They say we are down, that we no longer matter. They tell us we are outdated, proclaiming ideas that went out with the past. The world turns its’ face from us, and society mocks us with every chance. They laugh at us, telling us that people no longer need us. They dig our grave, announcing our death. But we will rise!
They laugh as they watch us bicker, seeing our numbers fall. They listen to the sounds of those who claim to speak for us, those who seek to glorify their own name. The world places them on a pedestal, as an example of what the world says we should be. Their meaningless words soothe them, and their false messages justify them. They repeat their false words, claiming all others who speak are filled with hate. Despite all they say about us, we will rise!
They persecute us. They threaten us. They hate us, and attempt to silence us. They claim we have no place in this society, and bite their tongues while many in this world seek to kill us. But even after all they do to us, we will rise!
Tomorrow, the next day, the day after, or one day soon, the sky will be shaken with a shout. And in the blink of an eye this world will forever change. On that day, the Lord will fill the heavens with a sound of His trumpet, and they will persecute us no more. Our words will ring forever true, and our hearts will be forever filled with eternity’s joy. For on that blessed day, we will rise! .
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.” Titus 2:11-15.
The Blessed Hope! The promise that God’s mercy, grace, wisdom, and love is always there for us, and the assurance that Christ will one day return for us No one can ever measure how great that blessing will be until the moment we hear His voice calling us up, and we see Him face to face(Romans 8:18). Hope is a word like no other. It makes every trial we face today worth facing again tomorrow. It brings tomorrow, one day closer to our Lord’s return.
Hope is a word the Lord speaks with more than expectation, a word He speaks with certainty. A word that Christ spoke with more than just declaration, a word that carries the confidence of His return(John 14:3).
At any moment, we could see that hope fulfilled. At any second, Christ could return for His church. Christ not only gave us that promise, the angels reminded us of that promise(Acts 1:11). Each day, the Apostles lived and preached for that promise, and each word they wrote in their Epistles proclaim and remind us of that promise. From the moment the Holy Spirit fell on those at the day of Pentecost, until this very moment, we have all lived for and with that hope. A moment we refer to as the Rapture. A split second when the trumpet of the Lord will blow, and the bodies of those who have died for Christ will rise with those who live for Him on this earth. All being changed into their resurrected bodies in the blink of an eye. Meeting Christ in the air, and forever taken to live in His presence(1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). The instantaneous transformation of our earthly bodies into a body that will fit us for all eternity.
A glorious day we should all long for. A day when sin will no longer look to control and influence us. A day when sorrow and pain will be no more. A day when the smile on our face will never again be removed, as we live with the Lord forever. We watch today as many dismiss the Rapture, denying it or saying it is just to confusing to discuss or teach. I have news for those who believe this, this was not what God intended when He told us about the Rapture! He gave us this hope to encourage us, to ensure us(1 Thessalonians 4:18).
Many who are confused by the Rapture, mix the teaching of Christ returning for us with His Second Coming. But the two events are far from being the same, and are described in two separate ways. The teaching of the Rapture was never mentioned in the Old Testament, and for this reason it was a new teaching when Paul taught it to us. It is for this reason he referred to it as a “mystery” that God was now revealing to us. He told us in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed”. He describes a moment when Christ will return for His church, a fulfillment of the promise that Christ had made. He also described this event in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, and in verse 17 says, “Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.” The word used here for “caught up” is the Greek word “harpazo”. This word has an incredible meaning. It means, “to snatch out”, “taken away suddenly”, “to be claimed in an instant”. What better way could we describe the Rapture than to say that Christ will claim His church in an instant? It is from this Greek word that the Latin word “rapturo” came, and from it came our English word “rapture”.
As I mentioned earlier, many try to combine the Rapture and the Second Coming of Christ, but the two are completely different events. As we have just seen, the Rapture is an event in which Christ will only appear in the clouds. Whereas at the Second Coming, Christ will descend to the earth, planting His feet on the Mount of Olives, causing a great earthquake that will rock this world. He will then defeat Satan and all the enemies of the Lord that are on this earth. After that day, Christ will establish His kingdom on this earth and will rule this world from Jerusalem(Zechariah 14:1-21).
Our hope is that Christ could return at any moment, on any day. God’s Word makes it clear as to the day of Christ’s Second Coming being at the end of the Tribulation, A period of time the Bible tells us will last seven years(Daniel 9:24-27, Revelation 11:2-3, Revelation 13). Our hope includes us not having to go through those horrifying days, but living each of those days in the safety of the Lord’s presence in Heaven(1 Thessalonians 5:9). The Rapture fulfills God’s promise to keep us from the torment of those days, and the assurance to know that Christ will overcome the fright and dread the world will feel during those days.
Let us now look again at the words in Titus that Paul gave us, Titus 2:11-15. “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.” Those who are filled with hope, will live each day for Christ, living every minute of those days “zealous for good deeds”. Jesus imminent return should not only bring us anticipation, it should motivate us, it should be a driving force in us. That hope should transform us, bringing into reality the importance of the time we have left.
Ask ten people around you what they have planned for today. I can promise, you will get ten completely different answers. Now ask those same ten people, if they knew that Christ was going to return tomorrow, what would they do today? All of the ten who are Christians, will give you a similar answer. They would use the day to tell all around them, their friends and family, about Christ. Making the most of that day to bring glory to the name of God. If our hope lies in the fact that Christ could return for us any moment, then the greater questions becomes, why would we not be living each day “zealous for good deeds”, looking to glorify the name of Christ at every turn?
God gave us this hope, not only to encourage us, but to remind us, and to drive us. Through the trials of a troubling world, this hope not only brings us comfort and brings us joy, it drives us to action. If we truly believe that Christ could return for us at any moment, then we are called to make the most of each of those moments. To take advantage of every second we have left to bring as many as possible to Christ. As I have often said, on the day that trumpet blows, we want the “ride up” to be as crowded as possible, overflowing with passengers!
We live in troublesome times. This world may mock us, it may curse us, and it may persecute us. But this world cannot take our hope from us! A hope that encourages us, drives us, and calls us! Each day we need to take a moment to look at the sky. And as we look into that sky, a smile should come to our face. For we know all that sky will hold one day very soon. But in the midst of that smile, we need to roll up our sleeves. We have a lot of work to do, and only a short time to get it done. Because one day soon, WE WILL RISE!
Praying each of you make the most of your hope!
Dr. Mike Murphy
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