Raise Us To Thy Glorious Throne

Raise us to thy Glorious Throne

In todays announcements we shared about the funerals for Doris Sparks and Donald Simpson and Randy Andreson. We are accustom to accepting news about funerals as a part of life. For the Christian it is really just a part of our walk towards our eternal life. Today I have wonderful news, not all of us will experience death. You may be surprised to learn this but the bible teaches us about a wedding between the Bride of Christ which is the church and the Groom which is Jesus Christ.

With the descriptive language of a wedding we see that Jesus is coming back one day to gather His Bride to be with Him in heaven. This gathering is called The Rapture. You will not find the word Rapture in your bibles but you will find it taught as a great and mysterious event throughout the scriptures.

I mentioned the word Rapture to our Bible Study group and some were unfamiliar with it and some have heard of it but were not sure as to what it is. I feel that such an important event must be covered in order for you to be prepared for it. There are differing opinions about the Rapture so I challenge you to study for yourselves and decide for yourselves what God is telling you from the pages of His Bible.

A search on my computer revealed a dictionary explanation which I think is pretty concise. I found this from the Wikipedia:

"Rapture", when used in eschatological terms, is an English word used in place of the Latin word raeptius; which in turn is a translation of the Koine Greek word harpazo, which is found in the Greek New Testament manuscripts of 1 Thessalonians 4:17. In many modern English translations of the Bible, harpazo is translated; "caught up", or "taken away". "Harpazo" \har-pad-zo\ Koine Greek; "forcibly snatched away", "taken for oneself".

In Christian eschatology, the Rapture is the name given to a future event in which Jesus Christ will descend from Heaven, accompanied by the spirits of all the saints of God, both from the pre-incarnation period and after, who have passed on prior to this event, and then the bodily remains of these saints are transported from the Earth to meet the Lord and be rejoined with their corresponding spirits in the air. Immediately after this, all Christians alive on the earth are simultaneously transported to meet the Lord and those who have preceded them in the air. All are transformed into immortal bodies like Jesus body, often referred to as the "resurrection body".

Let us look to scripture to see what it says about this event called the Rapture.

"For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord."

(1 Thessalonians 4:15-17)

In My Fathers house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

(John 14:23)

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

(Philippians 3:20-21)

And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?""