Are You Rapture Ready?

I visited a web site the other day called “Rapture Ready.” It is a site devoted to its author’s passion - the rapture. It even comes complete with an index giving the likelihood that the rapture is imminent. By the way, index numbers are high right now. The present reading is 166. The record was set on September 24, 2001 when the index peaked at 182! Of course, you can make a donation of money (not tax deductible) at the website.

So, are you rapture ready? Probably the best way to be prepared for the rapture is to find out what the Bible says about it. Use a concordance, perhaps the one in the back of your Bible and look up the word rapture. Find all the scriptures that use the word and study them carefully.

To make it easier for you, especially since the little concordances in the backs of Bibles are not very complete, I will list the verses for you. Here they are.

...

Now that the list is complete…, well, I was going to suggest that we study the passages, but it appears there are no verses that use the word rapture. In fact, the word is not even in the word of God. How can we be rapture ready if the Bible does not even use the word?

The idea of the rapture is that Jesus will return and “catch away” all Christians from the earth leaving behind confusion and a seven-year tribulation. You may recall the bumper sticker declaring, “In case of rapture this car will be unmanned.” Another one jokingly said, “In case of rapture, can I have your car?”

The Bible, in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, does speak of Christians being “caught up” in the clouds with the dead who are raised and “so we shall ever be with the Lord.” The rapture is supposed to be a sudden event that is secret except for the fact that lots of folks have disappeared. No warning. Just “poof” and they’re all gone.

The problem with using this text to prove the rapture is verse 16. “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” The archangel is going to shout and the trumpet of God is going to sound, yet no one is going to hear them? Keep in mind that Paul is trying to help the Thessalonians understand that their brethren who have died did not miss heaven. They will be raised, then those who are alive will be changed, and all will be caught up and be with the Lord forever. He is addressing only what will happen to Christians. To get the full picture, we must read other passages.

“Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” (John 5:28,29). Observe that the good and the evil are raised at the same time! Jesus said that “all who are in the graves” will come forth. Not just the good folks - all of them. This passage presents great problems for the teaching of the rapture in which only the good are raised. Remember, the word rapture does not appear in the scriptures.

Combine John 5:28, 29 with Matthew 25 and we get even more of the picture. John 5 tells us that the good and bad are raised at the same time and go either to the resurrection of life or the resurrection of condemnation. Matthew 25:31-46 says that Jesus is coming and will gather all nations before him. Jesus will separate the people into two groups, those who have done good and those who have done bad. According to verse 46, the good receive “eternal life” and the wicked receive “everlasting punishment.” Once again, this presents serious problems for the idea of a rapture that includes only the good folks.

Someone may say, “What about Matthew 24 where it says that one will be taken and one will be left?” Let’s examine the passage. The context is Jesus’ prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem which occurred in 70 AD. He is warning the faithful to be prepared for the destruction that is coming as it did in the days of Noah. In verses 37-41 He says, “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.” The “coming” of the Son of Man is a phrase used many times in the Bible to describe God’s “coming” in judgment on a nation. The nation under consideration here is Israel, specifically Jerusalem. Notice that in the days of Noah the flood came and “took them all away.” In the same way two men will be in a field and one will be “taken,” two women at a grindstone and one will be “taken.” Those who are taken are taken in destruction just like those in Noah’s day were taken in destruction. The “taking” is not the rapture.

The rapture is not Biblical. The idea does not fit with clear teaching in God’s word. As always, you should abandon the teachings of men and follow only what God says in His word.

Are you rapture ready? Don’t worry about the rapture. It won’t catch you or anyone else off guard. However, the second coming of Jesus might. You need to be prepared for that. There is no second chance as taught by many rapture theorists. Your opportunity to prepare is now. Hebrews 9:27 says, “...it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” Can I help you be prepared? Send me an email letting me know how I can help.

Man Sues Church Due To Holy Spirit Injury

According to an AP report a Knoxville, Tennessee man is suing a church because of injuries he sustained when the Holy Spirit knocked him down and no one at the church bothered to catch him. Several things about this story strike me as interesting.

When members of a church give their money on Sunday, to whom are they giving it? Is it not an offering to the Lord? If so, then isn't a law suit against a church a law suit against God? So this guy goes to church, gets worked up and according to the article was wanting a Holy Spirit experience, received it and is suing God for providing it. That's strange.

Next there is the action of the church. This guy was injured and went to the hospital for treatment. The suit is to recover medical costs as well as compensation for pain and suffering. Surely the church knew he was injured. If this church truly cares for its members, surely they knew he went to the hospital and perhaps even sent folks to visit him. So why didn't some of their Holy Spirit filled members simply go to his house or to the hospital and heal him? That would have saved the church, as well as this man, a lot of "pain and suffering." He is still hurting today. Why don't they help him even now?

In Acts 20 we read that the apostle Paul was preaching one night and continued until midnight. Eutychus, a young man who was present that evening, fell two stories out of a window and died. Eutychus did not fall because he was filled with the Holy Spirit. He actually had gone to sleep. Acts 20:10 says, "But Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, "Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him." Paul raised this fellow from the dead and gave him back his life. The Knoxville church should have done something similar for this man who was merely injured, if indeed they are filled with the same Holy Spirit as the apostle Paul.

A careful study of the Scriptures makes it very evident that the supposed miracles claimed in churches today are not miracles at all. In New Testament days people's withered hands were made whole in an instant (Luke 6:6ff). In Bible times the dead were raised up (Acts 9:36ff). In the time of the apostles people who had never walked jumped up and began to leap and run (Acts 3:1ff). Whole cities were coming out for healing because people that they knew were actually healed - not gradually over time, but instantly. Why aren't whole cities going to these churches for such healing today? Why isn't the news media covering one amazing story after another on the TV each night? The reason is because Bible miracles are not being performed by these folks today.

The reason Bible miracles are not being performed today is because God didn't intend for those types of miracles to continue. They had a purpose (Mark 16:19,20; Hebrews 2:1-4) and that purpose was served and they are no longer needed. God even intended that they they cease (1 Corinthians 13: 8-10).

Have you been disillusioned by the claims of modern day healers? Contact me if you would like more information about what God really wants to do in your life. He can heal your broken spirit, forgive your sins, and set you on a path to a place where there are no tears, no pain, and no suffering. Email me at the link on this page.