This past Sunday, I preached a message, “Will you be caught up when Christ calls?”.
Many people fear the future-often with good cause. God’s time clock is winding down, and the Bible tells us there are several events that will occur as that happens. For believers these will be glorious events; unbelievers will have quite different reactions.
All Christians will one day meet the Lord in the air in an event known as the Rapture. Those who have died will rise from their graves; Christians who have not yet died will be caught up with them to be with the Lord. Then Christians of all ages will live with God forever. The scriptural truth of the Lord’s return is “the blessed hope” of the church (Romans 8:23-25; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Titus 2:13).
This doctrine motivates Christians to witness and live holy lives. For the believer, the return of Christ for His redeemed is a blessed hope indeed. The translation or “snatching away” of living Christians will bring an end to suffering, pain, hardship, and difficulty. Christians will then be with the Lord forever. Though the body is not alive between death and resurrection, the soul does not sleep, but is consciously alive in the presence of the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).
For the sinner, however, the rapture is anything but a blessed hope. To be left behind will involve indescribable suffering as God judges a rebellious and disobedient world. God desires that all mankind should ask forgiveness and be restored to fellowship with Him. He places this burden for the lost and their waiting eternal punishment on the hearts of those who already know His love and salvation. For this reason, a primary mission of the church is evangelizing the world-seeking to save as many as possible from the judgement to come.
Yes, there are many tremendous events that still lie ahead- and it appears as if they will soon be fulfilled. Whether you fear these things to come or look forward to them depends on the answer to one question: Do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?
