A note before we start: Please do be careful when reading about the Rapture that you do not mix the Rapture with Appearing. Many Bible verses that, at first glance, seem to talk about the Rapture are actually talking about the Appearing (or even being taken to judgement!- Luke 17:36). The Rapture is secret removal of the Church. The Appearing is the public manifestation of the Lord as He comes back to set up His kingdom on earth. 

 

 

The Rapture: another contentious issue in the Church. For more information on what the rapture is, please visit our rapture page.

 

The coming of the Lord is soon, lets not make any mistake about that! Paul was expecting it to happen at any moment when he sent his letter to Thessalonica.

 

We don’t know when it will happen, but we can be sure it is nearly 2000 years sooner than when Paul wrote those words. 

 

People will mock, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t going to happen. People mocked Noah when he was building his boat, people laughed at the Wright brothers before they flew their plane, people laughed the greek guy who said the Earth went round the sun. Just because it seems unlikely does not mean it is impossible. The Bible says that Jesus will return for his bride: the church. We should believe it! So what happens then? Well at the moment God is working in grace to secure believers to make up the church (the bride) for His Son the Lord Jesus. We call this the day of Grace. However, soon God is going to send his Son to claim all those that are His. So in flash, quicker than the blink of an eye, every single believer will meet Christ in the air and will return with Him to Heaven. Obviously there will be a large percentage of people still on the Earth, all those who have never accepted Jesus as Saviour. So what happens to these folks? Well firstly, I think there will be a lot of people who are very surprised not to have been taken! People who read their Bible and went to church regularly. People who considered themselves to good upstanding religious people. They will most offended they have been left behind!

As somebody has said before, “we will be very surprised who we do see in heaven, and who is missing!”

 

Those people who we thought couldn’t possibly be Christians might be there and those who we thought might be very upstanding and God-fearing people may not! It depends on whether they have accepted Jesus or not!

 

But back to those left on Earth. After the Rapture, happens, that is it. Game over. There will be no second chances, for who have rejected the Gospel now, after the rapture happens. It will be ‘too late to say you’re sorry!’ 

 

People may wonder briefly what has happened to the millions of people who suddenly disappear out of this world. But it says that God will send them a delusion so they they certainly won’t attribute the mysterious disappearing to God.

 

Its a solemn warning to those that are yet unsaved. After the rapture, God will begin to work with His people (the Jews) again, but during that time the world will come under such intense judgment as never seen before! You can read about these judgments in Revelation. It will be a time when men will try to kill themselves just to get out the situation that is overtaking the world during the Tribulation (Rev 6:16)

 

But for us who are saved, what a joy it is; what a hope we have! One day soon, we shall our Saviour. We shall see those nailed scarred hands, that spear pierced side. We shall see that face of Love. We shall the face of the one who has given His all so that he could our all. We shall hear the voice of the one who cried “It is finished” the three words that meant we could come into a relationship with God. We shall see Jesus, and as the Bible says, we shall see because we shall be like him. Changed bodies, bodies made fit for an eternity in Heaven. No more tears, no more pain, no more stress.

It will be all about Him. All about our Saviour. All about Jesus.