The real point is that we be prepared. And
to be prepared is to become Christians.

A Christian is one who believes the gospel
of Jesus Christ, who has accepted Him as
the Son of the Living God and as personal
Savior.

Because of Jesus Christ's shed blood that
removes all sin; every person in the world
is invited to receive the free gift, the gift
of God, which is everlasting life.

The only requirement is faith in His love
and forgiveness of sin and asked to live
in one's heart.

The Bible tells of Heaven having streets of
gold, ivory palaces, a city where there is no
night 'pleasure forevermore'.

There we will have the opportunity to meet
the saints of the Bible and others who have
gone before. And, of course, loved one who
have left us.

What a glorious day that will be!

Heaven isn't anything like we know here on
earth. We can take the greastest joy we know
of here on earth and multiply it a thousand
times; and then we will only have what is the
beginning of the joy that would be in Heaven!

". . . .In thy presence is fullnes of joy; at thy
right hand there are pleasures for evermore"
Psalm 16:11

Heaven will be so great that there's not words
in our language to describe it.

There is a glorious future for the Church,
and there is a dismal future for the world.

The existence of the Church will come to
an instantaneous end and every believer
will be taken to the glory which is coming.

At that moment each one will receive their
new bodies, a glorified body that is like the
one Jesus Himself has.

Where does the Rapture fit into the 'big
picture' of history?

The Rapture ends the Day of Grace [the
Day of divine patience] and begins a time
called the Day of the Lord [when God is
able to work with His plan of judgment
on the world], which begins with the
Tribulation.

Merry Christmas

If the kingdom is now, why the Rapture?
Why can't it just grow and take over every
thing?

There are various kinds of 'kingdom now'
teachings in the world. The fact is that the
kingdom was rejected by Israel and will
not be established in the world until Jesus
comes in power and glory!

Today God represents Himself in this world
through the [unseen] body of Christ and
through the [seen] lives of the believers.

The kingdom cannot 'grow in the world',
but it will come suddenly and be imposed on
the world by the King, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Does Israel have a different calling and destiny
from that of the Church?

The Bible teaches that Israel is the heir of the
world. But it teaches that the Church is the heir
of the universe. "all things" are the inheritance
of the Christian, of the Church.

"Therefore let no man glory in men.
For all things are your's;
Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the
world, or life, or death, or things present, or
things to come; all are your's;
And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's."
1 Corinthians 3:21-23

The Church and its message was a mystery
in the Old Testament.

Paul says in Ephesians 3:1-6
"For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus
Christ for you Gentiles,
If ye have heard of the dispensation of the
grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
How that by revelation he made known
unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few
words,
Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand
my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
Which in other ages was not made known
unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed
unto his holy apostles and prophets by the
Spirit;
That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and
of the same body, and partakers of his
promise in Christ by the gospel:"

Why is the Rapture not mentioned in the Old
Testament?

The prophets of the Old Testament were not
given revelation of the Church, the Body of
Christ.

They were not told of the Rapture of the Church.
This a New Testament revelation. The Bible
speaks of the message of salvation by grace that
was given to the Church to give to the world.
1 Peter 1:10-12
"Of which salvation the prophets have enquired
and searched diligently, who prophesied of the
grace that should come unto you:
Searching what, or what manner of time the
Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify,
when it testified beforehand the sufferings of
Christ, and the glory that should follow.
Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto
themselves, but unto us they did minister the
things, which are now reported unto you by
them that have preached the gospel unto you
with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven;
which things the angels desire to look into."

What is the difference between the Rapture
and the Second Coming of Christ?

The Rapture is a special event where the
Lord delivers the Church from the Tribulation.
It comes before the Tribulation and takes the
Christians out of this world before the seven
year period of the wrath of God. Jesus doesn't
come all the way to earth but meets them in
the air (1 Thessalonians 4"17).

At the Second Coming, He comes with the
Church to the earth. He returns with an army
from Heaven to conquer the world. (Revelation
19:11-16) This army is the Church that was
Raptured.

Didn't the doctrine of the Rapture come
from a strange source?

The doctrine of the Rapture comes from the
Bible. It is Paul, under the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit, that presents the truth.

It is good to avoid silly stories from any kind
of source which are from people who would
take our attention away from any doctrine
of the Word of God.

Isn't it cowardly to wish for the Rapture to
deliver us from the problems of life?

Anyone who doesn't want to be beheaded
during the Tribulation can certainly anti-
cipate the Rapture, the deliverance from
the wrath to come.

To want to go through the Tribulation is
not courageous, it's foolish!

How can Heaven receive and process so
many millions of people arriving at the
same time?

This is no problem for God!

The arrival of the Church, the Body of Christ,
at Heaven will be a time of great reunion and
rejoicing. A home in Heaven was prepared a
long time before.

A feast welcoming and betrothing will be set
of each, and it is called "the marriage supper
of the Lamb." Not one will be missed or left
out.

Can we take anyone with us at the Rapture?

Not by holding on to them, as much as we
would like to. We can take all our loved ones
and friends by leading them to Jesus, so that
they become Christians.

When the Rapture comes, it will be too late
to do any more for Him.

What impression will the Rapture make on

the world?

It depends on the preoccupations the world

has at the time of the Rapture. The disappear-

ance of the Christians and the children of the

world will leave the people stunned.

The Antichrist will find it hard to come up

with and explanation. The teaching of the

Word now will cause millions to come to

Christ during the Tribulation. They as the

Tribulation saints, will face a time of fearful

persecution.

When the Rapture comes, what will happen
to the children of Christians?

All children who have not reached the age of
accountability (about 13) are counted as
believers, under the doctrine of grace. It is
believed that includes the children of the
unbelievers also. These will be taken up in
the Rapture to be with the Lord. This is for
all the unborn children as well.

How are we to prepare for the Rapture?

The main preparation for the Rapture is to
be sure we are Christians. Then, knowing
that we could be taken to Heaven at any time
should move us to be pleasing and obedient
to His Word.

We must live in a way that we will hear Jesus
when He calls, "Come up hither".

What prophetic events must be fulfilled
before the Rapture?

There are no prophetic events which must
come before the Rapture.

The predicted events of prophecy have to
do with the time following the Rapture
leading to the return of Jesus Christ.

So the Rapture could take place at any time!

QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE RAPTURE.

What qualifies a person to be taken up in
the rapture of the Church?

The Word teaches us that Christ will return
for His Church. Everyone who are called
"brethren" [1 Thessalonians 4:10] is a
member of the Body of Christ and will be
delivered in the Rapture. They must be a
Christian; that is one who has believed the
Gospel of Jesus Christ and knows Him as
personal Savior.

Every believer should be confident and filled
with anticipation of our Lord Jesus' return.

The prospect of the Church being delivered
unto Jesus is growing with each and every
passing day.

The earnest believer will say, "Amen, Even so,
come, Lord Jesus" Revelation 22:20.

The unfortunate characteristics of this life,
in this sinful world will be gone forever.

Our bodies of flesh, even though we are
Christians, are subject to deterioration. Paul
states that though the outward man perish
while the inward man is renewed day by day.

When Jesus comes, this will be all changed.
Never again will sickness and shocks of
this world touch the believer.

Being transformed forever into our glori-
fied bodies, we will be beyond that and it
will happen instantly when He comes.

"Beloved, now are we the children of God,
and it doth not yet appear what we shall
be, but we know that, when he shall appear,
we shall be like him; for we shall see him as
he is," 1 John 3:2

We will have glorified bodies when Jesus
comes back of us!

We will receive bodies like His and be glor-
ified in His presence forever. This means
there will be no more pain, sorrow, sick-
ness, suffering or death for eternity.

One glorious fact that helps the Christian
to be excited about the Rapture of the
Church is that we will receive a glorified
body.

"For our conversation [citizenship]is in
heaven; from whence also we look for
the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Who shall change our vile body, that it
may be fashioned like unto his glorious
body, according to the working whereby
he is able even to subdue all things unto
himself." Philippians 3:20-21