THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH!
The word Rapture is not actually found in the Bible. It is in Aramaic (The language spoken when Jesus was on Earth).
It is interpreted as “Caught away.”
The event of the rapture is found in passages like. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. And 1 Corinthians 15:51, 52. Also, such passages as Matthew 24:40-42. And 2 Thessalonians 2:1,2.
The Rapture is a secret catching away of believers, and the Second Coming (The Revelation) is a public, visible return of Christ.
The Word Rapture comes from the Latin “RAPIURA”, translated from the Greek word “HARPAZO.” 1 Thess 4:17. Translated in our Bibles as “Caught Up.”
That word occurs 14 times in the New Testament and literally means “SNATCHED AWAY—” “SUDDENLY REMOVED.” Jesus uses the word “snatch” in John 10:21.
“NO ONE WILL SNATCH THEM OUT OF MY HAND. “
It is the same word, “HARPAZO,” the same word that Paul used when he was
“Caught up” to Heaven.
Resulting in an Earthquake, followed by the defeat of the enemies of God. Jesus comes “on” the clouds, and every eye will see Him. This is when He brings judgment upon the earth, His public appearance.
The closest meaning is:
“To be removed from one place to another.”
When the “Rapture” happens, Jesus will come to meet us in “the air.” This is the first private coming for His own body, the Church. 1 Thessalonians. 4:16-17.
The “Second Coming” (also called the Revelation) is when the Lord descends with his previously raptured Saints to the Earth and stands upon the Mount of Olives.
The moment His feet touch the ground, the Mount of Olives splits apart.
The Rapture is our “Up and Away” time. At the Second Coming, we will be “on” the clouds with Jesus.
Dear reader, your view may differ from this. Please don’t allow it to divide you from those who are of another opinion. The Bible is too Holy to be arguing about. It is never meant to break up friendships.
Don’t use the Bible to suit your mind; allow it to change your thinking when you could be somewhat wrong.
All we need to know is: He’s coming back as a thief in the night! To take His own out of sight! To dwell eternally with Him. Amen, Hallelujah!
Are you ready when He comes?
THE TIMING OF THE RAPTURE.
The Rapture is God’s removal of His people from this Earth. Paul states this in 1 Thessalonians 5:9. Take the time to read the references.
When does it occur?
The timing of the Rapture in relation to the Tribulation is one of the most controversial issues in the Church today.
Their are three primary views about when it will take place.
PRE-TRIBULATION. The rapture will happen “before” the Great Tribulation.
MID-TRIBULATION. It will occur near the “midpoint ” of the great Tribulation.
POST- TRIBULATION. It will take place at the end of the Tribulation.
There is a fourth view, which is believed to be that there is no Rapture at all. There is “one” coming at the end of all things!
TRIBULATION. The time when God pours His wrath out upon the Earth.
First, we must recognise the purpose of the Tribulation. According to Daniel Chapter 9:27, a seven-year period is yet to come. Daniel’s prophecy is about the Nation of Israel, a period when God deals explicitly with them. The Church could be a part of that time.
“GOD DID NOT APPOINT US TO SUFFER (HIS) WRATH, BUT TO RECEIVE SALVATION THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.” NIV.
The book of Revelation reveals “how” God will pour out His wrath upon the Earth. It seems inconsistent for God to promise us as believers that we will not suffer His wrath and yet leave us to suffer through the wrath of the Tribulation.
I can understand that some Christians are currently under severe persecution, losing loved ones, their homes and their places of worship. And those who are in jail, being tortured for their faith, would think they are in the Great Tribulation today.
Could it be they are suffering the wrath of ungodly man instigated by the Evil One?
The wrath of God is far greater than what they are suffering, as horrific as it is. His wrath is cataclysmic and Universal. Jesus calls it the “Hour of Trial” that will come upon the whole Earth.
What happens?
After three and a half years of Tribulation, there is “The Great Tribulation.” It is like never before or after the creation of the world. Matthew 24:21.
A day of great distress, called “Jacob’s trouble.” Jeremiah 30:7 NKJV Version. So called, “The day of the Lord.”
Please read,
Zephaniah 1:15,16
Various Divine judgments, celestial disturbances, and terrible plagues mark the Great Tribulation—Revelation 6:16, where the 3rd of the Earth is destroyed at different times.
But God, in His great mercy, limits the duration of these horrific trials.
As Jesus Christ said, there will be days of distress unequalled again. If the Lord did not decide to cut them short no one would survive!
Mark 13:19,20.
This could mean two things.
God will protect us “in” the middle of the trial.
Or God will deliver us “out” of the trials. Both could be valid.
But we need to recognise that He promises to keep us “from” those trials.
That means the Rapture is His method for our escape from the Great Tribulation.
The Rapture is the Groom coming for the Bride! And we are going to the marriage feast to be presented to Him “without spot or blemish or any such thing.”
We do not need to go through the tribulation to be made ready to meet Him in the air. The finished work of Christ is enough!
What if I feel afraid?
I’m sure many of you feel this way.
FOCUS UPON JESUS!
The vision of Jesus Christ was so incredible that, “he fell at His feet as dead, with no breath at all left in him.” Jesus says,
Do not be afraid, “I AM” the first and the last, The “Living One;” I was dead and now look I am alive for ever and ever.”
Revelation 1:17. Gaze at Jesus in all His brilliance and endless rule.
Amen.
HURRY UP, JESUS, COME SOON!
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Pray that many who read these blogs will invite Jesus to save them from that which is to come upon this earth.
Light in the Darkness! 