The Rapture: What you need to know ~ Michael G. Mickey

The Rapture: What you need to knowby Michael G. Mickey

Artwork used with permission of the artist. Copyright © by Duncan Long. All rights reserved.

One day soon, the world is going to be permanently altered by an event the magnitude of which has never been seen. On a day like any other, millions of people are going to unexpectedly and unexplainedly vanish from the face of the earth.

As you can imagine, the world is going to be scrambling for answers when that happens. An explanation will come at some point afterward, but the story the world will be told will be inaccurate to say the least.

The remaining people of the world may be told alien beings came and took their loved ones away.

They may be told a natural phenomena has caused the disappearances.

They may even be told some of us evolved to a higher plain of existence.

The one thing they will not be told is the truth, which is the Rapture of the Church has just occurred! The Bible reveals, in 1st Thessalonians 4:16-17, that a day will come when "the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

Matthew 25:13 tells us this event will come without any warning whatsoever: "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh."

So, where will all the Christians be after this event takes place? In the book of Revelation, John is called away to Heaven in Revelation 4:1 when he is told to "come up hither." John, a Christian, is Raptured in this passage.

While he is in Heaven, John records events taking place, both in Heaven and on the earth, during the period of time commonly referred to as the Tribulation Period. John sees two completely different environments, as recorded in the book of Revelation.

In Heaven, John witnesses a time of celebration, worship, and praise as Jesus Christ is revealed as the Savior of the world. On earth, John records a horrible series of judgments that are taking place, the likes of which no man has ever seen nor will ever see again, as seen in Matthew 24:21.

In Heaven, John sees, as recorded in Revelation 19:7-8, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb as it takes place between the Bridegroom, Jesus, and His Bride, the Church. Since the Bride is in attendance at the wedding, we know the Bridegroom, Christ, has come to earth for His Bride. In the same manner John was told to "come up hither" in Revelation 4:1, the Church has been Raptured!

To properly understand the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, it's important to grasp the fact the Pre-Tribulational Rapture event parallels the actions of the bridegroom in the pattern of ancient Jewish wedding tradition. In this tradition, after the engagement but before the wedding, the groom would depart to prepare a new home for his bride which was usually an addition to his father's house. The bride was kept in a state of anxious waiting pending his return which would often come at an unexpected hour, perhaps in the middle of the night as a surprise. The wedding was usually followed by a honeymoon of seven days which matches up nicely with the Antichrist's confirmation of a seven-year covenant of peace between Israel and her enemies. It was the prophet Daniel who told us this covenant would be one biblical 'week' in duration, which is seven years - the length of the Tribulation Period.

When Jesus returns at the end of the Tribulation Period, as seen in Revelation 19:14, He will be followed by the armies of Heaven (the Bride), which are seen riding white horses dressed in fine linen, white and clean. The fine, white linen is symbolic of the righteousness of the saints, as seen in Revelation 19:8.

When Jesus returns with His Bride, the Church, He will be dressed for war at the Battle of Armageddon where He will defeat the armies of the Antichrist and his False Prophet. In the aftermath of their defeat, the Antichrist and the False Prophet will be cast alive into the lake of fire that burns forever.

1st Thessalonians 4:18: Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

I hope you are somewhat comforted by this explanation of the Rapture, but you'd do well to recognize there are many who don't believe there will be a Pre-Tribulational Rapture of the Church. Some prefer to think Christians are going to have to suffer to get into Heaven rather than be protected by the Savior.

Here are a few things to remember from the Bible that point toward that line of thinking being erroneous:

• When the flood came (a judgment from God), Noah, a righteous man, was kept safe inside the ark.
• When Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed (a judgment from God), Lot, a righteous man, was kept safe.

Considering the fact the Church is referred to as the Bride of Christ, wouldn't He have an interest in protecting the Church? Of course! We don't call Him Savior for nothing! The Church is not appointed to wrath, according to 1st Thessalonians 5:9, but to salvation through our Lord, Jesus Christ.

All these things I've just explained are demonstrative of why John saw Christ's followers worshipping Him in Heaven saying, "Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen."

Have you trusted in the Savior? If not, this is the day to do so. Any moment now, the Lord Jesus Christ may call His Church away to be with Him.

If the Rapture occurs and you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you will be left behind to endure the horrors of the Tribulation Period. I pray you will take this into consideration and receive Jesus Christ as your Savior before it's too late.

Rapture Near: Part I ~ Terry James (BPT)

Rapture Near: Part I

By Terry James

"How near do you think the rapture might be?" This or similar questions issue from people, both believers in Christ and nonbelievers. The queries come during question-and-answer sessions at prophecy conferences, and from interviewers such as my History Channel interviewer last June during filming for a series of documentaries on prophecy. 

Despite innate skepticism, even within believers, one senses that there flows just beneath the surface of decorum in posing the question a visceral trepidation that there will be such a thing as "the rapture." While those who attend prophecy conferences and secular media types seem genuinely to want an opinion on how near the rapture is, there is almost zero interest in that great event within Christ's church in general. This singular reality is, by itself, a factor worth examination while contemplating the question: "How near do you think the rapture might be?" More about that in due course. 

To begin considering matters involved, the question can't be adequately entertained to any degree of understanding without analyzing our strange times — this bordering-on-bizarre generation that Jesus himself was most likely prophesying in the Olivet Discourse and other places in Scripture.

America presently has a collective nervous twitch. Worry about the diseased economy is the instigator of the societal surface spasms. Uncertainty about what direction —and how quickly — will be movement into the changes President Barack Obama promised and is trying to deliver has, rather than put minds at ease, caused a form of national schizophrenia. The schism separates Americans in crucial areas of politics and morality, which are in most aspects inextricably linked.

Those divisions threaten to raise the national temperature to a fever pitch. There is a sense that, as radio talk-show host Glen Beck says, a powerful crisis event lurks in the immediate future. It will be the crisis, Beck believes, that will cause government to snap its voracious, all-consuming, lust-to control jaws shut on liberty. 

So, it is more than a matter of curiosity that leads me to think upon the many issues and events swirling about this generation that seem almost certainly of biblically prophetic significance. This, while there is the obvious disconnect of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the most part, from those foreboding issues and events that are everywhere we look.

Pocketbook issues almost always lead the way with the adult American citizen. This is a fact, whether talking about those who produce income or those who don't. And, therein lies much of the division in America today. The great political — and cultural — schism, like it or not, is provably engendered and perpetuated by those who work, pay taxes, and contribute to the nation's economic progress, versus those who don't work, but receive the taxpayer-funded largesse of growing government that is devoted to taking care of and growing exponentially its voter base from cradle to grave. This is not to say society — particularly private charity — should neglect the truly needy, those who can't work because of physical or mental incapacity.

Cynical? If so, it is cynicism steeped in provable statistics, the presentation of which isn't the thrust of this essay. Such thought — at least in a general sense — is necessary, however, in order to understand the role the riches of this fallen world play in setting up today's prophetic alignment and the nearness of the rapture. 

The wallet issue that is front and center — that is most intensely focused on — is the “healthcare for everyone” debate. Universal coverage so that no person will go without healthcare is the proclaimed great concern the politicians parade before the sycophantic mainstream media microphones and cameras. But, in the cabals of behind-the-scenes power politics, it is ever-increasing governmental control — not equitable health care for allAmericans — that many within government seek. Congressional leaders, as we know, have not been leading the way en masse to give everyone the same premium healthcare system they themselves enjoy. 

Control, then, is the operative word in thinking on the question: "How near might be the rapture?" Control of economy, of monetary matters, is the thrust that impels human leaderships within government toward the time of absolute power that will corrupt absolutely. The Antichrist regime is the ultimate government that lurks in the dark haze of the prophetic future. 

Glen Beck, although I'm convinced he hasn't a clue of what will be the true crisis that will fling open the gate to enslavement, is on the mark in sensing that there hovers an unprecedented moment of crisis somewhere just ahead. That crisis will with unbelievable swiftness sweep everyone into its vortex of soul-rending calamity.

Next week, we will look more deeply into how near the rapture might be.