THE RAPTURE
THE RAPTURE
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 4:16-17)
This is a subject that is mentioned over 300 times in the Bible. It is commonly called the rapture by believers in Jesus Christ.. We get the term rapture from the Latin translation of the word, which is 'rapere'.
In the Hebrew language, the word is 'harpazo', which is also translated as caught up. I find it very interesting that the root of the word harpazo literally means to 'Take for ones self', or 'to choose'!
There are many views on the rapture of the Church, and to find the answers, we must examine the Scriptures.
First, I would like to point out that it has been revealed that Jesus would not return until there should be a falling away first.
Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first...,
(2 Thessalonians 2)
If you have read the paper or watched the news, you must admit that indeed this nation, even this world has fallen far, far away from the Biblical principles that this once great country was founded on.
The Disciples of Jesus asked Him;
"What will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you.
For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.
And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilence, and earthquakes in various places.
All these are the beginning of sorrows"
Sorrows.....that is literally translated as 'birth pains'.
When a woman is about to give birth, the closer together and the more intense the pains are, the closer the child is to coming. So too, as these signs of the times are more frequent and intense, the closer it is to our Lords return.
Yes, all of those who are part of the family of God are about to be caught up to meet our Lord in the air!!!!!!!!
1 Corinthians 15:51-52 says;
"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".
If you do not have a clear understanding of the Tribulation, and the Church, I encourage you to visit those sites as soon as they are available.
One fact that will help you in your study of this subject, is the fact that the book of Revelation is in cronological order.
Through the verse in Colossians 1:24 we read that all Believers who are indwelt by Christ are identified as the Church.
The Church is seen in Revelation, chapter 5, before the throne of God! Proclaiming;
"And they sang a new song, saying:
You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have REDEEMED US TO GOD BY YOUR BLOOD,
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.
Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,
saying with a loud voice":
"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!"
Again, breifly, the Church is seen before the Throne of God in heaven, in Chapter 14, and then in chapter 19, beleivers are clearly WITH CHRIST, in heaven, and finally again in Chapter 19, the family of God comes WITH CHRIST, for the battle of armageddon, and the establishment of His kingdom.
The Church is never mentioned in or during any of the prophecies of the GREAT TRIBULATION, which is also called 'The day of the Lord' 'Jacobs trouble', and 'The wrath of God'
A day so horrible, that Jesus said;
"For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"
Going on from there, in Colossians 3:4 we read
"When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory".
Now, if we are to appear WITH Him, we must be with Him when He appears! This verse in Colossians is a verse that refers to the SECOND COMING.
For differences between the Rapture, and the second coming see the page on this 'button'
In Daniel, chapter 12, begining in verse one, we see that beleivers, those who have Life in Christ, are promised to be spared the Tribulation that will overtake the world.
"There shall be a time of trouble,
Such as never was since there was a nation,
Even to that time.
And at that time your people shall be delivered,
Every one who is found written in the book.
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
Some to everlasting life,
Some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Those who are wise shall shine
Like the brightness of the firmament,
And those who turn many to righteousness
Like the stars forever and ever".
There are many verses that speak of this, and those whose names are written in the Lambs book of Life, which are those who are the body of Christ, which is the Church, are promised to be saved OUT OF the time of trouble.
not in it, not through it, but OUT OF IT.
Here are some more verses that show us clearly that beleivers are not included in the wrath.
(1 Thessalonians 5:9)
"For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him".
(1 Thessalonians 1:9-10)
"For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,
and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who DELEIVERS US FROM the wrath to come".
(Luke 21:36)
"Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."
John 14:1-3, clearly shows the Rapture.
"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's 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".
In this verse, Jesus takes us from earth to heaven. At the second coming, He sets His feet on earth, to establish His Kingdom, and fufill all that is written about His second coming.
This is only a little on this subject. The point is clear.
Jesus is coming very soon.
His judgment is about to fall on a depraved world.
He will remove all who are His own before His wrath is executed on all who refuse to repent and believe.
The question you must answer is this..........
Is your name written in the lambs book of life? If it is, you can be sure that you will indeed escape the wrath that is to come!
Or
WILL YOU BE LEFT BEHIND?
