Training for Reigning in Jesus' Coming Kingdom

The TIME is NOW. NOW is THE TIME.

His Rapture Is Not About You

Let’s be clear from the beginning: His Rapture, the HARPAZO, is not about your rescue. It’s not about your comfort. It’s not about your individual need to escape tribulation.

This article is about KING JESUS and HIS KINGDOM and where He placed us in it.

If we make the Rapture (the Harpazo) about us, we will miss the entire point. We will miss HIS BIG PICTURE. We will reduce the most significant event in human history to a personal evacuation plan. HOW SAD!

The Harpazo is not primarily a rescue mission for tired believers. It is the revealing of the Sons of God that all of creation is groaning and waiting for.

Romans 8:19-23 - What Creation Is Waiting For

“For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.”

Creation is not waiting for you to get raptured so you can avoid discomfort.

Creation is waiting for GLORIFIED SONS OF GOD to be revealed so that creation itself can be set free from bondage.

This is HIS BIG PICTURE. This is what the Harpazo is really about.

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The Entire Plan: From Bondage to Kingdom

All of Creation is in Bondage

When Adam fell, creation fell with him. The ground was cursed. Thorns and thistles grew. Death entered. Decay began. Everything that God made “very good” became subject to vanity - futility, emptiness, corruption.

Romans 8:20 - “For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope.”

Creation didn’t choose this. Creation was subjected to bondage because of man’s sin. But notice the last part: “in hope.”

There is HOPE for creation. There is a plan. There is a future restoration.

The Hope: Glorified Sons Revealed

The hope of creation is not the Second Coming alone. The hope is what comes WITH the Second Coming: the manifestation (revealing) of the glorified Sons of God.

Why?

Because glorified sons - believers transformed into the image of Christ, given glorified bodies, filled with His righteousness - will REIGN WITH CHRIST for 1000 years to restore creation.

Revelation 20:4, 6 - “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them…and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years…they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”

Romans 5:17 - “For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one, much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.”

Do you see it?

The Harpazo is not just about getting you out. It’s about getting you READY to come back and reign.

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Training for Reigning: The School of Kingdom Living

You Cannot Reign in His Kingdom If You Don’t Know How His Kingdom Works

Think about it logically:

If Jesus is coming back to establish His Kingdom on earth for 1000 years, and if we are going to reign WITH Him during that time, then we must be trained HOW to reign according to HIS ways, not ours.

We cannot bring our flesh-patterns into His Kingdom. We cannot bring our self-centered thinking. We cannot bring our worldly methods of leadership, control, and manipulation.

We must be trained in Kingdom living.

This is what the Holy Spirit has been doing since Pentecost - training the Bride to be a Queen who knows how to reign with her King.

Matthew 6:10 - “Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done”

When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He taught them to pray for the Kingdom to come and for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

This is not just a nice prayer. This is the ultimate plan.

God’s will is ALREADY done in heaven. There is no rebellion in heaven. No self-promotion. No sin. No corruption. Everything functions according to God’s perfect order and righteousness.

But on earth? Chaos. Rebellion. Self. Sin. Decay.

The Kingdom coming to earth means heaven’s order coming to earth. Heaven’s righteousness coming to earth. Heaven’s way of doing things becoming earth’s way of doing things.

And who will administrate this? Who will govern under Christ’s authority?

The glorified Sons of God - the Bride who has been trained.

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The Training Process: Death to Self, Life in Christ

You Cannot Reign WITH Christ Until You Die to SELF

This is the hard part. This is the part most people don’t want to hear.

To be trained for reigning, you must first die.

Luke 9:23 - “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

Galatians 2:20 - “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

John 12:24-25 - “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.”

The School of Kingdom Living: Learning Through Suffering

Here’s what most don’t understand: Kingdom training often looks like suffering, loss, and stripping.

Why?

Because SELF must be removed. Self-sufficiency must die. Self-promotion must die. Self-righteousness must die. Self-kingdom must be torn down.

You cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve SELF and serve JESUS.

And so the Holy Spirit, in His great mercy and wisdom, begins the process of crucifying SELF in you. He strips away what you thought was important. He removes what you thought you needed. He exposes the depth of your depravity so you can finally see: In yourself, there is nothing good. In yourself, there is only sin.

This is not punishment. This is preparation.

1 Peter 5:10 - “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”

Did you catch that? After you have suffered a while - THEN He makes you perfect, establishes you, strengthens you, settles you.

Suffering is PART of the training. Not because God is cruel, but because death to self is the only way to life in Christ.

The Process Looks Like This:

Awakening - The Holy Spirit opens your eyes to see that something is wrong. Your life looks good to the world, but you know it’s not right. You’re called into something deeper.

Stripping - God begins removing things. Not to hurt you, but to free you. He strips away your self-made kingdoms, your self-sufficiency, your self-righteousness. It hurts. You fight it. You don’t understand it.

Breaking - As things are stripped, you break. Your pride breaks. Your self-confidence breaks. Your illusions about your own goodness break. You see your depravity. You see your desperate need for a Savior.

Healing - As you break, He heals. Not by restoring what He took away, but by giving you HIMSELF. He becomes your sufficiency. He becomes your righteousness. He becomes your kingdom.

Transformation - Slowly, over time, through suffering and grace, you are transformed. Not by trying harder, but by surrendering deeper. Christ’s life replaces your life. His ways replace your ways. His kingdom replaces your kingdom.

Training - Through this ongoing process, you learn HOW to live in His Kingdom. You learn to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. You learn to deny self daily. You learn to walk by HIS faith, not your own efforts. You learn to overcome evil with good. You learn to love genuinely, serve humbly, give generously.

This is training for reigning.

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His Part and Your Part

His Part: He Does Everything

Let’s be brutally honest: You cannot do any of this yourself.

You cannot crucify your own self. You cannot transform your own heart. You cannot make yourself righteous. You cannot prepare yourself for reigning.

Philippians 1:6 - “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 - “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.”

Jude 1:24 - “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.”

Did you see it? “Who also will do it.” “He is able to keep you.” “He will present you faultless.”

HE DOES IT ALL.

You don’t make yourself ready. You can’t. You fall short every single day. You fail before you even wake up. You have never measured up and you never will - in your own strength.

But IN CHRIST? In Christ, you are being made perfect. In Christ, you are being sanctified. In Christ, you are being trained.

Your Part: Surrender and Believe

So if He does everything, what’s your part?

Your part is to surrender and believe.

Romans 12:1 - “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

Present yourself. That’s it. That’s your part.

Stop fighting Him. Stop resisting the stripping. Stop trying to save your self-kingdom. Stop trying to measure up in your own strength.

Just present yourself to Him daily and let Him do the work.

Matthew 6:33 - “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Your part is to seek FIRST His kingdom - not your comfort, not your security, not your reputation, not your self-preservation - HIS KINGDOM.

When you do this - when you present yourself as a living sacrifice and seek first His kingdom - He does the rest.

He transforms you.
He trains you.
He prepares you.
He makes you ready.

Not because you earned it. Not because you measured up. But because HE IS FAITHFUL.

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Today Could Be THAT DAY

Every Day Could Be Your Last Day in the Flesh

Here’s a sobering reality: None of us has a guarantee of tomorrow.

You could die today. A car accident. A heart attack. An unforeseen tragedy.

For THAT person - the one who dies today - today IS their “rapture day.” Today is the day they leave this flesh and enter the next realm. Today is the day they face the reality of whether they were ready or not.

Hebrews 9:27 - “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”

James 4:14 - “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

For Every Living Person, Today Could Be THAT DAY

This means TODAY is the day that matters. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not “someday when I get my life together.”

TODAY.

2 Corinthians 6:2 - “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

Romans 13:11 - “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.”

TODAY could be:

- The day you die and face Jesus

- The day Jesus returns for His Bride

- The day your training intensifies

- The day you surrender fully

- The day you stop fighting and start believing

TODAY is THAT DAY.

This Means: Hate This Life and This World

If today could be your last day, then you must hold this life and this world loosely.

John 12:25 - “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.”

1 John 2:15-17 - “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

James 4:4 - “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”

This doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the good gifts God gives. It means you don’t cling to them. You don’t find your identity in them. You don’t build your kingdom here.

You live as a stranger, a pilgrim, an alien passing through.

Hebrews 11:13-16 - “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.”

You are PASSING THROUGH this world on your way to HIS KINGDOM.

Don’t get comfortable here. Don’t build your nest here. Don’t love this life.

Because you’re being trained to reign in the NEXT one.

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The Maturity of the One Man Christ

Living in the Unity of the Faith

There’s something beautiful that happens through this training process: we mature into the fullness of Christ.

Ephesians 4:11-13 - “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”

Unity of the faith. Not uniformity of opinion. Not agreement on every doctrine. But unity - we are all being conformed to the same image: CHRIST.

Knowledge of the Son of God. Not head knowledge. Not theological degrees. But knowing HIM - intimate, experiential, transformational knowing.

Perfect man. Complete, mature, fully developed. Not in our own strength, but in Him.

Measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. Growing up into HIM in all things. Becoming like HIM. Bearing HIS image.

His Eternal Kingdom of Love, Wisdom, and Peace - All Through Grace

And what is His Kingdom like?

Love - Perfect, selfless, sacrificial love. The kind of love that lays down its life for others. The kind of love that overcomes evil with good. The kind of love that never fails.

Wisdom - Not worldly wisdom. Not human cleverness. But God’s wisdom - the wisdom that built the universe, orders creation, and knows the end from the beginning.

Peace - Not the absence of conflict, but the presence of God’s shalom - wholeness, completeness, harmony, righteousness. Peace that passes understanding.

All through GRACE.

Grace is not just forgiveness. Grace is not just “unmerited favor.”

Grace is the empowering presence of God that enables you to become what you could never be on your own.

Titus 2:11-14 - “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”

Grace TEACHES you.
Grace TRAINS you.
Grace TRANSFORMS you.
Grace PREPARES you.

And grace does all of this while you are eagerly looking for His glorious appearing.

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The Big Picture: Why the Harpazo Matters

It’s Not About Escape - It’s About Restoration

Let’s zoom out and see the full scope of God’s plan:

Creation made perfect (Genesis 1-2)

Creation falls through Adam’s sin (Genesis 3)

Creation subjected to bondage (Romans 8:20)

God’s plan of redemption begins (Genesis 3:15)

Jesus comes to redeem humanity (Galatians 4:4-5)

Jesus dies, rises, ascends (1 Corinthians 15)

Church age - Bride being trained (Ephesians 5:25-27)

Harpazo - Bride glorified and revealed (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)

Great Tribulation - Babylon destroyed (Revelation 6-19)

Jesus returns with His Bride (Revelation 19:11-16)

1000 year reign - Creation restored (Revelation 20:1-6)

Final judgment (Revelation 20:11-15)

New Heaven and New Earth - Creation perfected (Revelation 21-22)

Do you see it?

The Harpazo is not the end of the story. It’s the middle chapter.

The Harpazo is when the Bride is glorified and revealed so she can return with Christ to reign for 1000 years and restore creation.

Coming Out of Babylon to Restore the Earth

Revelation 18:4 - “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”

Babylon represents the world system - the self-centered, self-promoting, self-glorifying system that humanity has built apart from God.

At the Harpazo, we come OUT of Babylon.

At the Second Coming, Jesus destroys Babylon completely.

Revelation 19:2 - “For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.”

Then - THEN - the real work begins.

Reigning for 1000 Years: Teaching Survivors How to Live in God’s Kingdom

After the Great Tribulation, there will be people who survive. People who enter the Millennial Kingdom in their natural bodies. People who need to be taught how to live in God’s Kingdom.

And who will teach them?

The glorified Sons of God - those who were trained during the Church age.

Isaiah 2:2-3 - “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”

Isaiah 11:9 - “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.”

This is what we’re being trained for:

- To administrate justice under Christ’s authority

- To govern cities and nations in righteousness

- To teach survivors how to live in God’s Kingdom

- To demonstrate what humanity was always meant to be

- To restore creation to its original glory

Luke 19:17 - “And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.”

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All the Glory Goes to God Our Father

This Is HIS Story

Here’s the most important truth: None of this is about you.

Not your goodness. Not your faithfulness. Not your ability to measure up.

It’s all about HIM.

His plan.
His purposes.
His glory.
His kingdom.

You’re just a participant in HIS story.

And what a glorious story it is.

Ephesians 1:3-6 - “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”

To the praise of the glory of HIS grace.

That’s the point. That’s the purpose. That’s the end goal.

EVERYTHING brings glory to God.

Your training? His glory.
Your suffering? His glory.
Your transformation? His glory.
Your glorification? His glory.
Your reigning? His glory.
Creation’s restoration? His glory.

It’s all HIS.

Romans 11:36 - “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.”

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So What Do We Do With This?

Today Is THAT DAY

If today could be THAT DAY - your last day in the flesh, or the day Jesus returns - then what should you do?

Present yourself to Him as a living sacrifice. (Romans 12:1)

Seek FIRST His kingdom and His righteousness. (Matthew 6:33)

Stop fighting the stripping. Let Him remove what needs to be removed. Trust that He’s preparing you for something greater than you can imagine.

Hate this life and this world. Stop clinging to what’s temporary. Stop building kingdoms here. You’re a stranger passing through.

Look for His appearing. Live with expectant hope. He’s coming. And when He comes, you’re going to reign with Him.

Trust His process. You’re not ready yet. You can’t do this in your own strength. But HE is making you ready. HE will present you faultless. HE will not lose one.

Live As One Being Trained to Reign

You’re not just being saved FROM something (sin, death, hell).

You’re being trained FOR something (reigning with Christ in His Kingdom).

Every trial is training.
Every hardship is preparation.
Every stripping is freedom.
Every death to self is life in Christ.

2 Timothy 2:11-12 - “It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us.”

Do you see it?

If we suffer, we shall also reign.

The suffering NOW is preparing you for the reigning THEN.

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The TIME is NOW. NOW is THE TIME.

The TIME for His return draws near.
NOW is the TIME to be found ready.

The TIME for creation’s restoration approaches.
NOW is the TIME to be trained for reigning.

The TIME appointed by the Father is coming.
NOW is the TIME to present yourself as a living sacrifice.

The TIME sealed by Daniel is being unsealed.
NOW is the TIME to watch and be sober.

The TIME for the Bride’s glorification is imminent.
NOW is the TIME to hate this life and love the next.

All of creation groans.
All of creation waits.
All of creation expects.

The manifestation of the Sons of God.
The revealing of the glorified Bride.
The coming of the King and His Kingdom.

THIS IS HIS BIG PICTURE.
THIS IS HIS STORY.
THIS IS HIS PLAN.

And to Him - the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ - be all glory, honor, power, and majesty, both now and forevermore.

Amen.

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“For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God…Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” - Romans 8:19, 21

“They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” - Isaiah 11:9

“If we suffer, we shall also reign with him.” - 2 Timothy 2:12

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THE KING IS COMING. ARE YOU BEING TRAINED TO REIGN WITH HIM?

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