to tell].

And there is a second experience, this one is caught up to Paradise.

5 On behalf of such a man [and his experiences] I will boast; but in my own behalf I will not boast, except in regard to my weaknesses.

I like how he will boast “on behalf of such a man” but not on his own behalf. In other words he is referring to all the saints who get raptured at the end of the age whether in the first rapture or the second, and he will boast on their behalf because all of them have been chosen by God.

6 If I wish to boast, I will not be foolish, because I will be speaking the truth. But I abstain [from it], so that no one will credit me with more than [is justified by what] he sees in me or hears from me.

Foolish boasting is when you say you are more than you are. You are setting yourself up to get exposed and humiliated. Hence it is foolish. But if you are speaking the truth it can still be boasting but it isn’t foolish because it is true. The problem is that people hearing it can give you more credit than you deserve. They may think Paul can do things or know things that are not true. Most of us are prone to do that so he doesn’t want to say anything that would result in this unbalanced response.

7 Because of the surpassing greatness and extraordinary nature of the revelations [which I received from God], for this reason, to keep me from thinking of myself as important, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan, to torment and harass me—to keep me from exalting myself!

This is our problem. God needs to speak to us through people. But then the people who are used as instruments of God run the risk of thinking of themselves as important. So then a “messenger of Satan” was given to him. Not a messenger from Satan but “of Satan”. Satan refers to the enemy of God. When these people attack you and call you an idiot, a psycho, and all the other attacks think of that as a “messenger of Satan”. It is a constant warning to not exalt yourself. It is like making soldiers crawl through the mud under barbed wire while firing bullets over their head. The message is “don’t stick your head up where you will get shot”.

8 Concerning this I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might leave me; 9 but He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you [My lovingkindness and My mercy are more than enough—always available—regardless of the situation]; for [My] power is being perfected [and is completed and shows itself most effectively] in [your] weakness.” Therefore, I will all the more gladly boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ [may completely enfold me and] may dwell in me.

We need to focus on our weaknesses, the things we can’t do because those are the things that the grace of God will do.

10 So I am well pleased with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, and with difficulties, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak [in human strength], then I am strong [truly able, truly powerful, truly drawing from God’s strength].

This goes back to God always leading us about in victory. Embrace the insults, embrace the distresses. These are where the best testimonies of God’s grace come from. Embrace the fact that right now it looks like there is nothing we can do and the crooks will get away with stealing this election and causing the whole world to have a one world government, a totalitarian government, with the Antichrist as the leader. If you do embrace that then you will have no other choice but to hit your knees and to cry out for the Lord to save us.

11 Now I have become foolish; you have forced me [by questioning my apostleship]. Actually I should have been commended by you [instead of being treated disdainfully], for I was not inferior to those super-apostles, even if I am nobody.

Embrace being nobody. Paul was a nobody and all those super apostles went to all the best universities and had all the best resumes. How come they didn’t have the revelation? How did a nobody get it?