As Christians and believers in Christ, we know what the overall plan is: To talk with Jesus so we can go to heaven when we die. But there is a lot more information squeezed into that plan that we might be fully aware of.
During our lifetimes in church, we have all heard many sermons, but since the cover such a wide variety of subjects, it is sometimes hard to put them together into an easy-to-understand sequence so we can fully understand them.
For instance, a couple of weeks ago, I preached about how Jesus is either referred to, or even directly mentioned by name, in every single book of the bible. He is referenced in the first verse of the first book of the bible, and is referenced in the last part of the last book of the bible.
The week following that sermon, I preached about how we are literally held together by Jesus, and today, I will preach about what awaits Christians as the End Times come upon us.
So many sermons about so many topics; how do we put them together into one concise story that makes sense to us? The answer to that question is actually quite simple. To understand the story, we must read the story. That means we must read our bibles, not just the occasional verse here and there, but to read it like your eternal life actually depends on your understanding that story - because it really does!
One subject many people, including many Christians, are very interested in is what will the End Times be like and what they will include. That is a very intensive study that covers many aspects, so for today's purposes I want to break that down into one basic topic; the Rapture.
A lot of people get the Rapture mixed up with the Second Coming of Jesus. These are not the same event, but two separate events. The Rapture will occur first and then seven years later, the Second Coming of Jesus occurs.
We will cover this in deeper detail in a moment, but let me quickly say that the main reason we know they are not the same is in the Rapture, Jesus comes and calls us up to the clouds to meet Him in the air.
At the Second Coming of Jesus, He will put His feet on the Mount of Olives, and cause the entire mountain range to be split in two, causing a horrific earthquake. In one, He stays in the air; in the other, He stands on the earth.
Some say there is no Rapture and they base that on the fact that the word "Rapture" is not to be found in the bible. That is a very hollow reason, because those same people who deny the Rapture because it isn't in the bible, hang on tightly to the idea of the Trinity, even though that word is not in the bible either. They do the same by hanging on to the knowledge that homosexuality is a sin - even though the words "homosexual" or "homosexuality" is not in the bible, either.
See, our mistake as humans, is that we always think everything must be understandable by us, when in reality, we can only understand a few things. Isaiah reminds us that God's ways are higher than ours and His thoughts are also higher than ours. If that is the case, then why do we reject God and His thoughts and ways because we just do not understand them?
God is the Creator while we are merely the creation. How can something that has been created know more than the One who created it?
Speaking of the Rapture, we find a snapshot of it in the book of Genesis.
GENESIS 5:24 tells us:
"Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.”
HEBREWS 11:5 explains this event even more clearly,
"By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away…"
Enoch did not die. He was simply taken out of this world alive. One minute he was here. The next he was in paradise. He never experienced physical death.
A day is coming when all LIVING believers will experience what Enoch experienced. And we will receive a new & incorruptible body that will be made to fit our new home in heaven!
So, even though the bible does not use the word "Rapture", it does speak about it. It even tells us in what order we shall ascend to be with Jesus. The Apostle Paul tell us that Jesus calls the dead in Christ first, and then those who are alive in Christ secondly, so we can meet Him in the clouds.
So, when will the Rapture take place? I wish I could tell you, but nobody knows when, except for God, and He isn't going to share that information with us. If we are that concerned with when it will occur, it might be because down deep we feel as if we may not be ready for it to happen.
And if that is the case, we need to review our walk with Christ to see if we are devoted disciples, or comfortable church goers. There is a very big and real difference between the two. One will go with Jesus while the other will remain behind.
I believe all of us should take this so seriously that we make sure we get prepared today in case it happens tonight! How sad it would be to go from the church pew to hell, all because we did not take our Christianity that seriously.
We may not know the day or the hour Christ will come back, but we do know that He is coming back. So, what do we do in the meantime?
Let me share with you the story of a man and his dog. This man loved his dog, so one day he decided to take the dog with him on a long drive in the country. A few hours into the drive, he pulled over at a gas station.
As he pumped the gas into his car, the dog jumped out the open door and started walking around. That's what dog's do, they walk around aimlessly investigating whatever catches their attention for the moment. Kind of like how we humans do.
When the man finished pumping his gas, he got in his car and drove off, leaving the dog to stand there and watch the car slowly disappear into the horizon. Then, the dog just turned and walked back to the door of the gas station and laid down beside it, waiting for his master's return.
The dog didn't know exactly where his master was, nor did it know when its master would return. But out of pure love and trust, he knew his master would return to get him, so he was content to wait on him and not forget him.
That is an excellent illustration of what Christians should do as we wait for Jesus. We may not fully understand where our Master has gone to, nor do we know when He will return, but out of our love for, and trust in, Him, we are content to stay focused and wait for His return.
What exactly is the Rapture? Much of the information about the Rapture was given to us by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the church in Thessalonica. Let us read what he wrote.
1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-18.
"13 I want you to know what will happen to believers who have died, so you will not grieve like those with no hope. 14 We believe Jesus died and was raised to life again, and we believe when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him those believers who have died.
"15 We who are still living will not meet him ahead of those who have died. 16 For the Lord will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves.
"17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words."
The Rapture will be when Jesus Christ removes all believers from this earth to meet Him in the clouds, and it will happen without notice, or as quickly as you can blink your eyes. That will leave us no time to start getting ourselves ready for it once it begins. It will end as quickly as it begins, and we will either be ready for it and go to Jesus, or we will not be ready for it and we will stay behind.
The trouble with staying behind is that after the Rapture occurs, the following seven years will be the worst time the world has ever known! Evil will lurk in every possible way and believers in Christ will be summarily done away with. So it becomes a matter of self-interest to get rid of our humanly pride and accept Jesus so we won't have to go through that time, which will be called the "Tribulation".
There are many different thoughts as to what our bodies will be like during the Rapture. Some say we will forever look like we are in our mid-30's. They say that because Jesus was 33 years of age when He went back to heaven. Others think we will be exactly like we appeared when we were called up in the clouds to meet Jesus.
I do not know what we will be like, and I do not really care. All I know for sure is that whatever we will be like will be so much better than what we are now, that we do not have the words to describe it … so why waste our time and energy trying to do the impossible now?
I will tell you what I believe, and I base those two beliefs on two verses that Jesus told to His disciples.
1 JOHN 3:2,
"… what we will be has not yet been seen; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, and we shall see him as he is."
We have not yet seen what our bodies will be like. We can only offer conjecture. We do know that our current bodies are corruptible and frail. We are susceptible to all kinds of diseases and weaknesses. But the bible says we will be transformed to be like Christ. I base that information on what Paul wrote to us in …
1 CORINTHIANS 15:51
"51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed."
Our current bodies will be changed and transformed into bodies that will never die. For what good or use would a sickly, weak, or dying body be to God in heaven?
First, there will be a shout. Some believe the archangel Gabriel will shout loud enough for the whole earth to hear, and every human will look up to see us disappearing into the sky.
I personally do not see that. I think Christians will hear the call of Jesus from
deep within their own hearts. I base my thoughts on the following two verses.
I base these thoughts on the following verses.
JOHN 10:3,
"The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out."
And on JOHN 10:27,
"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me."
My spirit would hear Jesus calling ME … your spirit would hear Him calling YOU …. etc. We know the sound of our Savior as it is in our hearts, and we come to Him. When He calls, we shall follow. But those who do not know Him will not be able to hear him, nor will they follow someone they cannot hear or do not know.
And all those who were believers when the died the physical death will be the first to be called. And then, those believers who are still living at the time will follow those who had been called first.
But no in what order they are called, they will be instantly reunited with our loving Savior and with our loved ones who went on before us!
Seven years after the Rapture, Christ will come back to earth to rule and reign for 1,000 years. This is when every tongue shall confess that He is Lord!
So why is the Rapture necessary? Here are my thoughts based on what I have read and studied in Scripture.
In REVELATION 3:10 it says,
“Because you have kept my command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.”
1 THESSALONIANS 1:10 says,
“…Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.”
ROMANS 5:9 reiterates that by saying,
“Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.”
These verses serve to show us that the God we serve is a loving God. But He will also bring great judgement against those who have denied and rejected His Son. That is what the "coming wrath" is; the judgment against those who are evil.
And since he is so loving, He will rescue His followers so we don't have to go thru that coming judgment. That is why we are called, "The people in the parenthesis".
Starting with Abraham, God began working with and for the Jewish people. When they wandered away, He went His Son to gather them up again. When they refused Jesus, God opened His salvation to ALL who would listen. Those people who accepted are called "the Church".
We now live in the CHURCH AGE. It began when Jesus died on the cross for our sins and will end when He calls us out of this world in the Rapture. As I said, after the Rapture, a seven year period called the Great Tribulation will happen. The first three and a half years will go from good to bad.
At the end of the first half, the antichrist will come on the scene and end up sitting on the Throne in the Temple (which will be rebuilt by then) and at that point, he will demand everyone worship him and only him. From this point on, things will go instantly from bad to absolute terrible!
At the end of this time, Christ will come back (the Second Coming) and He will stand on the earth, but this time He will not come as a loving Savior. He will come as a defeater of evil and a judge of the wicked.
Now, this entire seven year period will be so bad, God will get His followers off the earth before it happens. That is what is meant by the references to "save" us and "rescue" us from the coming wrath.
Remember what 1 THESSALONIANS 1:10 tells us:
“…Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.”
Let me once again deal with the question of WHEN it will happen.
In MATTHEW 24:36, Jesus answers that for us.
"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."
God will come for his Church suddenly! Without any notice at all! At a time when we least expect it. For this reason, He instructs us to be always ready, always prepared, and on guard, for it could happen at any time.
LUKE 21:34-35 warns us!
"34 Take heed to save yourselves; keep your heart from being weighed down with the sin of this life, and that day sneak up and come on you unexpectedly. 35 For it will come as a snare on those who dwell on whole earth."
LUKE 21:34-35 continues.
"36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, so you can stand pure before the Son of Man."
God felt it was so important that we understand what was coming, and that we keep ourselves fully ready, He reminded us over, and over, and over again.
MATTHEW 24:42
"Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming."
MATTHEW 24:44
"For the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will."
MATTHEW 25:13
"Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour."
Many Christians are afraid of the rapture. They feel an excitement about it, but deep down, they know they're ready for it because they know they have not taken their walk with Christ seriously.
But what does God say about that?
In 1 THESSALONIANS 5:19-22, God says,
19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not scoff at prophecies, 21 Examine everything; hold fast to that which is good; 22 and turn your back on that which is not good.
But whether we meet Jesus in the Rapture, or by our physical death, it will happen at an unknown time, and we will not be expecting it. It will come upon us much quicker than we anticipated.
So it would behoove us to start today, and mold our hearts in the shape of Christ and fill it with the love of Christ.
CLOSING PRAYER
