Based on 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 (New King James Version)
“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 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 incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ ‘O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?’ The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
The times in which we are living in indicate to us that we are drawing closer quite quickly to an inevitable end. Everything points to a day when this world will end, and everything that exists will change, without exceptions. That is how things were established by God Himself. And there is nothing that will stop that. The only thing we can do is to be ready, by doing God’s will. There does exist these extremely large and cosmic wheels that control the progress of time and events, and these are unstoppable because they were set by the Creator Himself. But there is enough space within those large wheels for each of us to decide our own eternal condition, whether we choose to live for the Lord, or live for the world and its delights, by following the current that Satan himself inspires in the here and now. Nonetheless, and as we explained previously, that there are unchangeable things. There is this day that exists that will be the most decisive for all mankind, the day in which Christ comes for His Church, a day known as the rapture of the Church.
The day of the Rapture, or as the Apostle Paul described in the passage we read today, consists of the Lord Himself coming for His Church and miraculously taking unto Himself those that belong to Him, those that follow Him faithfully. And we shall be taken and transformed in the clouds, those of us that are still alive physically as well as those that lay asleep in the earth. It will be a day like never before. The Bible speaks of two other people that did live a moment like this personally, of Enoch and the Prophet Elijah. The Bible speaks about this rapture in different parts in the Word. For example, we see this in the following passages: “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Matthew 24:36-44. “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. This event will occur someday, when the Father says so, and nothing will stop it and no one will know exactly when this will happen, but the Bible does teach us when this time will be near, by the events that precede it, and many things have already been fulfilled, and others are being fulfilled today.
People used to preach a lot about this before, when there was a great awaking in the world for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, during a stage when we could say that the pouring out of the Holy Spirit in the last times occurred. That is one of the signs that the Word speaks about that would precede this day of the rapture. And unfortunately, many believers either grew cold or took this delay of this prophecy of the rapture as a delay on God’s part, or something that is simply a myth. This is the sentiment that has extended also to many in the world where they see God and faith in Christ as something of the past, as an old tradition, or even as some sort of superstition, especially among those that consider themselves to be intellectual or advanced. They take divine mercy as a sign that God does not exist. But the Truth is that God does exist, and He is only giving an opportunity, as it is written: “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night…” 2 Peter 3:8-10.
Now then, what is one of the greatest indicators of when that day will be fulfilled? The Bible teaches us that there will be a moment of apparent calm, and it will take humanity by surprise. It will occur at a moment when the world will feel confident in their activities, and living in a way that is completely careless. This is what is written: “But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.” 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3.
Therefore, how should each believer that does want to go with the Lord live their life? They should be busy with the Father’s business, just as the example the Lord left us, and not living like the world. This is the advice the Word of God gives us: “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 24:45-51. Whoever is not following the Lord faithfully will be left behind, and they will live things such as the world has never experienced. It is not worth exchanging eternal life for things that only produce death and destruction, things that don’t have any reward within themselves. So then, are you truly ready for the Lord’s coming, which can happen when you least expect it? Lord bless! John