Sunday Bible School
May 19, 2024
The Preparation of the Church for the Rapture - Part XXXV
May 2024 | Volume 5 | No. 20
Sunday Bible School
May 19, 2024
The Preparation of the Church for the Rapture - Part XXXV
Summary of the President’s Message
The Sunday Bible School on May 19, 2024, was held live, directly from the Communications Center of Radio and TV Mahanaim, in Vila Velha, Espírito Santo, with Pastors Gedelti Gueiros and Gilson Sousa participating.
Pr. Gilson Sousa’s Message:
We greet all the brethren with the peace of the Lord Jesus! We are starting the Sunday Bible School. The topic to be discussed is the Church and its mysteries, prophesied in the book of Song of Solomon.
Pastor Gilson Sousa presented the answers of various brethren to the questions posed, as well as various experiences and testimonies regarding Sunday Bible School.
Pr. Gedelti Gueiros’ Message:
I greet everyone with the peace of the Lord. Let’s answer the questions asked.
Question
Make a correlation between Song of Solomon, chapter 2, verse 7, in the expression: “Do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases,” with Song of Solomon, chapter 4, verse 9, and identify, prophetically,
what will awaken the Beloved to rapture the Bride (Faithful Church).
Answer: What awakens (or attracts) the Lord to rapture His Church is the “look of the Church” and the “Pearl of Great Price,” which is Jesus in the life of the Church. The Pearl is generated in the struggle against sin. The man who knows good pearls goes into the depths, for he is a figure of the Holy Spirit.
“I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the does of the field, do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases.” Song of Solomon 2:7
“You have ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; you have ravished my heart with one look of your eyes, with one link of your necklace.” Song of Solomon 4:9
The answer given by the sister from Rio Verde was perfect.
“What awakens, what attracts the Lord Jesus for the rapture is the look of the Church. The Church sees the Lord Jesus as the pearl of great price. It is this pearl that helps the Church to overcome the world.” Sister Maria José - Rio Verde
In the fellowship with the head
May 2024 | Volume 5 | No. 20 BIBLICAL INSTITUTE MARANATA CHRISTIAN CHURCH 2 • MCC BULLETIN | MAY 19, 2024
Pr. Gilson Sousa conducting the Sunday Bible School
The Preparation of the Church for the Rapture - Part XXXV
(Jesus) is the secret of the Church’s love for the Lord. The Church has no other value than salvation. The great struggle that takes place in the believer’s heart is to exclude sin. It’s like an oyster that encapsulates irritants that enter its shell and generate a pearl. As you fight against sin, Jesus is formed in your heart.
As we live this life, we work, study, and get married. We cannot forget that we have an eternal life, though. As we fight against sin, the pearl of great price is created. One day, the one who knows good pearls (the Holy Spirit) will take the pearl and the shell will be left behind.
The pearl adorns the necklace. The Lord Jesus will not be moved by religious movements, by outward behaviors, but He will be moved by a Church that is an expression of a legitimate conversion, a Church that has fought against sin and has turned into something of great value [Pastor Gilson].
Question
Reading Song of Solomon, chapter 2, verses 15, identify, prophetically, the keyword that defines the position of the Church in preparation for the rapture. What is the meaning of the “foxes” and the “little foxes”?
Answer: The keyword is vigilance. Foxes represent visible sins and little foxes represent invisible (or small) sins.
“Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes.”
Song of Solomon 2:15
The little foxes destroy the vineyard. They can be very cute and deceive us. Likewise, a small
thing can take us away from the presence of the Lord. A small thing can remove the spiritual gifts from your life. Therefore, being careful about what you say and do, is essential. Did you make a mistake? Repent immediately.
The flowers, which represent the spiritual gifts, do not mix with excitement, and reverence is essential in the house of the Lord. Religious movements do not mix with us as they are not the project of eternity. Only God can fulfill His project – not men. Therefore, it is necessary to let the Holy Spirit operate through the Word of God.
God has given us a great blessing. Thus, the keyword of this verse is “vigilance.”
Question
Considering the answers to the previous two questions, why do spiritual gifts not prosper in the lives of Churches that are not vigilant?
Answer: The little foxes eat the flowers, which represent the spiritual gifts, and the foxes eat the fruits, which are the results of the spiritual gifts.
When Jesus comes to rapture His Church, He will harvest the fruits and not the flowers. As the little foxes eat the flowers,
BIBLICAL INSTITUTE MARANATA CHRISTIAN CHURCH MAY 19, 2024 | MCC BULLETIN • 3
Pr. Gedelti Gueiros leading the summary of the Sunday Bible School
The Preparation of the Church for the Rapture - Part XXXV
the gifts, there can be no fruits of salvation. Churches that are not vigilant are subject to spiritual gifts that are empty, and not fulfilled. Vigilance is essential for the fruits to produce.
Question
How do you feel today about the approaching rapture of the Church? Are you ready? Justify your answer.
This answer is personal. You must know if you are prepared. The Word generates the effects in the life of the one who seeks it, therefore the faithful servant must proceed in knowing the Word of God.
Question
Reading the book of Revelation, chapter 1, verses 1 and 2, answer:
a. What is the main objective of the Book of Revelation?
b. Who is the author and who is the writer of the Book of Revelation?
Answer: a. The main objective of the book of Revelation is to reveal Jesus.
b. The author is the Lord Jesus and the writer is John.
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.” Revelation 1:1-2
We are leaving the Song of Solomon. We felt blessed as we studied it, and it has prepared us for the Book of Revelation. The final book of the Bible contains the revelation of Jesus, as described in the first verse.
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ,
which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place [...]” Revelation 1:1
The following pictures show the historic journey of the Church.
The years are marked by a historical and prophetic meaning. There is also a geographical meaning that people are interested in, but what is important to us is the prophetic. In the first Church, Ephesus, the opposition was against the Father. In the second Church (Smyrna) the opposition was against the body, against the Son (Jesus). In the third Church (Pergamos), the opposition was against the faith, against the Holy Spirit.
Pr. Gedelti Gueiros President of the Maranata Christian Church
Click here or scan the QR Code below to watch the entire sunday bible school session.
BIBLICAL INSTITUTE MARANATA CHRISTIAN CHURCH 4 • MCC BULLETIN | MAY 19, 2024