Info about the rapture/end times

End Times #3 – Church Age, Rapture

This is the third of a series on the End Times that I have written.  I want to talk a little more in detail about the things that will happen in the End Times.

CHURCH  AGE

The church age is basically a period of time from Pentecost (when the Holy Spirit came upon believers in the early church) until the Rapture.  After the Jews rejected Jesus, God temporarily halted his dealings with the Jews and opened up salvation for Gentiles.  Romans 11:1,25 says that there is a ‘partial hardening for Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.”  We are NOW in the Church Age.  

RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH

The Church Age ends with the Rapture of the Church.  Rapture comes from a Greek word harpazo that means ‘to snatch away’- the believers are snatched away when Christ comes in the clouds. I Thessalonians 4:16-18 tells us the Lord will descend from heaven with a shout and the trumpet and the dead in Christ will rise first.  That means that the bodies of those who have died as believers during the church age previous to this event  will be joined with Christ.  Their spirits have been with Christ since their death but now their bodies will be united with their spirits and they will join Christ.  Then those Christians who are alive at the time of the rapture will be suddenly caught up together with the dead to meet the Lord in the clouds.  For these believers there will be no death.  Their entire being –body, soul, and spirit – will suddenly be removed from the earth.  I Corinthians 15:51-54 tells us our bodies will experience a radical transformation from mortal bodies into immortal bodies. They will be similar to the body of Jesus after His resurrection.  Our new bodies will be similar to our present bodies but radically superior to them. We don’t see the word rapture in the Bible but we do see the Latin word rapturo  and the Greek word harpazo that means rapture.

Dr. Jeffress in his book Perfect Ending gives 4 reasons he feels the rapture will occur for believers before the tribulation.

1.        Purpose of the tribulation is the redemption of Israel (for the Jews to come to Christ) and for the condemnation of unbelievers.  If this is true then the believers need not go through the tribulation and the judgment.

2.       There is a lack of reference to the Church in Revelation 6-18.  The Church is clearly visible in Revelation 1-5 and again in the return of Jesus in Revelation 19 but the church is not mentioned in the middle of Revelation during the tribulation.

3.       Revelation 3:10 says the church will be kept from the hour of testing.

4.       God promises the believers will be spared from His condemnation.  Romans 8:1tells us there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.  Jesus has taken the pain and judgment for our sins.  We do not need to go through the judgment of the tribulation.

Titus 2:13 says  “to be looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.”  Many feel everything has happened that needs to for the rapture to occur and it could come at any time.  Are you ready?  Have you accepted Christ as your Savior so you will be ready to join Him when he returns with the trumpet call in the clouds? If not…admit you are a sinner, accept Christ as your Savior, turn your life over to Him and be ready for the ride of your life!