In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth and then created men and women to be obedient to Him. Everything was perfect until Adam and Eve became dissatisfied with all God had given them and chose to put their hopes and trust in the Deceiver, Satan. God judged Adam and Eve’s betrayal as sin resulting in eternal death. Their sin also severed their relationship with God along with all who were born after Adam and Eve. All humans are born with sin natures that will lead to eternal death and separation from God.
“For the wages of sin is death,” (Romans 6:23).
When sin came into the world, all creation changed. Humans began to grow old and die, weeds grew, and sickness and pain became part of the human experience. Even the universe God created to reflect His glory began to experience entropy, the process of going from order to disorder over time. (4th Law of Thermodynamics).
“For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope.” (Romans 8:20)
Because of God’s grace and love, His mercy covers all sins. He did not give to humankind what we all deserve. Instead, He provides a way to restore all sinners by sacrificing Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins. God promises that all who trust in Jesus will not experience death but instead, live with God eternally in a new heaven and earth.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
God plans to take all who believe out of this world for the seven years of tribulation. During this time, Jesus will pour out His righteous judgment on those who remain on the earth. After that, Jesus will judge those unbelievers and forever restrain Satan and his followers. God will create a new Heaven and earth with no possibility of sin, where love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and self-control will forever rein.
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 23:3-4).
The event that begins the end-time plan of God is the rapture of the Church. It will be a moment in time when Jesus will appear in the sky, and all believers, dead and alive, will, in a flash of time, meet Jesus in the air.
“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).
“I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 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 imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:56-58)
The rapture is imminent; it could take place at any moment. No one knows when that time will come. With the rebellion against God and the Bible that is destroying the culture and educational systems, including Christian schools, churches, and Christian leaders, many believe that the only relief or hope for the world is the rapture. Commentators say that the government leader’s working to bring about a one-world leader, that will be the antichrist, a one-world economic system, and a one-world religion could mean the rapture is very near. Wars, natural disasters, and evil unleashed convince many that Christ could appear in the sky at any moment.
Luke 12:40, “You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
Mark 13:32-33, “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.”
Many today are obsessed with talking and thinking about the coming of the rapture of Jesus. Yes, we are to be aware of his coming, but we must, more than ever, be about living out and sharing the good news of Jesus, so others will become children of God and spend eternity in Heaven with Him.
Maybe we should be asking not “when is He coming to get us?” but “whom can I reach with the good news of Jesus before the rapture!”
Timothy write out our instructions:
:”I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:1-5).