5. THE RAPTURE

We have another exciting thing to look forward to. It is called the rapture of the Church. First Thessalonians 4:16-17 says, “There will be the shout of command, the archangel’s voice, the sound of God’s trumpet, and the Lord himself will come down from heaven. Those who have died believing in Christ will rise to life first; then we who are living at that time will be gathered up along with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord” (GNT).

Three things will happen first: the shout of command, the voice of the archangel, and the sound of God’s trumpet. Three things will be happening to us: we will be caught up to be with the Lord, we will meet the Lord in the air, and will always be with the Him.

If you read the book of Revelation you will find many prophecies about the trouble coming to the earth. There will be wars, famines, earthquakes, etc. From outer space the earth will be struck and one third of the vegetation will be burned. But the good news for us is that we will be gone. We will be raptured! We will not witness all this destruction coming to the earth. What a mighty God we serve! He saves His people. He takes care of us!

Do you know what we will be doing in heaven when the earth is going through this turmoil? We will be taking part in the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9). We will eat whatever we want. We will be happy. We will be rejoicing, praising and worshiping the Lord. Then we will come back with the Lord when His feet will touch the Mount of Olives. He will bring us with Him and we will reign and rule on this earth for a thousand years (Revelation 20:4). This is called the millennium reign of Christ.

First Corinthians 15:51-54 also talks about the rapture. It says, “Listen to this secret truth: we shall not all die, but when the last trumpet sounds, we shall all be changed in an instant, as quickly as the blinking of an eye. For when the trumpet sounds, the dead will be raised, never to die again, and we shall all be changed. For what is mortal must be changed into what is immortal; what will die must be changed into what cannot die. So when this takes place, and the mortal has been changed into the immortal, then the scripture will come true: ‘Death is destroyed; victory is complete!’” (GNT)

Notice that this verse is talking about the body being transformed in the twinkling of an eye. The twinkle of an eye is about 100th of a second. We will be transformed into glorious bodies instantly. The corruptible body will become incorruptible. The mortal will become immortal when we receive a glorified body. This is what will happen at the rapture. First Corinthians 15:58 says, “So then, my dear friends, stand firm and steady. Keep busy always in your work for the Lord, since you know that nothing you do in the Lord’s service is ever useless” (GNT).

I believe the Lord is saying that because we know what is going to happen we should continue to work for Him and tell others about Jesus. We need to be firm and immovable so that our labor will not be in vain. Start preparing for that day. How?

Continue To Chapter 6. Renewing of The Mind

Chapter 1. The Gospel – Good News • Chapter 2. Adam – Sin • Chapter 3. Repentance – The New Birth • Chapter 4. Spiritual Growth – A Journey and The Goal • Chapter 5. The Rapture • Chapter 6. Renewing of The Mind • Chapter 7. Discipleship • Chapter 8. Fruit of the Spirit – Fruit of The Flesh • Chapter 9. Other Important Scriptures • Chapter 10. How to Be Like The Lord Jesus Christ • Final Words • About The Author • What Others Are Saying About This Book • Bibliography