Not knowing the truth causes sorrow because there is no hope
in the world’s view of death, but knowing the truth brings joy and excitement.
Why? Because it is a win-win situation! If we die, we immediately enter God’s
presence. We go to heaven. Now some of you might be saying, “Pastor, you said
if we die. Last time I checked the statistics, the death rate for humanity is
100%!” Well, that is not quite accurate. Enoch and Elijah never died according
to Scripture. They were “taken” into heaven. You might even say that they were “raptured.”
And guess what? Paul says that one of two things is going to happen to every
Christian: either we die and go to heaven, or if we are alive at the right
time, we will be “taken/raptured” into heaven, too. You see, at some point in
God’s heavenly timetable (and I believe it is very soon), Jesus is going to
step away from His throne in heaven and begin to descend just as the angels in
Acts 1 said He would. At that same moment, the archangel is going to shout and
the trumpet of God is going to sound the most beautiful note that we Christians
have ever heard. Suddenly, Jesus will appear in the sky above the earth – only Christians
will see Him; only Christians will hear the shout and the trumpet blast. When
He comes, Jesus will bring with Him the souls/spirits of all the saints in
heaven, and they will somehow come to earth and reunite with their physical
bodies (this one is beyond my comprehension so I won’t even try to explain it).
Bodies and souls/spirits reunited will somehow become like Jesus’ resurrected
body, and they will ascend to Jesus in the sky. And then, praise God,
Christians who are alive at that moment are going to be changed into those
glorified bodies, and we will be caught up/taken/raptured into the clouds with
Jesus and the saints who have gone before us. And at the end of that glorious moment,
we will enter heaven to be with Jesus forever. Hallelujah! Praise God! Even so,
Lord Jesus, come!
But know this. You need to decide right now to trust Jesus
as your Lord and Savior. Many Bible scholars teach varying timetables as to
when these events may occur. Some say that the new Jewish temple must first be
built. Others say there are other signs that need to be fulfilled. All I know
is that Paul expected Jesus to return at any moment, and we should, too. It
could happen today. Are you ready?
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