The Great Escape
The 'Catching Away' of His Bride
But Will You Be Found Ready?
"Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." -Luke 21:36 (KJV)
A highly controversial phenomenon found talked about in some Christian circles today finds its way in the term "rapture". Ah, but what does it mean and is it real, will it come to pass and when? This non-Biblical word carries a lot of meanings to a variety of Biblical scholars and Christians alike. There are so many views and doctrines built upon man's interpretation of this event, it makes your head spin. But what does it really mean? In Christian eschatology (the study and interpretation of Bible prophecy) the word rapture comes from the Latin raptus ("a carrying off", source) and refers to 1 Th 4:16-17 where the original Greek interprets this as a catching away to meet Christ in the air, in the clouds actually before His physical return to this earth as outlined in Zech 14:3-5 at the end of the seven-year Tribulation. Many believe this catching away will occur before the start of the Tribulation or the Wrath of God as indicated in Rev 6:15-17. I firmly believe this time will occur on the Feast of Trumpets or Rosh Hashanah which is the next Feast of the Lord to be fulfilled as one of the three fall feasts. And this event will occur before the start of the Wrath of the Lord which could be right at the beginning of the Tribulation. Did you ever hear of all these things? Does it matter to you?
This catching away of true believers in Christ will occur and is referenced and paralleled by the ancient Jewish Wedding Ceremony. For many real born-again Christians this will be a time that Christ comes for His Bride (the Church, Gr – ekklesia, 'called out' ones or the assembly of believers) and removes them from the earth and takes them back to His home in heaven for a short time – 1 Th 4:16-17; 1 Cor 15:51-52. This will then be referred to as the Marriage of the Lamb in Rev 19:8-10. But this time is not automatic or on auto-pilot in a Christian's life. It comes will great preparation, anticipation and expectation. Even if you are aware of its reality of its truth but are not ready or not [found] prepared you will not be taken. Yes, I know this is hard to swallow and a definite in-your-face concept but Biblically it is sound and clearly true. So how can I say this, what backs me up in Scripture? Several OT verses talk about being 'hid' away when the Lord comes to deliver His wrath upon the earth, namely – Isa 26:20…
"Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast." -Isa 26:20 (KJV)
True believing Christians (His Bride) will be shut away in His chambers in heaven when He returns to levy tremendous judgments upon the earth and mankind due to their unrepentant and blatant sin. In Zep 2:3 we find again that He will hide us away in the day of the Lord's anger. But, does this mean we have a free pass to just wait for the 'beaming up' if you will. No, absolutely not and herein lies the theme of my message today. We must do something which involves our participation on a daily basis all the days of our lives. I understand that some of you may not agree and that's OK but I challenge you, in turn, to read the scriptures and seek the wisdom from the Holy Spirit before casting off what I have to say. Remember the Lord God Almighty will not drag His Bride through His Wrath before He comes again to save her – Rom 5:9; 1 Th 1:10; 1 Th 5:9. Scripture is evident on this.
And what I have to say comes straight from the pages of scripture. We find in Luke 21:34-36 a very clear and explicit word picture from the Lord directly. He said that we must "take heed", watch and pray always to be counted worthy to escape what's coming to this earth. He was referring to Matt 24; Mark 13; Luke 17 & 21 and finally Rev 6-19 in terms of the events that are coming to mankind. Did you notice that He has given us clear instructions to what we MUST do. They are not options! What are they? Take heed, watch, and pray and then you will be counted worthy to escape the times ahead. Briefly, take heed means be aware, don't live a drunken or carousing lifestyle, don't let the cares of this life capture all your attention – Luke 21:34. Watch is a clear term to be ready and continuously watching everything and everywhere for the signs of His return – Luke 12:37. Pray means to be in constant prayer for others, for your own situations and to stay prayer-focused that you be found "worthy" to ESCAPE all the things He describes in previous verses. This is crystal clear in terms of its meaning and has no alternative meaning, allegory or symbolism. His message to us is simple and straightforward. We must do these things and we must do them daily and diligently without fail. For if we fail in our perseverance we will not make it since we won't be prepared. We must strive to stay on the straight and narrow road – Luke 13:23-24. Many are called but few are chosen.
In Matt 25:1-13, we find the Lord speaking to us of the parable of the Ten Virgins which are representative of Christians today. All ten were nicely dressed, all went to church, all were pretty much equal in identity. You couldn't really tell them apart but five were vastly spiritually different. Did you hear that? All ten looked the same but ONLY five were allowed entry to the Wedding when the Bridegroom appeared to allow His people into His chambers. Only five! For the other five or the 'unprepared' virgins or bridesmaids the door was shut. Five were prepared and ready. Please note that the others looked good, meant well, had good intentions, and even slumbered and slept like the five wise ones. When the shout was heard all awoke but only five had prepared enough to be found worthy to go in with the Bridegroom. Only five, friends and only because they were prepared. They had prayed and knew the Bridegroom was coming and had cared enough to know that if He tarried on His way they had better have extra oil (in preparation) to make it through.
What does this mean to you right here and now? Are you prepared if He comes for us soon? If you hear the shout and the 'last trump' and you have been lazy and have not prepared in your heart and mind for His return, you will absolutely be left here to suffer through the seven year Tribulation. This will be an absolutely terrible and wicked time for all left behind.
Friends, this is an absolutely no joking matter! But I'm afraid that most today think He will never return and others think because they mean well and do good things they will make it into the Wedding. Not so! This is unmistakably unambiguous viewed Biblically. Unless you get out your Bible and make a sincere effort to seek His face, know and understand Him and know His will you will miss it – the door will be shut and you will be left outside. Let's look at one final verse that puts things in 20/20 focus…
"So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." -Heb 9:28 (KJV)
Stop and read the verse above again especially the underlined part. Those that look for Him, He will appear a second time! We must be watching, waiting and looking for His arrival in order to see Him. If ever there was to be a wake-up call for Christians this is it. We must be attentive, we must be looking and we must be prepared in heart, mind and spirit. So, where are you at with all this today? Ho-hum? Don't care? Don't believe all of it? Think my message is untrue? Please, if you disagree then research and study the scriptures for yourself. Dig deep, seek His face, pray for understanding and wisdom into what this time will mean for you, your friends and family. Seek Him people, seek Him everyday. Make the Lord Jesus Christ the number one focus in your life – make Him your life!
"Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast." -Isa 26:20 (KJV)
-BPWatcher, Internet Preacher and Bible Prophecy Watchman
GIVE ALMIGHTY GOD ALL THE GLORY FOR HE IS KING and HE IS LORD!
