Prepare For The Rapture: Don’t Know ‘When It Will Happen’, But Know ‘It Will Happen’

Word-Of-The-Day: (29) <Jesus said,> “Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. (30) Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.  (31) And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” (Matthew 24:29-31)

Yesterday, a South African pastor predicted that the Rapture would take place as his ‘studies’ provided him ‘clues’ that Jesus would call upon His Church right after the start of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, that started at sundown on Monday.

Unfortunately for us Christians (but not surprisingly), the pastor’s prediction was not correct. Considering that I’m in front of my laptop writing this either means it didn’t occur or I missed it, and the morning news has no reports of a mass number of people vanishing before others, so I’m joyful that it appears the former, that the Rapture did not occur yet, is correct.

Many before this pastor have tried to predict when the Rapture would occur, to no avail. Jesus, though, warns of this folly; in Luke 21:8 He tells the Apostles, “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them“, and in Acts 1:7, just before His Ascension he states to them, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.”

The word ‘Rapture‘ is not found in any translation of the Bible. The calling of the Jesus’ Bride, or the Christian Church, to Jesus started being referred to as the Rapture in the late 1600s, with Matthew Henry having used the word ‘Rapture’ in his Commentary of 1 Thessalonians 4:17, written in 1708. In Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, the word ‘Rapture‘ is defined as ‘a state or experience of being carried away by overwhelming emotion‘, which Christians would consider the calling of the Church to Christ would be!

Though many are wrong in their predictions on exactly when the Rapture will occur, or the order of events that it will precede or follow, we do know that Jesus will call His Church to Him, per 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 and Revelation 19:1-9. Unfortunately, there are those who are not prepared to sit at our Lord’s ‘supper table’; including many who called themselves Christians. It is similar to knowing a hurricane will come; we don’t know when one will come to southwest Florida, but we know at some point, one will come. Don’t be caught unprepared!

Like prepping for the next hurricane that may not come for some time, I’ve been thinking a lot of the ‘Big T’ Tribulation that is coming.  I am not a prophet but like many these times are very indicative of what Daniel, Thessalonians, Revelations and the Gospels all discuss about the End Times. 

There are many trains of thought about the End Times and of the Rapture of the Elect (the calling of Jesus’ bride, the Church – those who are truly Christians who have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior); whether you are Pre-Trib (Rapture before the Big T starts), Mid-Trib (Rapture sometime after the Big T starts through the death and resurrection of the two prophets in the middle of the Tribulation period), or Post-Trib (Rapture sometime toward the end or at the very end of the Big T), we know it’s coming, but when?

There are many folks who are preaching that we are in the End-Times, or the belief that we as Christians will be spared the Big-T horrors that will befall the earth and the non-believers.  I cannot or will not dispute them, but I reserve a healthy amount of skepticism, similar to when that one weather guy shows up for a potential major hurricane strike.  Many think when he shows up anywhere on the Gulf or Atlantic coast, the hurricane is definitely going to take out whatever coastal city he is in. 

Usually he brings the dire predictions of the destruction of the beaches and coastal properties in due to the high winds and surf rolling in.  This prognosticator of weather is a very educated man and a leader in meteorology and certainly we need to listen when he says, “be prepared”.  But there are occasions when the storms miss the coast, with almost no damage done at his predicted location. 

So when the weatherman speaks, we should listen and prepare – but if he’s wrong don’t get disappointed he’s wrong. Be thankful he’s wrong, do a lessons-learned from the exercise, and be ready for the next time.

Just because the prognosticator had it wrong this time, does not mean he’ll be wrong the next time.  Don’t let your guard down on hurricanes.  Likewise, we may see a rebound in morality in our world and we may not be the generation to see the Rapture; every generation has ‘little-t tribulation’ events and we may be going through this now.  We may also be the generation that is entering or about to enter the Big T. 

This may or may not lead to the immediate Rapture of the Church.  I pray we are all prepared for the Call, but be prepared if that Call doesn’t come until after the Big-T starts.  I picked Matthew 24:29-31 to show that there is Scripture stating there will be great tribulations first (verse 29), then Jesus will come to gather His flock (verse 30) and the angels will then Call the Elect home (verse 31). 

This may seem to contradict Revelation 3:10 (keep the Elect from the ‘testing’ of the non-believers), but this is a verse pointing to a particular group of Christians (‘the Philadelphia church’).  Revelation chapters 2 and 3 talks of 7 churches, including ‘the Smyrna church’ which in Revelation 2:10 talks of End-Time persecution of faithful Christians (being that Revelation is prophecy for the End Times). 

As I mentioned, I am not a prophet.  I will not dispute those who say ‘Pre-Trib rules, everything else drools’.  I will say, ‘OK’, and am simply imploring to you to not be disappointed or discouraged if by God’s hand we are not called home immediately and we go through at least some of the Big-T. 

Don’t be letdown if things start coming back to normal and it looks like the Rapture won’t be occurring for some time, perhaps not happening in our lifetimes.  Be Faithful, keep up the Great Commission and share the Gospel to others, and continue to encourage each other. 

We don’t know when that trumpet sounds, but we do know we need to be prepared and ensure others are prepared as well, even if we experience more ‘crying wolf‘ situations.  Just like when that weather guy comes to Florida to greet an incoming hurricane, if he and it don’t come this time, they eventually will.  Remember the Lord, and remember my mantra: BE PREPARED, BE AWARE, PLAN ACCORDINGLY.