What Next?

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.  Therefore comfort one another with these words.” I Thessalonians 4:16-18

            Now that Israel is a nation once again what will the next major event in God’s timetable be?  Could it be the rapture of the church? This is what the words “caught up” are referring to in the above passage. The word used in the original Greek is harpazo, meaning to seize, catch up, or snatch away. Although we don't know exactly when the rapture will take place, the scriptures assure us it will be sometime before the last half of the tribulation period, sometimes referred to as the "Great Tribulation," when God will be pouring out His wrath on an unbelieving world. In I Thess. 5:9 we read, “For God has not destined us to wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

            Jesus refers to this time of tribulation in Matthew 24:21-22, “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall.  And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved….”.  If God is going to be pouring out His wrath, I Thess. 5:9 makes it clear that those who are trusting in Jesus Christ will not be on the earth at that time. See also I Thess. 1:10, Luke 21:36, and Rev. 3:10 for more evidence of that fact.

            How close are we to this time of tribulation?Prophecy is being fulfilled every day in the news.  The conflict over Israel and Jerusalem grows more heated every day, not to mention the threat of nuclear war posed by terrorists and countries like Iran that want to destroy Israel and the United States. The world cries out for peace!  I Thess. 5:3 tells us that “While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’ then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape.  But you, brethren, are not in darkness that the day should overtake you like a thief.” When God pours out His wrath on this earth, believers will be safe in the ark, safe with Jesus. By the way, God also removed Noah and Lot before sending His judgment. These are types of the rapture.

            My prayer is that you will be ready for the coming of the Lord, so that if the rapture happens during your lifetime, you will not be left behind to face the wrath of God.  The world is crying out for peace today, but true and lasting peace will only come to this world when the Prince of Peace returns to set up His kingdom on this earth. Whether these things take place in our lifetime or not, we shall all one day face judgment, and we all need to be putting our faith and trust in the only One who can save us, Jesus Christ. Meanwhile, “He who testifies to these things (Jesus) says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.’ Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus.” Revelation 22:20