This Rapture Generation

[Authors note: Due to my need to concentrate on other matters as I prepare for speaking at the Colorado Springs Prophecy Watchers Conference, my commentaries this week will be selections I’ve written in the recent past. This is from Monday, February 20, 2023.]

My commentary title this week will likely be construed by some as audacious. “This Rapture Generation” implies that people of earth alive now are those who will, without doubt, be the generation of believers who go to Christ in the Rapture, doesn’t it?

Those who have named specific dates for that stupendous event have earned consternation down through the years, and deservedly so. Jesus Himself declared that no one but the Father knows the day or hour when it will occur. And certainly, to date, that truth has played out exactly as the Son of God—who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life—said.

Yet, at the same time, the Apostle Paul implied himself to be part of the generation that would be raptured:

“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” (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18).

Paul obviously expected to be part of those who would be living when Christ calls believers to Himself in the Rapture. The pronouns used are pretty clear, aren’t they? Yet Paul has been dead for 2,000 years or so, and the Rapture is still future, as we are all too aware.

So is God’s Word (the “Word” who, in fact, is the Lord Jesus Christ, according to John 1:1) less than truthful with us through the prophecy given Paul regarding the Rapture? We know the answer to that is a resounding “no.” God cannot lie; therefore, we are to think through Paul’s words with our born-again, Holy Spirit-influenced discernment to understand the apparently audacious statement. Paul’s declaration was as audacious as my title for this commentary, I think.

So what is this seeming contradiction all about?

The answer, I believe, is found in another familiar statement by Paul, one we use frequently in studying the Rapture.

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).

I believe that wrapped up in this profound statement of faith is an instruction to all believers. During this Age of Grace (Church Age), we’re always to be earnestly expecting Jesus to snatch us from this fallen sphere at any moment. This instruction—this commandment—has been in effect since the Church was born (as presented in Acts chapter 2). Every believer since that time should treat the promise of the Rapture as if it absolutely will take place while we are still living on Earth.

As a matter of fact, all who love the prospect of Christ’s appearing are promised a crown of righteousness.

With this in mind, the title “This Rapture Generation” is appropriate for believers now. Jesus will come for us in the Rapture at any moment—perhaps today!

I hope to go much deeper in expressing this certainty. And we do go deeper with each and every article presented. At least that is our aim.

The signals are brilliantly projected for those with discerning spirits to understand. Our Lord is unfolding prophetic signals of such unmistakable significance that we would have to look in another direction to miss just how near we are to the Tribulation. The Rapture is thus right at the exit door of human history for believers in Jesus Christ.

Sadly, most who should be helping God’s children focus on the lateness of the hour continue to feed only pabulum about how to grow into Christian adulthood.

Such spiritual food isn’t bad, of course. The Scripture is necessary to spiritual growth. But there comes the time that requires us to take a deep look into just how late the hour is on God’s prophetic timeline. We are now very near that instant of Rapture about which we’re forewarning.

This is almost certainly the Rapture generation, and I cannot feel sheepish in declaring it.

Tell everyone you know, using your own words, the soul-saving truth encompassed by Paul’s Holy Spirit-given formula for going in the Rapture when Christ calls:

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).

               –Terry

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The Most Neglected Biblical Truth

There’s an old expression that dates back to 1512, “Throwing out the baby with the bath water.” The idea behind the saying is that if you believe part of an idea or teaching is not good, don’t toss it all away.

Is this not what many pastors do today? They fear the negative results of mentioning the dreaded word “Rapture” from the pulpit, so along with never referring to Jesus’ appearing, they never mention the resurrection of the dead in Christ or the glorious transformation of those who will be alive at the time. Water and baby both go out the window.

I have heard many presentations of the Gospel where the pastor never said the words “eternal life,” or if he did, he mentioned it as an afterthought or as part of John 3:16 during his closing prayer. Why do so many pastors refuse to mention the biblically sound promise that we will live forever in imperishable bodies like that of our Lord Jesus?

It’s the most neglected biblical truth in today’s churches.

Martha’s Belief in a Future Resurrection

I’m always impressed when I read Martha’s assertion of faith after the death of her brother, Lazarus. When Jesus told her that her brother would “rise again” (John 11:23), she responded with these words, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day” (v. 24).

Martha believed in a future bodily resurrection, the very thing that pastors today go to such great lengths to avoid even mentioning lest someone think they believe in the Rapture.

In the Gospel of John, the phrase “eternal life” appears seventeen times. Jesus emphasized this truth repeatedly during His earthly ministry; it’s no coincidence that Martha understood what that meant for her brother.

Jesus then surprised everyone by raising her brother from the dead. However, a far greater resurrection awaits Lazarus along with all who have died in Christ or will be alive at His appearing.

The Forgotten Resurrection

I often wonder if pastors who exclude references to our resurrection in their preaching genuinely believe the words of 1 Corinthians 15:19:

“If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”

In the preceding verses, Paul refutes those in Corinth who claimed that there was no such thing as a resurrection (15:12-18). If true, he argues, then we must conclude that Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, which would signify that our faith is “futile.” The end of such a dire possibility is that the “dead in Christ have perished,” and we who are alive are “most to be pitied” (ESV) or “miserable” (KJV) because our hope doesn’t extend beyond this life (see vv. 18-19).

Paul begins verse 20 with the glorious fact that “Christ has been raised from the dead,” and in 1 Corinthians 15:47-57, he sums up our forever hope with the joyous reality of our bodily resurrection as New Testament saints. In language that others cannot possibly misconstrue or misunderstand to signify anything else, the apostle says there’s coming a time when Jesus will raise the dead with imperishable bodies and gloriously transform believers still alive at His appearing, the Rapture of His Church. Those who say 1 Corinthians 15:47-57 doesn’t refer to a future transformation of both dead and living believers are false teachers.

Paul again points to our joyous hope of eternal life in Philippians 3:20-21:

“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” (emphasis added)

Because Jesus rose from the dead, our over-the-top blissful hope is that someday we will possess a glorious body like that of our Savior. The sense of verse 20 is that of an “excited anticipation” of Jesus’ appearing. It signifies a yearning of the soul for the time that Jesus raises the dead in Christ and wholly transforms us with immortality. Romans 8:23 speaks to the future “redemption of our bodies,” which happens at the time of the Rapture.

We Possess a Tangible Hope

The problem with modern preaching is that it leaves our future after this life undefined. The more popular views of Bible prophecy point our hope to a far-distant Second Coming of Jesus, during which time He judges sin and initiates the eternal state. Parishioners can only guess as to what such a future means for them.

The world around us is on fire with lawlessness, unbridled wickedness, threats of terrorism, and the drumbeats of a nuclear war, which appears more likely with each passing day. Our future well-being in this world has never been more at risk in our lifetime.

The good news is that the Bible defines our hope as something tangible, a certain expectation of glory after this life ends. Scripture doesn’t leave us guessing as to what sort of nebulous existence lies in our future.

Terry James and I authored the book Hereafter, which describes in detail our lives in eternity after the Rapture. In it, we explore what it will mean to possess imperishable bodies as we reign with Christ in His kingdom.

We will spend eternity in gloriously transformed bodies that will never experience pain, sickness, aging, or death. They will be like that of our Savior. The “redemption of our bodies,” which happens at the time of the Rapture, was the hope that the apostles proclaimed to the world (Romans 8:23-25).

Maranatha!

-Jonathan

 

 

 

Valley of Derision

The Lord tells, through the prophet Joel, the dire recompense for the rebellious evil of opposing His righteousness:

“Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.

“Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision” (Joel 9-14).

We are at this moment very near the beginning of that time, at the end of which everyone will be gathered into the Valley of Jehoshaphat–the killing field of Armageddon.

As Joel declares, we now see wickedness growing daily—even hourly. It is indeed an exponential growth of evil directed primarily at God’s prescribed order of things for planet Earth.

Armies of the world, particularly those of nations primary to prophetic fulfillment, have already turned pruninghooks and ploughshares into swords and spears that are the incredibly powerful instruments of modern warfare. They have awakened the men of war and gathered them, as witnessed by Russia’s threatened invasion of Ukraine and China’s voracious glances at Taiwan. The world is, to any observer with a rational eye for developments, preparing to make war.

It is just a matter of time until the multitudes will gather to oppose God and storm toward His touchstone to humanity, Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. They will at first rage against one another, each wanting to make that satanic prize–Jerusalem and Mount Moriah—their conquest. They will be filled with the madness their father, the devil, has planted in their reprobate minds. They will then see the black skies above earth split apart and the glory of Heaven beaming through as the Lord of lords and King of kings and His army of redeemed saints begin their descent.

Today we are in a valley of decision, of sorts. The decision is whether to be on the side of the heathens destined to oppose God and His righteousness, thus be in colleague with those who will face Christ the King in the Valley of Jehoshaphat or whether to be on God’s side by accepting His only way to redemption, thus to be on the side that opposes the wickedness we see proliferating in every direction we look.

Another valley I think we can see very plainly at this time is a valley of derision.

It is a place of profound struggle against the powers and principalities in high places of Ephesians 6:12. Christians who determine to fight the evil that opposes God’s righteousness comprise the nucleus of this force. While many others who don’t know Christ as their Lord also fight in this arena against wickedness, God’s people are the glue that holds fast the frontline resistance to the assaults by Lucifer’s minions, both demonic and human.

Paul the apostle says the Restrainer will hold back the assaults of evil and wickedness until He is taken out of the way. The Holy Spirit is that Restrainer, and He works primarily by indwelling all who know Christ for salvation. So it is the believers of this age who must continue the struggle, empowered by God the Holy Spirit.

And there is plenty of evidence to validate that God is restraining in these times so near when He will call the Church out of this doomed world of rebelliousness.

We’ve witnessed time after time, for example, blockage of legislative efforts that would take America into dictatorship. The evil continues to advance but is not allowed to completely infect the world with the sin disease that will cause God’s judgment and wrath to finally fall upon the incorrigible rebels who oppose His righteousness.

The time will come when “earth dwellers” will have their way, mostly unimpeded by God’s governance. But this condition will not last long. Devastating things will begin to happen as God prepares for His Son, Jesus Christ, to return and put an end to all evil, wickedness, and rebellion.

The Lord has these anti-God, anti-Christ forces in derision at this very moment. His Holy Spirit is holding back Satan’s all-out assault until the Church is taken to be with Jesus in the Rapture.

Again, here is what the Lord says about what is going on now and into eternity.

“Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.

“Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him” (Psalms 2:1-12).

—Terry

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Are We Really on the Cusp of the Rapture?

As one high watch period after another comes and goes, we sigh as the waiting continues. If you are like me, you feel the weariness of continuing to watch for the Lord’s appearing as wickedness increases beyond what I ever thought possible, and injustice prevails along with government corruption.

Are we really on the cusp of the Rapture? Yes, I remain convinced that we are. Below is a brief summation of reasons why I still watch for the Lord’s appearing as something that could happen today or possibly this week, month, or year.

Wickedness that Demands God’s Response

Many years ago, Ruth Graham famously quipped, “If God doesn’t judge America, He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.” Wickedness in the U.S. has increased exponentially since she spoke those words. If God’s judgment on our nation seemed like a foregone conclusion over twenty years ago, how much closer must America be now to experiencing the full scope of His wrath?

God is just, and He must judge the extreme wickedness and lawlessness of our day. The Bible predicts a future outpouring of God’s wrath upon the entire earth, which it describes as the start of the Day of the Lord. Paul, writing to the Thessalonians, stated that the Rapture will happen just before the “sudden destruction” of this future time (1 Thessalonians 5:1-10).

What we see happening today will most surely bring God’s response. Count on it. He will directly intervene in the course of human affairs, beginning with the Rapture.

The Prospect of Nuclear War

For months, I have read statements from Russian leaders warning of nuclear war if NATO persists in arming Ukraine, which they continue to do. Recently, Biden authorized Ukraine to fire U.S. missiles at targets within Russian territory. I remain shocked by the foolishness of such a decision. When one of America’s missiles causes severe damage in Russia, it’s a certainty that Putin will directly attack NATO and American interests.

Revelation 6:1-8 describes the initial devastation toll that will sweep over the earth during the Day of the Lord. This includes a war that will contribute to the death of one-fourth of the earth’s population. Could it be that what John saw was the result of the current provocations for a nuclear confrontation that would likely kill hundreds of millions, if not more? If so, this tells us we are ever so close to the Rapture, which happens before the seal judgments.

The World’s Determination to Resolve Israel’s Wars

If there ever was a time that matches the words of Zechariah 12:2-3, it’s now:

“Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it.”

Of all the many wars taking place in the world today, the UN and its member nations are obsessed with stopping Israel’s war in Gaza and preventing its all-out attack on Hezbollah. The world’s excessive preoccupation with bringing peace to the Middle East not only fulfills prophecy but will also lead to the antichrist’s future covenant of ‘peace’ with Israel.

The Lord, through His prophet, predicted the world’s current fascination with Jerusalem, which will open the door to what will take place just prior to and during the seven-year Tribulation. Does this not also tell us that we are ever so close to the Lord taking us home to the place He’s preparing for us? I believe it does.

The Nearing Pole Shift

For the past couple of years, I have been reading about the upcoming pole shift. My primary source of information for this has been John Traczyk, a fellow believer who’s also eagerly anticipated the Lord’s soon appearing. I don’t understand much of what I read about the beginning of the pole shift, but a few things have captured my attention:

1. The descriptions of what the experts say will happen during a pole shift closely match what the Apostle John predicted would happen during the sixth seal (Revelation 6:12-17).
2. Many of the world’s wealthiest people are building underground bunkers. They are doing so not only because of the threat of nuclear war but because of warnings concerning the pole shift.
3. John Traczyk and others believe this catastrophic event will happen soon.

The nearing pole shift is another harbinger pointing to the nearness of Jesus’ appearing to take us home.

The Imminent Economic Disaster

The third seal depicts a time of economic disaster that will impact the entire world. And as I have often written, we are long past due for this to have happened. It’s only the restraining hand that’s holding back the astronomically high prices for food depicted in Revelation 6:5-6.

Living With a Sense of Imminency Copies the Mindset of First Century AD Saints

As I prayed and thought about the nearness of the Rapture during the past week, the Lord reminded me that living with a sense of imminency is biblical regardless of the signs pointing to it. He instructed us to always watch for His return, and the New Testament believers “early awaited” His appearing as something that could happen at any moment (Matthew 24:36-51; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 1:8-10). And our perseverance in doing so will bring a reward (2 Timothy 4:8).

Waiting is never easy, especially in a day of microwave ovens and instant access to information via the phones we hold in our hands. However, when Jesus appears to take us to the place that He’s preparing for us (John 14:2-3), we will know that it was well worth the wait.

-Jonathan