The Rapture

Paul mentions the rapture in I Corinthians 15--his famous

chapter on the resurrection of the dead:  “Behold, I tell you a mystery;

we shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed, in a moment, in the

twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.” (verses 51, 52)

The most detailed revelation of the actual events related to the

rapture is given by Paul in I Thessalonians 4:13-18: 

“For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are

alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those

who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven

with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the 

sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then

we who are alive, who are left will be caught up together with them in

the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with

the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words.”

The Thessalonians church was birthed in persecution. Then someone told

them that the rapture had all ready come and they had missed it!

So now the church was not only experiencing persecution but they thought

that they had been left behind. So, when Paul wrote to them he spent

time on a subject that was so urgently important to them. 

It is important for us today to ponder these things. Why? Because we

also live in perilous times. Actually, I love to let my imagination soar

when it comes to heaven and living forever in the love of my 

Bridegroom, THE KING.  It either begins with my death... or with

the rapture!... 

Paul tells us that the rapture is imminent; we need to be

ready!