The Rapture:

 The Rapture: Perhaps The Most Important Piece Of Prophecy For Us To Understand – By David Jeremiah - https://harbingersdaily.com/the-rapture-perhaps-the-most-important-piece-of-prophecy-for-us-to-understand/ The Rapture is perhaps the most important piece of prophecy for us to understand since it could very well impact us personally. This [article] will help you examine what theRapture is, defend it biblically, and explain its personal and practical importance. What is the Rapture? The Rapture is the biblical prophetic event where all who have put their trust in Christ, living and deceased, will suddenly be caught up from earth,be joined with Christ in the air, and taken to heaven. Paul describes the Rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 KJV – “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them whichare asleep. For 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. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” The Meaning of “Rapture” Rapture is derived from the Latin translation of 1 Thessalonians 4:17, which translates the Greek harpazo (to catch up or carry away) as rapiemur from the Latin rapio. TheGreek harpazo occurs fourteen times in the New Testament with four variations of meaning, each of which contributes to our understanding of what Paul is describing in verse 17: “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with [the dead] inthe clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” First, harpazo can mean “to carry off by force.” Christ will useHis power to remove living and deceased believers from the last enemy, death. Second, harpazo can mean “to claim for oneself eagerly.” Christpurchased us with His blood, and He will return to claim those who are His. Third, harpazo can mean “to snatch away speedily.” The Rapturewill occur “in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:52). Fourth, harpazo can mean “to rescue from the danger of destruction.” This meaning supports the idea that the Rapture will save the Church from experiencing the terrors of the seven-year Tribulation. This coming event is the first part of Christ’s two-part return to earth. First, He’ll remove the Church from the world. Second, seven years later, He’ll establish His Kingdomon earth. For every prophecy in Scripture about Christ’s first advent, there are eight about His second. The 260 chapters of the New Testament contain 318 references to the Second Coming of Christ. The Rapture Is Different from Christ’s Second Coming Will the Rapture occur at Christ’s Second Coming? The short answer is, “Yes, but….” The Rapture sets in motion the End-Time events leading to Christ’s Second Coming. The twostages, Rapture and Return, will be separated by a seven-year Tribulation on earth. The purpose of the Rapture is to spare Christ’s own from the horrors of the Tribulation according to Revelation 3:10. The prophets saw what appears to be the Tribulation—“the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7)—not the Rapture. But that is not surprising; they didn’t differentiate clearlybetween the First and Second Advents of Christ. The prophets “inquired and searched carefully” (1 Peter 1:10-11), but they saw more of the big picture than the details. And they didn’t see the Church at all, which is who the Rapture affects. The prophets sawthe future like seeing successive mountain peaks through a telephoto lens. They saw the peaks (events), but not the distance that separates them. Three New Testament passages tell us about the Rapture: John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:50-57; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians are the most completeand form the basis for this discussion. First, we must note that Paul gained his understanding of theRapture via special revelation from God—he called it a “mystery” in 1 Corinthians 15:51, meaning a truth not previously revealed. The revelation was “by the word of the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:15). Second, Paul shared this revelation in order to meet a practicalconcern of the Christians in Thessalonica. They were concerned about the fate of Christians who died before Christ’s Second Coming (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) and about the timing of the Rapture—whether it had already happened (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2). Three Reasons the Rapture Could Happen Today Reason 1: The Rapture is a signless event. Unlike the Second Coming, no signs will precede the Rapture. This is called the doctrine of imminency—that is, the Rapture is imminent; it could happen at any moment. Specifically,nothing in God’s prophetic program must take place as a prerequisite to the Rapture. Things may happen but nothing must happen. That means we don’t know when it could happen. It could be today or years from today. Without any warning, Jesus Christ will return to rapture His saints and take them to heaven. Christians must live prepared lives, ready to meet their Savior at any moment. Reason 2: The Rapture is a surprise event. While many through the years have predicted the date of the Rapture and Jesus’ Second Coming, Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:36-39 should be taken literally: No one, includingJesus and the angels, knows the time of His return. Only God the Father knows. Not knowing when Jesus will come for His Church causes us to be ready at all times. Reason 3: The Rapture is a sudden event. Paul wrote that the Rapture will take place “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:52). “Twinkling” likely refers to the amount of time it takes for light,traveling at 186,000 miles per second, to be reflected on the retina of one’s eye. In less than a nanosecond, the Lord will call believers to Himself! 1 Thessalonians 4:16 says, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.” These are not three distinctsounds, but one sound described three different ways. This sound will be like a shout, ringing with commanding authority like the voice of an archangel. It will also be like the blare of a trumpet in its volume and clarity. Andthe sound will be heard only by those who have trusted Christ as Savior. Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come forth!” in John 11:43. His shout of “Come forth!” at the Rapture will not name a single individual, but will be heard by every believer in every grave aroundthe world. At the moment of the Rapture, God’s people from every era—the disciples, the martyrs of the ages, your godly ancestors, and many more—will rise from their graves. The Rapture Only Involves Christians Each of the three major passages that teach about the Rapture indicate that it involves believers only (including innocent children too young to believe). Anyone who doesnot trust Jesus as their Lord and Savior will not be raptured into the Lord’s presence and will be left to suffer the horrors of the Tribulation. Jesus’ words in John 14:1-3 were spoken to His disciples—men who were obviously believers. He assured them that He would prepare a place for them in His Father’s house; theywere members of the family of faith in the same way Christians are today. “I will come again and receive you to Myself” (verse 3) describes what we call the Rapture—the uniting of Jesus Christ with His faithful followers. In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul talked about “those who are Christ’s at His coming” (verse 23). Verse 1 informs us that the passage was written to “brethren,” and verse 58 concludesthe passage by talking about abounding in the work of the Lord, an obvious reference to Christian believers. In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Paul refers to believers as “brethren” (verse 13), as those who “believe that Jesus died and rose again” (verse 14), and as the “dead in Christ” (verse 16). These passages are clear: the Rapture is restricted to believers. Only those who are followers of Christ will be taken up into heaven when He returns. Three Ways the Rapture Can Impact Our Life Today The Rapture can change our life; it is a source of personal comfort and hope. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians about it to ease their concerns about their departed loved ones.Death is not final. The resurrection of believers who have died will reverse the effects of death. All who have lost loved ones to the sting of death can be comforted in the knowledge that they will see them again. But it is also a source of strength. Jesuspromised His disciples, on the night He was arrested, that He would return for them (John 14:1-3). It is no wonder that Paul told the Thessalonians to comfort themselves with the truth concerning the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:18). The Rapture can impact our life now, inthree ways, while we wait for it to happen. We can live with expectation. The letter from Paul to Titus puts into words how the expectation of the Rapture should impact our life: Titus 2:11-14 KJV – “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly,righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and pur” We can live with dedication. I am told that Robert Murray M’Cheyne, a brilliant young Scottish preacher who died at age 29 in 1843, wore a watch with the words “The Night Cometh” engraved on its face.Every time he checked his watch, he was reminded that time is marching on. We won’t always have time to win souls for Christ or to consecrate our own life for His service. The apostle John exhorted his readers “not to be ashamed before Him at His coming” (1John 2:28). The imminent return of Jesus for His Church is life’s greatest stimulus for living a dedicated life. We can live with preparation. Jesus warned that He is “coming quickly” (Revelation 22:12). That means we should live every day as if He were coming that day. But will we be ready? Will we be found withheart and hands dedicated to serving Him at the moment we see Him face to face? Even more important, have we committed ourselves by faith to Christ, so we are assured of being part of His Church that is called into His presence at the Rapture? When the Raptureoccurs, there will be no opportunity to decide. Be sure that you have said “Yes” to Christ so that you will be prepared to rejoice at His appearing. ------------------------------------ The Rapture Index�s Narrow Range - By Todd Strandberg - https://www.raptureready.com/2024/02/25/the-rapture-indexs-narrow-range-by-todd-strandberg/ At the beginning of the year, I updated the highs and lows for the Rapture Index for the past four years. I noticed that the RI moved very little each year, with increasesof 8, 6, 5, and 9 points during this time period. About twenty years ago, we could see a 30-point move in a single year. The lack of upward movement in the Rapture Index is a very common complaint that we receive. People expect the RI to edge higher and higher with each passing year. Here ispart of an email that someone recently sent to Terry: First, I love the Rapture Ready website, but I find your �Rapture Index� way off as it�s the same as 2 years ago, which totally is not reflective of the Scriptures and theevents we are currently experiencing! The events we are currently witnessing in the world & US are truly confirmation of what the Scriptures say� which in NO way compare with the Rapture Ready �Rapture Index.� Jesus said that end-time activity would increase like labor pains. There have been several times when I realized we haven�t had a major earthquake in several months. I thoughtto myself that a big one should be coming soon, and a few days later, a large earthquake did strike somewhere on the planet. Prophetic events do not always occur like clockwork. We went several years without a single hurricane impacting the US coastline, and then the tropical cyclone drought wassuddenly broken with a rush of activity. In just a few short years, we set several records in relation to hurricanes. During the 2020 hurricane season, Louisiana saw the most ever landfalling cyclones with five total storms. It would be foolish to think that the following year would bring a set of six cyclones to Louisiana. However, Hurricane Ida did occur in 2021 and caused catastrophic damageto the state�s electric grid. Many people probably regretted not taking Hurricane Katrina as a warning sign to consider leaving the state. Several insurance companies have decided to drop their hurricane coverage for Gulf Coast states. This decision stems from their assessment that insuring homes and businessesagainst tropical storm damage has become unprofitable and too great of a financial risk. I live about 400 miles from the Gulf and am paying for past storms. In a four-year period, my home insurance premium has gone up by 40 percent. The Rapture Index categories are not a factor in a long-term average. They are based on a constant state of motion. If things quit happening, the index will drop like a rock.The record low was set in 1993 when everything related to prophecy went on hold. Today, I�m amazed that it was once possible for the RI to drop down to 53 points. When I was in the Air Force, I was deployed to Saudi Arabia for 45 days without any internetconnection. When I got back, it only took me a few days to update the site. The record high was set in 2016 and tied last year. I am unsure if we will ever see the 190 range. When the rapture takes place, many categories will be rated 3 or less. Some RI categories contradict each other. If we have floods all over the world, drought may not rank as high because of the abundance of moisture. Years ago, I coined thephrase, �Economic hardship is the mother�s milk of prophet progression.� Financial troubles are not necessarily a sign of the rapture. Jesus said he was coming for the Church at a time of general tranquility. When I created the RI in 1987, I naturally expected it to rise right up to the point where the rapture would occur. However, I now understand that the flatline pattern observedover the last decade is a stronger indication of the approaching rapture. It appears we�ve hit the upper limit and have stayed here because world events cannot proceed until the blessed hope takes place. I�ve wondered if the RI�s productive years are behind it. There is a small possibility that God could hit the snooze alarm, and the RI could come crashing down, with the rapturemany years down the road. I�m encouraged by the reality that there are just too many events aligning with prophecy happening at the same time. About 200 years ago, prophecy watchers were puzzled by the Bible saying that Israel would be reborn and the Antichrist would have a global currency. Today, as in the daysof Noah, apathy is our greatest enemy. �But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and givingin marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be� (Matthew 24:37-39). --------------------------------------