“For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be ‘caught up’ together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
Dear friends, we live in precarious, uncertain times. Never in our nation’s history have we seen the events of our country and the economy slide downward so quickly! There seems to be so much anger and rebellion, wars, rumors of wars, and a pandemic that has taken the lives of thousands. Where will it end? Is this the foreshadowing of the Tribulation that the apostle John spoke of in the book of Revelation? Lately, my friends and I have been studying Bible prophecy as taught in the Old and New Testaments. It’s a fascinating subject! We learn about “globalists” and the “one world government” among secular people. They give a target date of 2030 AD when the entire world will be under one world order. Of course, it’s speculation and the Lord could stop it at any moment. “The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against His Anointed One…..The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Psalm 2:2,4.
I believe the rapture of the Church could happen at any moment. Some have questioned why the word “rapture” doesn’t appear anywhere in the Bible. The word doesn’t appear in the English Bible, but it does appear in the Latin Bible! The word “rapture” means “caught up!” It means being taken from one place to another. “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away,” Genesis 5:24. “Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind….and Elisha saw him no more,” 2 Kings 2:11-12. Then after Philip baptized the Ethiopian eunuch, “When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again….Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about preaching the gospel…..” Acts 8:39-40. And so shall we be “caught up” one day to meet the Lord in the air!” Praise the Lord!!!! What we believe about the rapture matters!
The early Church looked for Jesus to return. Paul commended the Thessalonian church for “turning to God from idols and to wait for his Son from heaven whom He raised from the dead – Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10. Jesus endured the “wrath of God” on the cross when He suffered for our sins, so we won’t have to endure it in that Day. The apostle John wrote about the Church in the first three chapters of Revelation. In fact, he described it in detail! The last two churches, Philadelphia and Laodicea appear to be on earth when Jesus returns. Philadelphia “had a little strength…kept my word and have not denied my name.” They will be kept from “the hour of trial what is going to come upon the whole world,” Revelation 3:8, 10. The Laodicean church was lukewarm, they were rich and had need of nothing. “Those I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.” Revelation 3:19. Doesn’t that sound like the modern Church, not only in America, but in many parts of the world? There are the earnest overcomers who stand firm and resist the world view, and there are those who fall in with the “wisdom and pattern of the world” which is foolishness with God.
John continued in chapter four, “I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” John represents the Church, suddenly in heaven, in the Spirit, seeing the wonders of the heavenly city for the first time! The angelic beings never stop saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.” Revelation 4:8. We Christians have a glorious future waiting us!! “I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.….I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem….I will also write on him a new name.” Revelation 3:11,12. Jesus is coming soon!!
Awaiting His return!!
Your friend, Jean