CAUGHT UP

Rev.4:1 – After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.”

This is one of those “too good to be true” topics in the Bible, that is one of the reasons I tend to believe in the rapture of the church, the Lord is all about too good to be true. Before I get too much pushback let me say I already know what you are going to say, “the phrase – rapture – is not found in the Bible”. I know that rapture comes from a Latin word rapiemur which means to be caught up. Paul used the phrase harpazo which is the Greek word caught up. However you slice it the church will be taken up supernaturally into heaven, the only question is when will that happen. I believe that is what John is describing when he is caught up into heaven at the beginning of Revelation 4. Here is how the Fire Bible describes this passage.

“This phrase seems to indicate a passage of time. It appears that instead of one continuous vision, John was given insight into various times and events of the future. For this reason, we have this change of scene and time. Many Bible scholars and interpreters believe that at this point in Revelation (i.e., before the fulfillment of the events described from here forward), Christ has already taken the “overcomers” out of the world. Thus, the catching up of the true church to meet Christ in the air takes place before the tribulation period. This belief is based on the following statements: (1) Beginning with 4:1, the terms “church” or “churches” no longer appear until 22:16. (2) The bride of Christ (i.e., the church) appears in ch. 19 already with Christ in heaven before he returns to earth to judge the wicked and to reign on earth for a thousand years, closing out time as we know it. (3) The promise given to the Philadelphia church to spare it from the time of worldwide trial pertains to all believers who stand true to Christ before the tribulation.”

Reading the book of Revelation is a great way to adjust ourselves especially regarding our eternal values. Reading these first four chapters of Revelation gives me a sense that all of us living in 2024 are living at the edge of eternity, the end of one age and the beginning of another. I believe the world is going to get a real taste of life without the influence of God’s people as the church is suddenly taken to heaven. It will be sudden, decisive, and quite different from anything we expect. All I can say is I hope that you are ready for what is about to happen. If you are not it is definitely time to make peace with God.