As theologian Dr. Todd Baker explains, just because the word, "Rapture"
does not appear in the Bible, does not mean there will not be a Rapture
of the Body of Christ at the appointed time of God.
As 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17 attests, "For the Lord Himself will descend
from heaven with a loud cry of summons, with the shout of an archangel,
and with the blast of the trumpet of God. And those who have departed
this life in Christ will rise first.
Then we, the living ones, who remain on the earth, shall simultaneously
be caught up along with the resurrected dead in the clouds, to meet
the Lord IN THE AIR; and so always through the eternity of eternities
we shall be with the Lord! Therefore comfort and encourage
one another with these words."
"IN THE AIR"
Note: It does not say Christ comes to the earth, but that believers
will meet Him in the air. The Second Coming of the Lord -when
He will one stand on the Mount of Olives- to rescue Israel and
to destroy His enemies with the brightness of His coming,
will be at the end of the seven years of the Tribulation.
And on that day, we will be with Him!
Unfortunately, due to ravenous wolves (false teachers) among the docile sheep
found within the Church today, as well as profound ignorance of the Scriptures,
many professed Christians not only deny the future "catching up" of believers,
but have convinced themselves that we are already enduring the time of
the Great Tribulation. Jesus Himself told us that the time just
before His coming for His Bride would be as "in the days of Noah."
As Genesis 6:12 attests, "And God looked upon the earth and saw
that it was corrupt; for all living creatures on the earth
had corrupted their ways."
The people in Noah's time were no different from the ungodly people of today.
They laughed and scoffed at him for building the Ark and for trusting in
God's promise to one day flood the entire earth-until the day the flood came.
Likewise, believers in Messiah need to cling to the Biblical promise that we
are not appointed to the forthcoming wrath and judgment of God on an
unbelieving and wicked world-which is the Great Tribulation.
"But we belong to the day; therefore, let us be sober and put on the
breastplate of faith and love and for a helmet the hope of salvation.
For God has not appointed us to incur His wrath, He did not select
us to condemn us, but that we might obtain His salvation through
Our Lord Jesus Christ Who died for us so that whether we are
still alive or are dead at Christ appearing, we might live together
with Him and share His life."
(1 Thessalonians 5:8-10)
We are living in uncertain and perilous times in a world which is
increasingly enveloped in appalling human and spiritual wickedness.
Many believers have grown "rapture weary" and are tired of
waiting for the Lord's return. However, I feel that we believers
need to use this time period of God's extended mercy and
grace to witness the hope of salvation through Christ alone to
those who are lost and hurting in America and throughout the world.
Time however, is of the essence, with every passing day.
Maranatha!
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