Since I was ten years old, a very long time ago, I have believed in a pre-Tribulation Rapture. Even though I didn’t grasp its significance and had much to learn about it, I sensed that it aligned with the words of Scripture.
Even after my seminary studies solidified this conviction, it took a long time for me to fully appreciate all that makes our blessed hope so wonderful. I’m still growing in my gratitude for this precious hope revealed on the pages of God’s Word.
Our adversary has a very different attitude toward it. Over the past few decades, he has greatly intensified his attacks on our anticipation of meeting Jesus in the air to the point where the word “rapture” has become taboo in many churches, even those that claim to believe in the inerrancy of Scripture. As a result, much of the mocking of our hope comes from those professing faith in the Lord Jesus.
Rather than dwell any further with the scoffers, I want to emphasize what makes our blessed hope so wonderful and thus a target for our adversary.
A Light Shining in a Dark Place
The world is a very dark place as lawlessness and violence continue to grow mostly unchecked. As I have often stated, I couldn’t cope with the headlines of our day apart from the biblical perspective of prophecy. Peter referred to its illuminating qualities in 2 Peter 1:19, “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”
Scripture illuminates what’s happening in our world as nothing else can. It explains why Satan has ratcheted up his vehement and deadly opposition to the Jewish people. He knows that Israel’s existence signifies his eventual doom and is doing all he can to prevent the fulfillment of what the Bible says will happen when Jesus returns to a repentant Jewish remnant.
What does that have to do with the Rapture? The majority of pastors who say the Rapture is the same event as the Second Coming, or that there’s no such thing, believe that the church is the new Israel and there’s no seven-year Tribulation. They regard the biblical texts that illuminate our way through this dark and murky world as either allegorical of the distant past or descriptive of the last 2,000 years.
In other words, there’s no near-term intervention of the Lord in our world to deal with the wickedness of our day and inaugurate His kingdom. Such teaching reinforces the normalcy bias, the vain hope that things will get better; they always have. Such is the empty expectation of those who don’t recognize that we live in biblical times.
I remember the pastor of an Evangelical Free Church mocking the relevance of Bible prophecy to our day. He accused us of reading the Bible in one hand with a newspaper in the other. It was his way of claiming that we interpreted Scripture based on current events. He didn’t understand what the apostle wrote in 2 Peter 1:19; it’s Bible prophecy that shines the light on the darkness of all that we read about in our violent, corrupt, and lawless world and gives us hope in Jesus’ soon appearing.
An Escape from the Delusions of Life
The second benefit of anticipating Jesus’ soon appearing is that it enables us to escape the delusion that we can find hope in the things of this life. This is something I wish I had learned long ago.
It’s what Paul wrote about in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18: “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
It’s not that we forgo our aspirations for this life, but it’s a matter of realizing the relative value of temporal things versus eternal realities. Though others might also possess this same perspective, more often than not, it’s an eager anticipation of Jesus’ appearing that produces this eternal outlook. Over time, it’s our focus on our blessed hope that provides us with greater clarity as to what ultimately matters.
I believe this is also what Paul wrote about in Colossians 3:1-4: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
All four verses speak to how the saving message of the cross changes us (see also Romans 6:5-9). Because of the new life we have in Christ, we learn to “seek the things that are above” and set our “minds on things that are above.” Our anticipation of appearing with Jesus in glory when He comes for us is not an afterthought that Paul tacks on to show the Gospel renews our mind; it’s foundational to developing an eternal perspective.
The practice of “waiting for our blessed hope” (Titus 2:13) teaches us how to place a greater importance on eternal realities versus the fleeting aspirations of this life. The silence in so many churches today, regarding the Rapture and eternal life, subtly exalts this life or what lies ahead and focuses the minds of those in the pews on the things of this life.
I have discovered that there’s great freedom in focusing on my hope in Jesus’ soon appearing. That’s why I have learned to cherish the Scriptures that promise a glorious future to all who are in Christ. The long wait for the Rapture has resulted in a greater appreciation for it.
