God created man with eternal purpose: It is for man to worship Him, for man to serve Him, for man to do His purpose and pleasure. God created man for His pleasure. And in the fulfillment of this divine pleasure is man’s own pleasure and fulfillment. This was the glorious state at creation or in Eden until man fell from this eternal purpose. Man fell because the condition that held all that together was broken by man when the Devil deceived him to disobey God and thus sinned against Him and ruined himself. And so, all things on the side of man went awry!
Man did not only bring a curse upon himself; his environment, the physical world or all of creation itself was not left out. The purpose of creation for both man and the larger creation of God was affected very negatively as a result. But then God graciously promised man a return to original purpose. And here lay man’s freedom and by extension the freedom of the larger creation of God. That freedom which was to come to mankind by the Seed of the woman Who was to defeat Satan or bruise his head actually came by Jesus Christ, the God-Man or God Who became Man to be able to have flesh and blood to offer as sacrifice to God for the sins of men since this is the requirement for the remission of our sins and since no blood of any human is free from sin. The story of Calvary is the story of the Seed. By His vicarious sacrifice for us, the salvation or deliverance from all that Satan represents which was once promised is now offered.
All that receive this offer (of grace) by genuinely repenting from their sins begin to discover the purpose of creation; and if they remain in Christ till He comes back again to rapture His people then they will finally be restored to the full purpose of creation. And when this happens, the larger creation of God will also thereafter come to the full purpose of their creation. Until this happens, the creation of God is presently earnestly expecting the rapture of the saints or manifestation of the sons of God, since this leads to its own restoration to God’s eternal purpose. This was our subject matter in part one of this series. “For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” – Romans 8: 19-21.
Creatures Earnest Expectation: What, Why and Lessons!
And the whole creation of God is earnestly expecting this manifestation of the sons of God. It is ‘waiting’. More than that: It is ‘expectantly waiting’. And more than that: It is ‘earnestly expectantly waiting’! It is thus waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. What it means to wait, to wait expectantly and earnestly so, and why; and what earnestness mean all attracted our attention in part one of this series. With the fall of man came the curse on man, and which the larger creation became partaker of in one way or the other; and with the final redemption of man which the rapture signals, will come the restoration of all things. This is why the creation earnestly craves for that restoration of all things, and cannot but be more earnest to hear, as it were, the first bell; that is, the manifestation of the sons of God, which signals that restoration.
Nature, unexplainably know that things are not what they ought to be with it. We mentioned that the Ozone depletion with its scotching heat, the earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, hurricanes and the sundry deadly natural disasters, the pollutions of the air or atmosphere, waters and what have you, and sound pollutions too; satanic strongholds in the air, sea, land and wherever and evil spiritual networks and systems superimposed on nature by evil forces are abnormal to nature and creation. These are a matter of huge concern to it because this is not how God intended things to be. Nature is looking for a day it shall be free. That day is just in the corner with the rapture. And so, it earnestly waits. The creation is looking forward to the day of its freedom which is tied to our freedom in the first place! And it was pertinent to ask: And why can’t men, the cynosure of all and centre of God’s creation here on earth, be anticipatory!
But what is’ earnest’? We said the word is apokaradokia in the Greek and it means ‘anxious looking with outstretched body’. This is what we said the ‘creature’ of all classes is engaged in and that since the fall of man. With the ‘creature’, it has been anxious looking with outstretched body expecting the manifestation of the sons of God. No distraction, all focus! Stretched out; totally outstretched, the whole body outstretched! And we thought the saints must have a challenge in this, and we put it this way:
“We have just seen how the creation (let’s call them ‘the spectators’ or ‘crowd of witnesses’) see and take the rapture of the saints: even their disposition and complete arrest in this matter. Now, for us who are the called according to His foreknowledge; for us who the rapture is actually intended for; for us the creation (in the very special sense of the word: His spiritual body); and for us for whose sake the rest of creation are earnestly expecting and waiting to see the consummation of our high calling, can we dare to take things for granted and live it-doesn’t-matter life? I assume you know that those who will make the rapture shall go up suddenly in outstretched bodies?
“And shall we not live outstretched lives for Him, a life light enough to be so raptured; a life fixedly looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; a way of life free from all the mundane things of this world that are blocking our view of the coming King, and obscuring our comprehension of true Christianity and the nature of Christ call? If observers, as it were, can be on the watch out for us, can we not ourselves watch? If secondary beneficiaries and indeed those deriving their benefits from our benefits could be all consciousness about the coming of the Lord, can primary beneficiaries dare to be less conscious and consummate with it?”
Creation, we said, “want to see those who finally would achieve the purpose of the Cross and of creation; those whose priceless souls will avoid eternity with Satan in his horrible eternal abode; those who finally did not make shipwreck of their faith but cleaved to the Lord in the face of Satan’s devices and falsehood in many a pulpits; those who in their walk as pilgrims here on earth presented their bodies as living sacrifices; those few among the many that are called who truly have been walking the narrow path, and who therefore will be consequently chosen or better still so make themselves to be chosen; those who consummates the blessed assurance and hope; those who will be free, and free indeed: forever free!” And so we asked: “Shall we be among the few the Lord is coming for and that the ‘creature’ is earnestly expecting and waiting to be manifested as sons of God!” “Why not, we thought!
We noted too that the creation want to see the Church that is without wrinkle and blemish; the wheat separated from the tares; those who really have been on the narrow way as opposed to the world’s Broadway passengers and the hypocritical multitude in the Broadway-church; and those (the ‘ye’ or ‘you’) who will be part of that most comforting and supernal welcome address: “But ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the City of the Living God, the Heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels” – Hebrews 12: 22. We can be in that forever blessed assemblage. But we must be very earnest about our expectation
of the coming of the Lord for the rapture, that is, lead lives worthy of the rapture.
Beyond earnest expectation of the manifestation of the sons of God the creation also groan in this matter of the rapture and of its freedom. “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” – Romans 8: 22. That was the subject matter of part two of our series.
The Creation of God groans: And what a Lesson!
The ‘creature’ actually groans. It groans! It groans to be free and loose from the age-long curse, bondage, helplessness and satanic manipulations brought upon it because of the sins of men.
The New Living Translation came real clear on this in Romans 8 verses 20-22: “Against its will, everything on earth was subjected to God’s curse. All creation anticipates the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time”! And that day, of course, starts with the rapture, when God takes away His own to Heaven to prepare and equip them to come back with Him to start His new agenda on earth and make all things new. Creation is looking for the day the curse of Adam that came upon it by extension would be finally taken away so that it can become its best or maximize its potentials for God according to His eternal purpose for it. Nature waits for this realization of the purpose of its being with all its ‘senses’. It wants to go back to purpose of creation, and it yearns and groans. It’s waiting for a day. And shall we not yearn, be earnestly expectant and groan to see that day too! Remember, this is the crux of the matter: The bottom-line.
So, Paul came to verse 23 of Romans Chapter eight: ‘And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.’ ” This took us naturally to the groaning of the saints in the third part of the series.
The groaning of the Saints!
“And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, also groan to be released from pain and suffering. We, too, wait anxiously for that day when God will give us our full rights as his children, including the new bodies he has promised us”. This is how the New Living Translation version of the Bible puts verse 23. We held that the subject matter of the rapture must have filled the hearts and thoughts of the saints then because Paul came out with this same revealing truth again elsewhere in Scripture (2 Corinthians 5: 1-5): “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from Heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.”
Again we see in verse two: “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from Heaven”. We groan! Earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven; that is, our new bodies incorruptible. That takes place during the rapture. But we then noted sadly that in our age the rapture is taken for granted too much; we are too careless about it. But we must be those living their lives for Him; the ones eagerly waiting for Him; the ones earnestly expecting the manifestation of the sons of God and desirously want to be among them though few they may be; the ones that groan – as a result. We should groan to live right for Him, to serve Him alright and acceptably, to be found faithful at His coming. We should groan for the world’s salvation and the coming Kingdom of the Coming King; the King of Kings.
We drew attention to two helpful Scriptures just as we attempted to explain and apply them: Ezekiel Chapter 9: 1-6 especially verse 4: “And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof”; and Malachi 3: 16-18: “And they that feared the Lord spake often one to another; and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon His name. And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not”. Both scriptures capture the disposition and glorious end of groaners and, we suppose, our explanations of those scriptures should recommend themselves any day to seekers of God and eternity with Him.
In Romans 8: 24-25, Paul gave further insight on our supposed disposition to the rapture and how to wait for it. “For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” We are hoping for the rapture. It is a hope, and for hope to be hope it must be continuous; and with outstretched bodies, that denies distractions even for a moment because we know not when He comes. And Paul counsels that with patience must we wait. We then stated that to ask for a patient waiting suggests that there are distractions, obstacles, devices, discouragements and what have you that may want to sniff off that hope; which was why we also said that Paul did not merely now returned to the very necessary subject matter of groaning but actually took it further up: “He told us the place and the concern of the Holy Spirit, Who helps us with groaning in the matter of the rapture or manifestation of the sons of God.” That became the angle in the next or fourth part of the series which we shall here recap.
The Holy Spirit and groaning of Saints
Romans 8 verse 26-27 states that: “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
Like we did in the main body of the work we must here read the larger Scripture to see the proper context of those two verses of Scriptures: “For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth
what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God” – Romans 8: 19-27.
Paul, we noted, has been talking of the creation, sin, bondage, redemption, hope, patient waiting, groaning of the creation on the one hand and the groaning of those who ‘have the firstfruits of the Spirit’ on the other hand and went to say that the Spirit helps us in this all important question! We held that “this whole passage (Romans 8: 19-27) primarily has to do with the manifestation of the sons of God. It has to do with the rapture and our disposition and the life we should live, the way we must concern ourselves and the communication we must have with God because of our final salvation. These are so deep issues, so serious a concern that the Holy Spirit comes strongly involved. He comes to help our infirmities. He comes to make intercession for us. And specifically, He does it with groaning which cannot be uttered.”
On this side of eternity we must groan. It is Gethsemane time. Yes, we groan. Those that want to empty themselves of this earthy body and put on the heavenly would groan. But can we really groan as we ought except the Holy Spirit comes up to help our infirmities; except He helps us with groaning? And we continued:
“So compelling and crucial is this matter, the Holy Spirit is given partly to help us here. He specifically helps us here with groaning, words that cannot be uttered; words that come from the heart of God praying through us as we ought. Who really knows the mind of God and search the deep things of the Creator except the Spirit of God! Who really knows the nature of the race we are into and the nature of the fierce battle to stop us from going to meet our Creator and be with Him in all eternity except the Holy Spirit! Can we really be as earnest in this matter as the whole creation of God is if not by the Holy Spirit; and do we really know how to pray let alone groan except by the Spirit of God?”
Therefore, we saw a compelling need to “rely on the Spirit of God to help us in this matter! Because this is the context in which He is brought to our notice in Romans 8. He will help us. The rapture or the manifestation of the sons of God is so crucial that we must allow Him to help us. When He shows up to help us with groaning in the matter of our final salvation or redemption and eternity with God we are simply overhauled from within.
“This is when our lives are purged and refilled for acceptable living and sacrifice; this is when we are broken and remolded to become choice vessels in His Hands; this is when we are emptied of the world and filled with Heaven; this is when we are made ‘rapturable’. ‘Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.’
“This is the time to wake up to our calling until rest we get on the other side of eternity. This is the time to put all on the altar, a time to make sacrifice – real sacrifice. For really there is no ease in Zion that now is or in the Church before the Last Trump. For now we must occupy till He comes; we must strive to enter in at the strait gate; we must look steadfastly up anticipating the coming of our Great King for His purchased possession: And in this we groan!”
All of that led us to the core subject matter of this series which is the manifestation of the sons of God. Or, what it takes to be manifested on that day as sons of God? And indeed, who could those people be! Part five handled that.
Who are qualified to be manifested as sons of God?
Those that would qualify for the rapture are the generation that seeks the Lord and Psalm 24:3-6 is clear about it: “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them that seek Him, that seek thy face, O Jacob”; and Psalm 15: 1-5 also captures it similarly.
There is a generation that seeks the Lord; the generation that is “looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” – Titus 2: 13. This is the generation that look for the path that leads unto life, which way is narrow and which gate is strait. These constantly hear the Masters’ silent Voice: Enter you in at the strait gate for many there are which find the broad way – Matthew 7: 13. Indeed, they do hear the Voice of One always saying to them: ‘This is the way, walk you in it!’ So, they avoid the wide gate and broad way; and deal carefully with those engulfed in it whether they are ministers or not. These can say like Job: “But He knoweth the way that I take: when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” – Job 23: 10. That is the generation to be manifested as sons of God. Jesus says we should seek first (hunt eagerly) the Kingdom of God and its righteousness and the other things will be added unto us and not otherwise – Mathew 6: 33 (Cp Luke 15: 8). Let us seek first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness: This is what takes us to Heaven.
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure” – 1 John 3: 1-3. “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure” – This is the generation that seeks Him, and that is promised the rapture!
This people sigh and cry for the abominations in the altar and pulpits, church and in the world, and are consequently sealed on their foreheads and thus secured for the deliverance of God, as we see in Ezekiel 9: 4. This is the generation that seeks the Lord and who fear Him, shares God’s burden with one another and with God; and that thought upon the holy Name of God, and so consequently eschewing anything evil: anything that reproaches that Name; and with this background they pray for themselves and intercedes for others, which is why the Lord hearkens, heard them and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them and which is finally why they shall be His in that day when He makes up His jewels, and shall spare them as a man spares his own son that serves him – see Malachi 3: 16-18.
It is a generation that is holy, for without this no man shall see the Lord – Hebrews 12: 14. Therefore, there must always necessarily be a letting go, a purging and an emptying of ourselves; a refining, molding and humbling of us after the Image of God’s dear Son.
Holiness means that we must keep our garments spotless, our bodies without wrinkles; strive to entire in at the strait gate; walk on the narrow path; earnestly contend for the faith; and fight the good fight of faith. Holiness means seeking first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness; awaking to righteousness and sinning not; seeking the City that has foundation; laying our treasures in Heaven; and taking hold of eternal life. It means condescending to men of low estate; making our moderation known to all men; and fleeing youthful lust and every appearance of evil. It entails being steadfast, unmovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord and pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Chr
ist Jesus. It has to do with thinking, speaking and doing all things with eternity in view. It asks for tongue taming, for in the mouth are issues of life and death; it requires letting all speech be unto edification and our words being seasoned with salt. It demands living and walking in the Spirit; walking after the Spirit; walking in the Light; walking as children of light; walking in love; and walking worthy of God. It is being the salt of the earth; the light of the world; an example of the believers. They present their bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service; they do not conformed to this world: but are transformed by the renewing of their mind, and do the good, and acceptable will of God” – Romans 12: 1-2. IMAGE OF CHRIST, they grow in! This is the generation that seeks the Lord! These are the candidates for the rapture.
It was also said that the Christian walk is spiritual mountaineering that necessarily let go so much as we climb with Christ if in our journey we must make it at last to that glorious destination. The generation that seeks the Lord always let go so much along the way; and this is the generation that will be manifested as sons of God. No man goes to Heaven with the world! The more we climb up the spiritual mountain “the more earthly joy fades, earthly tender ties breaks, perishing things of clay pass from the heart away, and the more Jesus is ours.” Like we said: “For now, we must be walking up there, to be near enough to hear the Last Trump of God; we must be walking up there to be light enough to be caught up in that flight that is like none.”
We must remind ourselves that spiritual mountain walk is a walk of constant self-examination in the light of Scriptures, our service to God and our daily interactions and dealings with men. It is about constant consecration and rededication of our lives to God. It is about constant watching and praying. These are very vital parts of the walk if we will not make shipwreck of a holy calling and walk with God. We must always go to God in our walk with Him for cleansing, to empty us and fill us with more of His nature; to be manifested as sons of God on that day. As we go to Him the more of our frailties we would see and let go and the more of His fullness and sufficiency we would know and receive and the more of Christ or more of His Image He would make us to become. Spiritual mountain walk is self-examination time. It is time to examine ourselves and receive grace to overcome the subtle evils of the heart and the damning evils of the tongue!
The lighter we become the better and more focus our mountaineering. And we can only get there when we are as light as we should be. We must be as light as possible for the greatest flight in history: the Rapture, to accommodate us. We must be all outstretched with nothing behind, nothing of the world dragging us backward. We must resolve to live for God, for His pleasure. We must ask for grace always and trust in same to lead us in both our walk with Him and work for Him. It behooves pilgrims to keep heavenly charges while on this side of eternity we still see ourselves.
Counsels and Charges for Pilgrims
And the next part of our work: Saintly Counsels on making it at last!” presented a few of those charges: ‘The Rapture: Meditations for life’, ‘A Charge to Keep!’, ‘Taking Heed to our Ways’, ‘The Rapture and two Prayer Points’. Under ‘The Rapture: Meditations for Life!’ we saw how 1 John 2:28-29; 3:1-3 represented the key and unavoidable role of purity in the rapture; Hebrews 12:1-4, captured the central and inevitable place of self-emptying and patient running in the manifestation of the sons of God; 1 Corinthians 9:22-27, portrayed the pivotal and inescapable role of self-subjection in our lives regarding the catching away of the saints; and 2 Peter 1:3-11 told us the chief and obligatory place of diligence in our making it at last.
We brought to our notice under ‘A Charge to Keep!’ that there are sundry charges in Scriptures that we must always receive grace to keep. “The arm of flesh has always failed in things spiritual. It is the Spirit that is our Helper. Let us surrender our lives to Him and allow Him to be the driver of them. Two major things happen to all those that do: A really purged life and holy empowerment for obedient and fruitful living and service. Choice vessels the Bible calls them.
“Because the Bible has encouraged, demanded or commanded, we know that we must strive to enter in by the strait gate; seek (first) His Kingdom and its righteousness; earnestly contend for the faith; look for the City that has foundation Whose Builder is God; lay our treasures in Heaven that our hearts can be there, and so the whole man subsequently there (hereafter); believe to the saving of our souls. We also know that we must watch and pray; be light of the world and salt of the earth; fight the good fight of faith; and know also that we must not love the world and the things that are in it. We know that we must finish the race set before us, fulfill our ministries or occupy till He comes. The sum: We must be part of THE CHURCH WITHOUT SPOT OR WRINKLE – THE BRIDE OF THE LAMB. And who is sufficient for these things? No one!
“Hence the Holy Spirit, and total reliance and complete surrender to His leading in this Christian walk! And hence not being led by emotions and emotional preaching; hence away with ‘itching ear’ messages and all messages that tickle our fancy and excuse our passions, and make Christianity look like a broad-way thing! “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears…” – 2 Tim. 4:3”. We held that the divine standard is high! And our counsel and wish was that the Lord Himself help us, for no man is sufficient unto these things; even as prayers for grace, prayers for reliance on grace and not to frustrate it, being the secret of righteous living and obedience, and these both being the keys and secret of making it in the rapture were advised; because He has promised us of His Spirit to help us here.
And Charles Wesley’s “A Charge to Keep I have” was just handy. We shall hear Wesley doubly, but now in prose: A charge to keep I have, a God to glorify, a never-dying soul to save, and fit it for the sky. To serve the present age, my calling to fulfill; O may it all my powers engage to do my Master’s will! Arm me with jealous care, as in Thy sight to live, and O, Thy servant, Lord, prepare a strict account to give! Help me to watch and pray, and on Thyself rely, assured, if I my trust betray, I shall forever die.
Therefore 2 Corinthians 2: 14-16 came compellingly: “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?” As we prayed before, may we pray again: May God by the Holy Spirit and grace help us to live holily, obediently! That is because He is coming again: For His own.
And so wonderful His people, God is coming for them in such a manner that renders all satanic forces indescribably helpless. This was handled in detail in the next part in this series, but not until we saw a need to take heed as saints of God, and we suggested two prayer points considered very vital in the holy walk with our Lord and Savior.
The catching away of the Saints
“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 which are 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” – 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18; “Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” – 1 Corinthians 15: 51, 52.
The revelation we have in both Scriptures above is clear account of the ‘how’ of the rapture. The rapture is a catching away! The Greek word: harpazo translated “caught up” in 1 Thessalonians 4 actually means to carry off, snatch up, grasp hastily, seize and overpower, and plunder. Ponder over all words and phrases and a great picture builds up. If we look at this properly, as we did before now, we would see “the Lord of Host, the Man of War and Captain of our Salvation hastily grasping and snatching His own up, carrying them off (carting them away), seizing them and overpowering the foe with his hosts and indeed plundering those he thinks he could take with him to his eternal damnation; grandiosely leaving for Heaven with Satan hundred percent helpless! All this, in a twinkling of an eye! Ever before the first dose or hint of imagination could hit Satan, we are there with the Lord in the air.” This happens in twinkling-of-the-eye speed! The raising of the righteous dead and who are also now made incorruptible and their ascension into the clouds; and we who are alive and remain physically (and also remain in the Lord spiritually) being caught up together with them in the clouds; all, not each, in a twinkling of an eye!
Indeed, Jesus is coming like a thief in the night for His people. Like a thief in the night He is coming to snatch up, grasp hastily, seize and overpower, and to plunder. No creation would be able to see the action life, and no creation will be able to see those being caught up, let alone know them as they go.
Like we said, not even a family on a table together would see a qualified member of the family there going in the rapture; not even one of two people talking together would see the other that is qualified going in the rapture; no man, no devil sees them in flight. No flight like this! For all, the rapture will come as breaking news; after it has happened. In a twinkling it will happen. We would have already been in the sky with the Lord, before it will be a matter of knowledge. The more reason, perhaps, the creation is more earnest (i.e. with outstretched body) in its expectation.
The Lord: the Man of war, the Captain of our salvation, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and, indeed, the Lord of Hosts is coming. He is coming for His own. He is coming to take them home. Amen!
Readying for Indescribable Glorious Dawn!
Luke 12: 35-40: “Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.”
May we not be left behind! It is very disastrous to be left behind. Those qualified for the rapture will enter into indescribable glorious dawn, and eternally glorious! We tried very feebly to highlight some purposes of the rapture in our last part of this series. And what can this mortal man say to mortal men about that eternal home of the God of creation! So glorious: If all mortals were to have one giant mouth it cannot tell the story halfway. And so glorious: If all mortals were to be one huge mind it cannot comprehend it halfway. Heaven: It is better seen!
May He find us faithful when He comes! May we be among the few, the ready-few, His jewels and precious fruits when He comes! May we not miss that indescribable glory and our rewards!
