Just push replay, Jerry. For some reason, you never take into consideration that Paul cannot see into the hearts of all those who hear his messages.
I think that you have lost touch with reality because it is obvious that Paul is addressing those who are already saved. Or perhaps you are actually willing to argue that he is addessing those who do not believe here:
"To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world" (Ro.1:7-8).
You revert to perverting the Scriptures every time what they contradict your silly ideas. You say that what John said at 1 John 1:9 is addressed to unbelievers even though he made it plain that he was addressing those who already had their sins forgiven:
"I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake" (1 Jn.2:12).
Saved or not?
Maybe you can finally get something right!
Now I am returning to the subject of this thread and if you want you can attempt to try to prove me wrong go right ahead. We can see that Paul taught that the rapture was imminent:
"For our citizenship is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body...The Lord is at hand (eggus)" (Phil.3:20-21;4:5).
The Greek word
eggus means
"of times imminent and soon to come to pass" (
Thayer's Greek English Lexicon).
In the Hebrew epistles we see a passage which describes the time when the Jewish believers will be made like the Lord Jesus, and that is exactly what will happen at the rapture:
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" (1 Jn.3:2).
Now let us look at another verse from the Hebrew epistles where the same coming of the Lord is described as being near:
"You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near" (James 5:8).
The Greek word translated "is near" at James 5:8 is
eggizo and in this verse that word means
"to be imminent" (
A Greek English Lexicon, Liddell & Scott [Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1940], 467).
In an article found on the "Pre-Trib Research Center" web site Dr. Renald E. Showers writes:
"In light of James' statements C. Leslie Mitton wrote, 'James clearly believed, as others of his time did, that the coming of Christ was imminent.' On the basis of James' statements we can conclude that Christ's coming was imminent in New Testament times and continues to be so today, and that this fact should make a difference in the way Christians live" [emphasis added] (Showers, The Imminent Coming of Christ)
Since only those in the body will be raptured and since the only imminent appearance of the Lord Jesus is the rapture then we can know for certain that those who received the hebrew epistles were members of the Body of Christ.