RAPTURE OF THE
CHURCH
INTRODUCTION
Rapture of the church is closer than one may think; with ongoing destructive measures being implemented which elevate Jesus’ return for His church! There is enlightenment towards the things of God on one hand; along with an attempt to wipe out any influence of Christianity.
There is an onrush of
satanic forces, using man as his tool, that has elevated ungodly influence as in
the pre-Flood days of Noah, Sodom and Gomorrah, and Babylon the hold of every
foul spirit; all of which unleashed God’s judgment.
Rapture of the Church
Expectation
The Apostle Paul brings our attention towards the preparation of the soul in regards to the rapture of the church in noting: You have turned to God from idols (idol worship) to serve the living and true God; to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he (God) raised from the dead (resurrected), even Jesus, which delivered us (the believers) from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10).
It was noted that “to wait” signifies waiting with expectation; looking ahead in faith to the fulfillment of Christ’s promise to return! Wrath to come refers to the time of the Great Tribulation (Revelation Chapters 6-19) from which the saints of the church (believers) will be delivered through the rapture of the church (those ready at His appearing).
Description of the
Rapture
Referring to the rapture of the church the Apostle Paul wrote: The Lord himself (Jesus) shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trump (trumpet) of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together (rapture of the church) with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall be ever (always) with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).
It was noted that the order of events at the time of Jesus’ coming are: (1) the Lord will descend with a shout, accompanied by the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of God; (2) the dead in Christ will be resurrected (as Jesus was); and (3) those alive and remaining will caught up with them in the clouds. Caught up is taken from the Latin word meaning to seize or snatch away in which we get the term Rapture. Comfort is the Christian’s hope of resurrection (a heavenly body) (1 Corinthians 15:49-52) which brings solace in the face of death in contrast to the hopelessness of the unsaved.
Parable of Ten
Virgins
Jesus conveying the parable of the ten virgins said: The kingdom of heaven is likened to ten virgins; which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom, and five were wise and five were foolish. Them that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them (Matthew 25:1-3). And the foolish said to the wise, give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone (going) out. But the wise answered, saying, not so; lest there be not enough for us and you; but go to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage (wedding); and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said; I say to you, I know you not (Matthew 25:8-12).
Jesus finished the parable in saying: Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man comes (Matthew 25:13). The words “the door was shut” is of extreme importance in that those unprepared were excluded from entry.
Door of Salvation
Shut
The pre-Flood days of Noah reveals another occasion when the door was shut! Scripture reveals: God spared not the old world, but saved Noah, the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly (2 Peter 2:5). The day Noah, and his family, entered into the ark, God said: Come you, and all your house into the ark; for in you have I seen righteous before me in this generation (Genesis 7:1).
Those outside the ark were described as corrupt and filled with violence (Genesis 6:11). As in the case of the five foolish virgins who had the door shut; so it was with the ungodly, in the days of Noah! Scripture reveals that God himself shut the door of the ark (Genesis 7:16).
Days of Noah
Jesus said: As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it also be in the days of the Son of man (Jesus' coming). They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all (except those in the ark of safety) (Luke 17:26-27). Even so shall it be in the day, when the Son of man is revealed (Luke 17:30).
It was noted that life went on as people cast aside Noah’s warnings! We are seeing a withdrawing rather than drawing closer to the Lord in these latter days. Is the Church allowing the intermixing with the world, to retract its former commitment, as the rapture of the church draws near?
Days of Lot
Jesus said: Likewise, also as it was in the days of Lot (a righteous man); they (the people) did eat, they drank, they brought, they sold, they planted, they built; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom (led by an angel of the Lord) it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even so shall it be in the day, when the Son of man is revealed (Jesus’ coming) (Luke 17:28-30).
It was noted that apathy in the world at large must not hamper ones diligence in expecting deliverance from the world’s judgment. We are seeing a raising up of Sodom that possibly surpasses Sodom of old, as the rapture of the church draws near.
Come Out of Her
My People
In the days of Noah, God spared Noah and his household! In the days of Sodom God spared Lot and his household; except for Lot’s wife who failed to be in obedience to godly direction.
In the days of Babylon it was noted that her sins have reached unto heaven, and God had remembered her iniquities; with a warning coming from Heaven: Come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues (Revelation 18:4-5). Her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God who judges her (Revelation 18:8).
Ungodly Culture of
Acceptance
Apostle Paul noted: Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify (set it apart) and cleanse it, with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish (without moral flaw) (Ephesians 5:25-27). As we see the ungodly culture of today gaining acceptance by the Church; what is the possibility of being morally pure as the rapture of the church draws near?
In a poem entitled: Church Walking with the World (by an unknown author) are these words: From the side of the harlot church, while she sleeps in shame, will flee the remnant that keep God’s Word, and honor His holy name. For those who keep their garment clean, shall walk with Him in white, in the day when he comes to claim His own (rapture of the church), to make them His jewels bright.
Ungodly Traits
There is tolerance and permissiveness being extended towards ungodly traits that in previous years would not have been allowed to surface, without reproach; yet today are being embraced with pride. The Prophet Jeremiah, in speaking the words of the Lord, asked: Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination (sinfulness)?
No, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush; therefore they shall fall among them that fall; at the time that I (God) shall visit (punish) them they shall be cast down, saith the Lord (Jeremiah 6:15).
Appeal Made
The Prophet Jeremiah, making an appeal to the people, said: Thus saith the Lord, stand you in the ways (of godliness), and see, and ask for the old paths (paths of righteousness), and walk therein, and you shall find rest for your souls. But they (the people) said, we will not walk therein.
Also I (God) set watchmen over you saying, hearken to the sound of the trumpet (call to repentance), but they said, we will not hearken (Jeremiah 6:16-17). Then judgment was pronounced: Hear, O earth; I (God) will bring evil (calamity) upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened to my words, nor to my law, but rejected it (Jeremiah 6:19).
Rapture of the Church
Prepared/Unprepared
The rapture of the church will be a joyous event for those who are prepared! But to those not prepared (as the five foolish virgins) it will be a day of remorse when realization comes that one has missed the rapture of the church and are headed for the Great Tribulation period (Revelation Chapters 6-19), and the reign of the Antichrist, in which one will be required to worship him, and accept his mark (666) on their hand or forehead, that they might buy or sell (Revelation 13:16-18).
One may think that such is a myth; but its truth is becoming a reality day by day as the world advances towards a global field of endorsement, towards the reign of the Antichrist, not realizing it is fulfilling God’s Word.
Rapture of the Church
Assured
God, through His Word, is giving warning to those who have been drawn into deception; through the attraction and acceptability of ungodliness presented as healthy and normal; when in actuality it is detestable and an odor to God’s nostrils and holiness.
The rapture of the church is assured; even more so as the world embraces the pre-Flood days of Noah, Sodom and Gomorrah, and Babylon the hold of every foul spirit! Today is the day of salvation, through Christ Jesus as one’s Lord and Savior, tomorrow may be too late.
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