The rapture of the church seems to have fallen out of favor somewhat as a teaching among Christians today. But as I’ve said many times, I think the next event on the prophetic calendar will be the rapture of the church.
What is the Rapture? It originates from the Greek word harpazó, which translates “caught up.” We find this word in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, which says,
“Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up [harpazó] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever” (NKJV).
Some like to point out that you can’t find the word rapture in the Bible. Well, whatever you choose to call it, it’s going to happen. And in my view, it could happen at any moment. We don’t know when because Jesus said,
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only” (Matthew 24:36 NKJV).
In fact, I do not believe that the antichrist, the coming world leader, can show up on the world scene until the church is caught up to meet the Lord. The Bible says,
“And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming” (2 Thessalonians 2:8 NKJV).
The restraining force in the world today is the Holy Spirit working through the church. The reason things aren’t even worse is because believers are the restraining force on the planet, keeping things at bay.
So what are we supposed to do in light of this teaching? We want to live lives that honor the Lord. And we want to pay attention to the signs of the times.
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