#6 What about the children?

Dear Reader,

I wish that more people would discuss children and the Rapture, for this brings many fundamental matters into view. One goes from this thought to the fate of perished babies and children; the fate of aborted infants, and etc.

Natural self-empathy automatically prejudices the heart to prefer whatever idea will have these children held innocent and/or accounted righteous by virtue of their youth. I have two young children, and from that I presume to understand the issues and concerns.

But somewhere along the way, Christians must be deciding whether their own heart and sympathies can be trusted to amend, correct, or fill in what the Bible says about these things. The doctrines of Universal Depravity and Predestination: two of the most offensive and controversial doctrines in the Bible, answer to these matters.

Consider with me the "work" of the abortionist: if death in infancy or even before birth guarantees eternal life, then the abortionist is doing these children a priceless favor. These aborted infants will never get a chance to be damned if youth is innocence. The abortionists are therefore filling up the ranks of the saints, and sparing these children the miseries of this life. The abortionist then becomes a sort of "evangelist" with a 100% success rate at recruiting souls for eternal life. None of their "recruits" ever backslides or goes into apostasy..............

Psa 14:2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. 3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Psa 58:3 The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.

Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

Rom 9:8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. 9 For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son. 10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; 11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) 12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. 13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

I conclude from the above that those who are "foreknown" are the ones who go from the womb to eternal life, and MAY get to go in the Rapture. Before my children were born, I pleaded with God to ONLY SEND ME SAVED CHILDREN. I was so afraid of investing my life in raising a "spawn for hell" that I put off having children for the first 11 years of my marriage. Before my first was born, I had a dream, in which it appeared to be confirmed that my child would be saved. Of course, my fear of having children was not a virtue: but was the fruit of my sinful suspicion, selfishness, cowardice, and unbelief. I did not trust God in this matter.

Every foreknown child of God is born with the right to go in the Rapture, but may lose that right later by their sins, sins which only God can rightly judge.

Luke 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

There is evidently a requirement for going in the Rapture. While we cannot rightly expect a 3 year old to openly display an attitude of "watching and praying", God knows the secrets of the heart, and what those secrets would become when full grown.

I was convicted of the fact that I needed to "get saved" for a brief moment when I was 11 years old. I counted the cost and REFUSED. If the Rapture had happened the next day, I truly believe that I would have been left to endure the Tribulation; even if I obtained eternal life and blessedness at the end.

So I do not believe that all children disappear at the Rapture. I do not even believe that all foreknown-to-eternal-life children disappear at the Rapture.

We have to leave the judgement on these matters to God, and be willing to be saved by ourselves even if all around us are rejected and perish. It is in the light of issues like these, that we can clearly see WHY Jesus said the following:

Luke 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Mat 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. 39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

We must not allow carnal sympathy for the human race (which is really sympathy for ourselves) to 'in fact' challenge the righteousness and goodness of God. Certainly, part of "the cross" we bear is in believing in favor of God's justice against the human race, for which we will definitely be persecuted by outraged mankind.

Remember, when the Israelites took certain of the cities of Canaan, God commanded them to KILL EVERYONE including ALL THE CHILDREN (and even the animals!!). Now this is either the very God we hope in to save us, or this a god that we judge against and reject.

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