Here is an excerpt from "The Voice of the Bridegroom" by Leland Earls.
Full article is available at www.firstloveministry.com at this url:
http://www.firstloveministry.com/Earls/wlfot_2/vob/vob-entire.htm

Most Christians of the fundamentalist churches believe that all those who are born again will be in the so called "rapture" when Christ comes for His church. Scarcely a worse delusion could be entertained. Christ's Kingdom is to be a ruling king­dom (Rev. 5:10, 20:6). Even in the kingdoms (or nations) of men, think of the chaos that would result if immature, unproven babes and children were put in positions of responsibility to run the "affairs of state." Horrors! If man would not do such a foolish thing, what makes anyone think that God would? Even Jesus' parables of the "talents" and "pounds" show that those to be received into His heavenly kingdom are to be given posts of rulership: "Well done, good and faithful servant: you hast been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things" (Matt, 25:21). . . "Well, [ ] good servant: be­cause you have been faithful in a very little, have [ ] auth­ority over ten cities" (Luke 19:17). The majority of Christians in the world are yet babes and children, spiritual progress and growth considered. Many have begun to enter into the "ado­lescent" stage, which is good and needful, but this is a "prob­lem time" in spiritual growth, even as it is in the natural. The chief difficulty seems to be spiritual pride (see I Cor. 8:1-2), which can manifest in many ways.



"It is beyond the scope of this short introduction to elabor­ate, but we can see a type of spiritual pride and consequences in the story of Noah after the flood. Noah planted a vineyard (a type of the Kingdom); but when he drank the fruits thereof, it went to his head, exposing his nakedness and gendering a curse to some (see Gen. 9:20-25). How often is this true when Christians begin to grow and partake of the greater fruits and blessings of the Kingdom. They get "heady" on the "wine", and havoc is often the result. And how hard it is to teach and correct those who are exhilarated in the "fling" of adoles­cent pride. But thank God there are Christians who have begun to enter into a measure of maturity: who are becoming "pil­lars" in the temple (church) of God through overcoming (Rev. 3:12). Only such "overcomers" are to sit with Christ on His throne and be given power over the nations (Rev. 2:26-27, 3:21, 12:5).