It has been said; “What problem do you have that the rapture wouldn’t solve?” The wonderful thing about this proposal is the number of things we know are associated with it.
1 Corinthians 15:50-53 KJV – “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
The first-century Christians referred to the grave as sleep. They did so because when someone falls asleep, they also wake up. They believed that someday the dead bodies of all believers in Christ would wake up and rise from the dead. They also believed that those who are still alive will experience a radical change where all the negative things we worry over and struggle with in life will be over faster than you can blink. All the pains and problems our physical bodies endure will end at the same speed, in the twinkling of an eye.
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 KJV – “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
Not only will all the things that burdened and bugged us be over, they will be over forever! While we await that moment, that fact can bring us comfort. All the trials and tribulations of life are temporary. Paul even called them “light afflictions” (though they sure don’t seem light at the time), but he also gave us the tool by which we can put them in their proper place and perspective:
Romans 8:18 KJV – “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.“
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 KJV – “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Our tendency, far too often, is to compare our lives with that of someone else – someone who hasn’t gone through what we have, someone whose life seems a lot easier than ours. That’s not the proper comparison to make if we want to be comforted in this present time. We have to compare “what is” to “what is coming”. That’s because “what is” in these present times will be far overshadowed by all that will not be part of our eternal existence.
God does not expect us to live as mindless robots un-impacted by life’s pains and problems. But He does want us to keep the future in mind as we face them.
Titus 2:13 KJV – “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”
This is how we should face each day, by looking for the blessed hope of His glorious appearing. Then, if He doesn’t come for us today to take us to where He is, we will already know how we should live tomorrow. Looking for that blessed hope that will happen in a moment and twinkling of an eye after which we will forever be with the Lord. If things are hard and the trials constant right now, comfort yourself and one another with those words.
Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus.
