Chemo Therapy is generally extremely unpleasant. In fact it can be downright horrible stuff. The way I look at Chemo Therapy for cancer is to compare the patient to a person invaded by some terrible creature. This awful creature is tough, mean, ruthless and extremely willing to give up it's own life in order to kill the person it has invaded.
Have you ever thought about that before? Cancer is like a radical terrorist. It commits suicide in order to kill it's victim! The cancer dies too. The cancer is buried in the casket within it's victim's body. Cancer's reward is death! How strange.
Nevertheless, Chemo Therapy is putting enough cancer poison into the body of the victim so as to push the cancer and often, sadly, the patient to the brink of death. The chemicals push the patient and the cancer closer and closer to the edge of the precipice of death. The doctors monitor the patient very closely, so that they don't push the patient totally over the edge. The doctors hope, beyond hope, that the cancer will tumble over the edge of death, leaving the patient to be pulled back alive and safe.
Much of the Church of Jesus Christ is infected or polluted with the cancer of men's thinking, men's doctrines, men's philosophies and men's traditions. This cancer is so subtle that most of the church has no idea at all that it has been invaded by a false spirit, has no idea that it has lost it's "first love," has no idea that long years of traditions and doctrines of men have greatly strained it's relationship with the Lord God.
The deceived do not know they are deceived. Such is the plight of those who are caught by deception. But many believers will come to their right senses as the Tribulation time dawns. Some will discover the disturbed graves of saintly loved ones. As they look down into the gaping hole and see that the cement liner has been ripped open, they will also notice that the casket top is off it's hinges. In the casket their eyes will discover only rotting rags, no bones, no corpse. When they see that, they will know too late that something dreadful is up.
At first they will be tempted to think that some wicked grave robbing has occurred, for only a small minority of graves will be disturbed, and probably more older graves than newer ones. But when they listen to the news they will notice the reports of disturbed graves are coming from many places. The graves will appear like they have exploded from the inside out, or as if some great hand split open the earth.
When they go to church and exchange stories with others, it will come to them that only the graves of saints have been disturbed. Also, they will hear of some very holy men and women of God that have come up missing. The percentage of the living that are missing will not be as large as the percentage of disturbed graves. Christian novels and movies have portrayed all believers disappearing from the planet in the Rapture. For that reason some believers will be confused because actual events will not fit with the dramatized "tradition" that has been handed down about the Rapture. Remaining believers will debate among themselves for a time about what really has happened. For many the awful truth will settle in: they are left behind.
The left behind church will discover that the "Christian" rapture novels were wrong, and Jesus Christ was right. Jesus indicated that perhaps 50 percent of the believers will be left behind! You can read about it in HIS parable of the Ten Virgins in Matthew 25. It is the parable of the Rapture!
With a cold chill it will come to them that the Rapture has come to pass. Thus will begin God's Chemo therapy treatment for the remainder of HIS people.
Those who believed in the Rapture, but were not taken will be horribly shaken. Those who did not receive the teaching of the Rapture will be divided about the evidence. Some will believe. Others will go on thinking there was no Rapture. For a time some will continue to look for the Rapture. Others will be in denial. Many will gather in their churches seeking God. Praying that HE might return and take them as well; but, to no avail.
The prophet Daniel has written of this Chemo-therapy Tribulation time: "Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand." [Daniel 12:10]
God's "chemo treatment" has a different twist. As in medical Chemo Therapy the patient and the cancer both are pushed to the brink of death. In God's chemo the "left behind," "foolish virgins" and their cancer of carnality and untreated worldliness, when forced to the edge by a world taken over by darkness, arrive at a point of terrible decision. The Tribulation pushes them, through much affliction towards execution, because of the Name of Jesus. They have a choice. They can stay true to Jesus and be pushed over the edge by execution and then enter glory. Or, they can renege on the Lord, and take the beastly marking, that seals their doom and locks them forever out of Heaven. If they choose Jesus they are executed, leaving the carnality and the evil nature behind on earth. They are purified by that death. In this chemo therapy the patient must choose to die, to be set free of the cancer! What a twist!! Jesus foretold of the coming time of Tribulation. Jesus tells how God will shorten the tribulation, because if God doesn't closely monitor the Tribulation, it's terrors are so powerful that they would destroy those HE is trying to save and cleanse.
"For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." [Matthew 24:21-22]
God is a good God! He loves HIS chosen ones. His chosen ones are all the virgins spoken of in the parable of Matthew 25. The wise virgins are caught away to safety, for they are already dead to sin, the flesh, and the worldly lusts. But the foolish virgins who do not have the overflow of the Holy Spirit, the oil, are left behind, for their safety, to be cleansed and purged. They must needs go through the purification of the Tribulation. Most will be martyred. In that death they will be purified. Jesus himself told us why this is:
"For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt." [Mark 9:49]
Why would God leave any of HIS beloved behind? HE has to leave them behind for the same reason that Adam and Eve saw HIM no more in the cool of the afternoon after sin entered. Sin causes separation from God. God must distance HIMSELF from us for our safety. "For our God is a consuming fire." [Hebrews 12:29] Mold can't live in a bleach bottle! God loves us too much to bring us near HIMSELF unless we are pure. HIS glory eats darkness. How would you feel if your doctor told you that you couldn't hug your loved ones, because they would disintegrate and die a terrible death if you did hug them?? That is the position we put God in when we have impurity, envy, jealously, lust, confusion, fear, you name it...any kind of impurity within our being! Rapture is being transferred in totality into glory, bringing all your issues with you, if you have any. That is why it is easier to get into Heaven via the grave than via Rapture.
The wise virgins chose to be salted with the purifying fire of the Holy Ghost, through Entire Sanctification and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. The foolish virgins are salted with the fire of Tribulation and execution for their purification. By the way believers who have already died, but were only born again are salted with the fire of physical death. When you die your interest in worldly things dwindles and you are purified of the carnal nature on your death bed, if you know nothing of sanctification and heart baptism in the Spirit, through a personal Pentecost.
For those "left behind," "foolish virgins" martyrdom is the sanctification process. I'm not talking about salvation or forgiveness. I'm talking about a second step that God deems necessary for us to enter glory. "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:" [Hebrews 12:14] John the Revelator saw the millions of martyrs who were purified in this manner in his vision. The greatest revival of all human history will occur as millions choose Jesus and execution rather than serve the beastly World dictator.
"After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;.... And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." [Revelation 7:9,13-14]I don't desire to have to walk that way of Tribulation ending in execution in order to get my robes pure and white. Forgiveness is not enough to get into Heaven, unless you are a brand new believer with your first love for Jesus. New believers have a sanctification of a kind, because they haven't yet learned that they have a carnal nature.
I may have to go through the Tribulation in order to be purified. That is not my first choice. So, since I'm a long time believer I know about my fallen nature. And I have had to battle with it, as all believers who have been around awhile learn. But I desire something better. I want to be totally pure and holy NOW. I want to die to the flesh, to sin and to the world NOW! I want to be one of those "wise virgins" who dies NOW to sin and gets full of the Holy Ghost, the oil and cleansing fire of the Spirit of God. Then I can have the oil, the overflow of the Spirit of God that I might arise and escape to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in the Rapture. It takes the Holy Spirit in GREAT ABUNDANCE to lift us into glory.
Here's the Bible promise for "wise virgins," telling them that they will be spared Tribulation: "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." [Revelation 7:9,13-14]
The wise virgins have an overflow and reservoir of the oil, which signifies the Holy Spirit. In HIS parable of the virgins Jesus indicates that only believers with this reservoir and the flame of the Spirit of God burning brightly will be taken to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
Brand new Christians who have their first love and long time Christians who have the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, those with the rivers of living water springing forth, probably are the ones who will qualify to be raptured. [See John 7:37-39] So believer friend, if you don't want to go through the horrible spiritual chemo of the Tribulation, then seek for and receive Entire Sanctification (1st Thessalonians 5:23-24], and the Baptism in the Holy Spirit [Acts 1:8].