THE RAPTURE: THE FORGOTTEN PROMISE


“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….”
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.

It has been said, “What the eye does not see, the heart does not grieve.” In other words, if one knows nothing of a “thing” or a “happening”, then one is not worried about it.
This simplistic half-truth is generally nothing more than a sop to those who are happy to wander through life ignorant of those things which can enrich and enlighten.
Ignorance of a truth, any truth, can diminish a soul who might otherwise have benefited greatly by the knowing.
In a sense, Mark Twain’s nineteenth century classic “the Prince and the Pauper” highlighted this fact very clearly when two boys traded places for a laugh. Their innocent deception produced a life of impoverishment for one and a life of incredible wealth, but with disaster for the other.


Because the truth was hidden from all others, all were diminished and promises made were never appropriated.
Friends, so it is with the Holy Bible!
For any Christian attempting to live the Christian life with a limited, or denied, knowledge of God’s promises, is to never reach his or her full potential in God!
Controversy and the private or political agendas of different sections of the Church throughout the ages, has served to dull many truths of the Bible and none more so than those truths concerning our Lord’s Second Coming.
One such section of that Blessed Hope to suffer this ’dulling” is the doctrine known as the “Rapture Of The Saints”, The first part of our Lord’s two-stage Return. The first stage, for His saints, the second, with His saints!   
A quarter of a century ago, when Gwen (my late wife) and I were converted to the Christian faith, we were quickly introduced to 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18.
Our hearts did burn as the Holy Spirit brought that Scripture to life for us and it has never left us! Gwennie passed into the presence of the Lord confident that He awaited her at His Father’s Throne. I intend to keep that same confidence.


Dear reader, the point I make is, that in knowing this precious promise of Scripture our hearts were settled on this truth and nothing can or will ever remove it!
Not to know of this promise of God, or worse, reject it because, as some say, it sounds as if it is an idea hatched in the mind of a Ron L Hubbard (a science fiction writer) or a George Lukas (of Star Wars fame) is to be robbed of the knowledge of the glorious power of God to accomplish all which He has promised.
To those of our readers who know of, and believe, this doctrine (and I know there are many) I say; do not think that all professing Christians are as blessed as you!
To illustrate this statement, let me give you the result of my own small “straw poll” conducted over the last little while.
Approaching folk I knew to be Christian I asked them a few simple questions on the matter.

“Have you ever heard of such a thing as The Rapture of the Church?”
To which 75% ticked “No” or “I am not sure".

 “Do you know what it means?"
To which most of the 25% who answered ’Yes” to the previous question, ticked “I am not sure” and of the remaining 75%, all ticked “No”.

“When was the last time, if ever, you heard a sermon on this subject?”
To which nearly all of the 25% who said “yes” to the first question ticked “a long time ago” and of course the remaining 75% ticked “never”!

Beloved, my poll left me shocked, but not surprised! I know there was nothing either scientific or conclusive in my poll, but I think the point is made!
The controversy over this doctrine, has been surpassed perhaps, only by the debate about whether or not the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are meant for today!
Without doubt the devil has had a resounding victory in the Church when he can stir up such anger and debate over such “doctrines of promise”.
I recall that some twenty years ago a leading American Prophet/Evangelist announced that he would never again debate the doctrine of the Rapture. I assume that was because he ran into so much argument when he spoke of it! Not only has he not debated the subject again, I am led to believe that, to his great shame, he has never preached on it again!
The apostle Paul completes his great Thessalonians passages on the Rapture of the Church with “...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. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” verses 17-18.
Beloved, where is the comfort of not knowing or not believing Paul’s great revelation?
This, “the catching away to Heaven” of the saints of God is that which was promised by Jesus Christ Himself in John 1:1-3 when He spoke the Mansions in His Fathers House.

The apostle John had a similar revelation of our Lord’s return, “..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 3:2b-3.
If Satan can succeed in blinding the eyes of God’s people to the truth of the Rapture of the Church, he not only robs the saints of their promised comfort, but he also delays the onset of holiness and purity which God demands of His chosen people! Is it not then reasonable to declare that this has always been the devil’s goal in causing such blindness?
The sad truth is that many of God’s children, though professing a faith in Christ, suffer this lack of purity and comfort. They will often testify that the devil is able to temp and deceive them at will, leaving them unable to stand as God’s people should
.
The Rapture of Christ’s Church, that is, all of His living and deceased saints, is the blessed hope of Scripture. It is a hope never to be diminished nor forgotten!                                                                                                      Rod Rowland

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