the meaning of the Rapture

Although much has been written about the Rapture of the Church, yet, much of what has been written is wrong.  Neither the nature nor the timing of the Rapture has been well understood, though a lot has been written concerning those aspects. But in this short essay, I want to discuss the meaning of the Rapture; which, in the range of my studies, I have found very little that deals specifically with that.

The Rapture of the Church, according to the clear - albeit largely concealed - teaching of Scripture, is very, very close.  When it occurs, it shall happen suddenly at an instant, and it shall involve a relatively small proportion of Christians around the world.  In that moment, the spirit of every truly sanctified Christian shall put off his or her mortal body (leaving that behind, as a corpse), and in that same instant be clothed upon with a new, heavenly body.  No one on earth shall see any sign or evidence of the Rapture's occurrence; it shall be a wholly hidden event, from the eyes of the world.  That moment when the living saints are taken from the earth shall almost certainly coincide with some large-scale, catastrophic event, perhaps, a continental-sized thermonuclear attack.

The Rapture Event signals a sea-change in God's dealings with the human race.  The Holy Ghost, which from before the time of Christ has in great measure been actively restraining evil powers in the world; from the moment of the Rapture, shall no longer restrain those evil forces (with the sole exception of 144,000 natural Jews that shall be protected and preserved unto the Millennial Kingdom, within the space of a handful of years).  In fact, that same Spirit of God, after the Rapture, shall send "strong delusion" upon the world's inhabitants, especially, upon those who heard - but did not wholeheartedly heed - the warnings and admonition of the Gospel.  Multitudes of now professing Christians shall be left behind not merely to suffer the agonies of the coming Day of the Lord.  Moreover, the 'strong delusion' sent upon them by the Holy Ghost is intended by God to bring them to damnation and destruction (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12).

The currently popular idea that is being promulgated by practically every well known Bible prophecy teacher in America, suggesting that a great Revival is coming after the Rapture has occurred, is a damnable lie.  The door of Salvation, as we now know that, shall be forever closed, following the Rapture.

The Rapture means, in essence, that the Lord shall remove his true Church, his Bride, from out of the midst of the earth, in order that God may proceed to judge the world and to punish the earth's inhabitants, in the context of the dreadful Day of the Lord, so often spoken of throughout Scripture.  In fact, the Raptured saints themselves shall directly participate in carrying out "the judgment written" (Psalm 149), during the soon coming Day of the Lord: the saints shall then "execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people..."; they shall "bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron" (Psalm 149).

The Day of the Lord is the time of God's wrath against the wickedness of this present world.  The Day of the Lord shall be a time, encompassing several years, during which by far the great majority of the world's seven Billion inhabitants shall perish - but not before suffering otherworldly torments and judgments - and, then, only to descend into the pit of hell to await the final Judgment.

At least these four important things shall result from the events and experiences of the Day of the Lord: 1) all of the then glorified saints of God shall be vindicated, by virtue of their "honored" role (Psalm 149) in executing God's judgments during the Day of the Lord; 2) the earth shall be cleansed of wickedness and rebellion, by the destruction of virtually everyone who receives the mark of the beast; 3) 144,000 natural Jews shall be protected and preserved throughout the Day of the Lord, in order to begin anew the nation of Israel, during the Millennial Kingdom; and 4) a very small number of people, among at least some of the nations, who do not receive the mark of the beast, shall survive and be allowed to enter the Millennial Kingdom Age, and shall then rebuild a number of nation-states.

The 2,000-year long Church Age - during which time individual souls have had the opportunity to receive the indwelling Spirit of Christ and the gift of the Holy Ghost - shall suddenly and permanently come to a close.  And a new Era, the Millennial Kingdom Age, shall follow upon the fulfillment of the brief (7 years or so), transitional phase, beginning with the Rapture of the Church and the ensuing judgment of the world during the Day of the Lord.

In other words, the Rapture means that the present Dispensation of Grace shall then be forever over.  The Day of the Lord involves extraordinary, even supernatural wrath and vengeance meted out by the will of God, against a world that, today, mocks, scorns, and trifles with the holy commandments of God.  The Door of Salvation - like the door of Noah's Ark just prior to the deluge of the Flood - is about to close.  And God's patient waiting will no more withhold the full fury of his wrath poured out.

Do you understand what these things mean to the Church, today?  Do you see that God is not O.K. with the sinful and backslidden condition of the churches, of unsanctified, professing Christians?  Do you now perceive that the Rapture means that God's patience with the human race, of this generation, is quickly approaching exhaustion and abandonment?  The history of Noah and the Flood is intended to serve as the severest possible warning unto us who have unspeakably greater advantages and opportunity, during the Church Age, than did anyone of Noah's generation, to know the Lord.  How severe was their punishment, who had neither a Bible nor yet the crucified, risen Savior?  What shall it be for those who miss the Rapture and are left to suffer God's indignation and vengeance during the Day of the Lord?

The Rapture means that the time to "blow the trumpet in Zion" shall then, suddenly and without any further warning, have passed into history.  The time to warn the churches and the world is right now!!  The Rapture means that God fully intends that his people should take his Word seriously, with all sincerity.  The Rapture means that there will never again be the opportunity to repent and receive Christ as Savior, and thus to receive the gift of immortality and eternal life.  The Rapture means that everyone who misses it...certainly, everyone who has heard, but neglected, the call of God, shall be eternally damned.

The Rapture means the end of the world, in every sense as we have known that to be.  But it means glory and deliverance to those who, with all their hearts, are looking and preparing themselves for the coming of Jesus Christ.