Rapture Ready (No Matter When it is)

 If you keep up with the blog you know I'm a follower of Christ, and a Believer in His soon return. That being said, there are other Believers who don't think the Rapture will happen before the Tribulation period. If you aren't familiar with either of those terms, "Rapture" or "Tribulation", you may find yourself at a loss while reading, but I'll try to go into a bit of detail without changing the context of the titled blog.  Being Rapture Ready means you are someone who looks forward to the event known as the Rapture. The Rapture is a very specific event, not something that will happen over and over again. It is a defining event, in that once it does happen there will be no turning back, and all time stops for those who are "raptured".  We, the Believers, will be literally stripped from the Earth and in the space of less than a nano-second, our corruptible human bodies will be instantaneously changed to that of an immortal body. We will not stay on this Earth but will be taken (snatched away, in Greek, the word is "harpazo", meaning taken by swift force.)  It has never happened, and it will never happen again.  Some say there will be another Rapture after the Seven-Year Tribulation; it will be for those who become Christians during the 7-year Tribulation. That event will likely take place either at the time or just after the Second Coming of Christ. Wow...I just realized I may have to explain the Second Coming as well.

    OK, quick and easy one-minute explanation of the End Times Events.

• Rapture of the Church (or Believers) as well as all children and all simple-minded folks, is the snatching away of those who are saved, born again, looking for Christ's return. The good news is, even if you're not looking for His return, but you are saved, you will go up in the Rapture. It happens very very fast, and no one knows exactly when it is. It is believed by many that it will take place at or near the time of the Feast of Trumpets because of the trumpet references and the other Jewish wedding clues and innuendo that surround the Feast of Trumpets, which is also known as Rosh Hashana, the Head of the Year. This year those days are Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 24-25, 2022, but it could bleed into Monday if the New Moon is slow in showing the sliver of waxing, which has to take place before the official start of the Year.

• Seven-Year Tribulation Period. As the name denotes, it is a 7-year period of time following the Rapture but is NOT triggered by the Rapture. It is triggered by the signing of an agreement between Israel and "many". That could also be a confirmation rather than a new agreement. Could have something to do with the Abraham Accords.  The Tribulation is a time on Earth that will start out really badly due to the disappearance of literally thousands of millions of Believers, and all children and simple minded people.  The Triublation will be incredibly difficult, horrific, terrifying, and dangerous for anyone really, but more so for those who become Christians after the Rapture because there will be a time shortly following the Rapture when the world leaders will force people to take a literal MARK, or tattoo, bio-science marker, to keep track of them. This is already starting, and the vaccines were a dry run to see who would push back.  Most of us who were pushing back are Believers, and we'll be gone! It won't be hard for those in charge to take over by governing food, water, and such; only giving the rights to buy and sell to those who take their mark. Many will die because they refuse. REFUSE!! If you find yourself here after the Rapture, REFUSE the Mark. If you take it you are transforming yourself from human to transhuman and you cannot be saved by Grace at that time. ONLY HUMANS can be.

• Second Coming: Jesus, the same Messiah who took the Believers, will spend the 7 years with us in Heaven, before returning to Earth. He will LITERALLY tough down (foot planted) on the Mt. of Olives in Jerusalem. When He does that there will be an enormous Earth Quake. Every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess. Every mind will know that HE IS THE RISEN KING. There will be no doubt whatsoever, so if you're planning on escaping the Tribulation and continuing your life as you see fit, it will not happen.  The Believers will be with Christ when He returns. We will govern, we will lead, teach, and instruct. We will help Him rebuild His kingdom, and He will reign for 1000 years before ending time altogether. 

Many people get the Rapture and the Second Coming mixed up, or they think they are the same thing. They are not. No one knows when the Rapture will happen, but nothing has to happen before it does. We are so close to it, and if you are a Believer, and you're reading your Bible, you'll see that every last prophecy that needs to take place has and is taking place. There is NOTHING left to happen, not even earthquakes in diverse places. This past week alone we've seen an uptick in larger quakes in diverse areas. This is really looking like a good year for the Rapture. I really hope it is. Now, I'm not dogmatic about the timing. I can't know, I don't know, but I do listen and learn from men and women who spend and have spent their entire adult lives studying the specific clues.  Many good scholars believe the Feast of Trumpets is the fulfillment of the Rapture.

    

    With the passing of the Queen, an entirely new era has been ushered in, and there is no doubt it will not be the same as it was.  With the new Prime Minister in the UK, the 5th election for a Prime Minister in Israel, the destabilization of the Middle East, and so many other direct Bible references to what the world will look like at the time of the End (See Matthew 24 for context), we are looking at a great and marvelous collision of events and timing. If it is not this year, it is certainly very very close, and I can't stop hoping that it will be even earlier than Sunday! I want to go HOME!

    I still don't know what we're going to do when we get to Heaven. We'll be there, in our new bodies, without pain, death, decay, corruption, sin, or anything negative. If our beloved family or friends aren't there, I'm not sure we'll even be aware of it. I'm not sure we'll have any recollection of what our Earthly jobs were, who we worked with, hung out with, were married to, and gave birth to. It's all very new. We'll not be the same age as we were when we died if we died on Earth. We'll be something new and different. We'll be ageless. The Bible says we'll be known, and recognized, but it says nothing about what it is that we'll actually be doing other than celebrating and preparing for the wedding and wedding feast. I really don't think that's going to take more than a few weeks. What will we do for the rest of the seven years? I hope we just get to roam the place, meet up with folks, listen, sing, learn, and converse with Jesus! I know we'll be learning to ride horses if we don't know how to do that because we come back to Earth with Christ on horses. No cars, people!! I love that.

    

    When I think of the things that won't be in Heaven I am immediately caught up in thinking that there will be no hospitals, police stations, fire stations, clinics, dog or cat rescues, children's homes, orphanages, nursing homes, hospice, and no jails or infirmaries of any type.  There will be coffee! You know there will be coffee shops! We can get it to go while we walk the streets and try and name the animals we haven't ever seen before and collect as many flowers and cute little bugs that don't bite or cause you any discomfort.  The Bible says there are "mansions" but the translation could be "rooms" or "dwellings".  We will have our own, but we can no doubt share if we want to.  Did my Daddy go to Heaven early so he could put in my new kitchen cabinets and do all the beautiful trim work? Maybe! 

    

    Actually, the truth is, we aren't in our new bodies yet if we die on Earth before the Rapture. When our loved ones die we say they are in a better place, and they are but they are not yet, in physical form. Not one soul who has passed has been given their new form yet. We'll all be given those wonderful and incorruptible bodies at the time of the Rapture, at the last trumpet! That doesn't mean it will be on the Feast of Trumpets. The seven festivals of Israel are in fact for Israel.  Jesus can come at any moment, and He will come at the right time, not a second before. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that Christ must or will come back on Rosh Hashana. He is coming for the Church, not the nation of Israel. 

    Whenever the Rapture comes, be it this weekend or another day, it will be a one-time event, never to happen again. You'll want to be a part of it.  If you are a part of it, you will live eternally with Christ in an incorruptible body and do really amazing and wonderful things for the rest of all non-time, which is why it's called eternity.  If you are NOT in the Rapture and you find yourself here on Earth after it happens, DO NOT TAKE THEIR MARK for any reason. Die first. I know that sounds really horrible, but if you do take it you are damned to an eternity without Christ and you will literally be sent to a real firey burning hell that really does exist, and I wouldn't want that for anyone; not even the worst of the worst. I would prefer that people simply don't exist but God has been very very clear on the matter(s). You have a choice. You have free will. It really is UP TO YOU to decide if you'll follow Christ or not. No one else can do it for you.

    Well, that's about it. Rapture Ready! I'm ret-ta-go!  I don't want to be on this Earth another day if it means I get to go see Jesus!  Eternity is just about long enough. I am truly looking forward to that; time stops, and we live. Joy! Have you ever been sitting around and thinking to yourself that you really do exist? This really is happening right now? I can't imagine how very cool it will be to be up in Heaven laying back against an ancient tree, looking over the many moons and planets that will be circling, coming and going, and just trying to figure out how that orca stays afloat out of water.  I may just have to get up and ask it. Ride it. Laugh! Carry on!

    Be blessed.  Seriously, if you don't know Jesus today is the DAY to find Him. You can Google the Roman Road, but I'll put a link here for you too. It's a really simple way to (1) realize you are a sinner and in need of Jesus (2) acknowledge that the wages for your sin is death without Christ (3) believe that He is the risen Son of God, and (4) confess your sin, asking Him to be your God, your King. He is faithful, and He promised that anyone ANYONE who asks shall be saved. ANYONE. No matter how bad you think you've been, Jesus has saved someone worse than you! 

The Roman Road.  What are the Scriptures in the Roman road?

• All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God ( Romans 3:23 ).
• The wages of sin is[eternal]death ( Romans 6:23 ).
• The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord ( Romans 6:23 b).
• Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead ( Romans 10:9 ).

Photo Credit: DoctorAfrica.com