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Rapture of the followers of Jesus
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jetman

Posted: Jan 31, 2011

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 Had an interesting discussion today with a fellow believer who asked me for my views on the Rapture. 1-Who will go, 2-How will that take place, 3-When will it happen and 4-What did I think the experaince would be like?
Quite the multi-facited question which took just shy of two hours to answer. In this case I will be brief and let you, the reader, do your own research as I will only give you a few of the scriptures and what I believe is a correct summary of those verses. There are many more proofs, so check them and me out.

#1-Who will go? An easy answer is to just say Christians, but that answer is not really complete nor correct. Many folks go to church and thus think they are Christian...not necessarily so! It is believers in Jesus who will be Raptured (followers of His teachings)- past, present and in what ever future there is left for the church. Just being nice and "playing church" will not due. Pew warming is just not going to be good enough! We must be Saved by God's Grace to ever experiance the Rapture.
Check out: Acts4:12 / Eph2:5-8

#2-There is even an order to the Rapture that you can find in the scriptures. First those who have died in Jesus in all generations past will be resurected from their graves. Folks lost at sea and long ago gone to fish food (and even poop) will be reseructed not just those in the shelter of their earthly, decayed graves. Bodies burried in long forgotten graves will rise up. This will be happening all over our planet. Like in the movies, if your home was built on one of these forgotten graves you will have a visitor or two passing through. Then, we who are alive(believers) will experiance the Rapture. All of this will take place in just the briefest of moments..."in the twinkling of an eye" which I am told is about the time it takes for the inner eye to recognize light. Even faster then the speed of light and more like the speed of thought one pastor told me. God thinks of our Rapture and it happens and is totally completed in that moment of His thought. We are eternally joined with Him in glory at a heavenly feast with His gifts of "crowns."!Check out: 1Thes4:13-17/ 1Cor15:22&52 / Matt24:31/ Rev19:7 & 4:10
Note: The actual word Rature is not found anywhere in the bible. It is a break-down of a Greek word that means the catching away or the snatching away. It implies suddenness and without a warning.

#3-When will this Rapture happen? Even the followers of Jesus wanted to know the answer to that question. We only know for sure that it will be quick! His answer simply was that in His human form, out side of His devine nature, even He did not know that answer, only His Father knew.
Check out: Acts 1:7 / Matt24:36&42

#4-What will the Rapture experiance be like?
We know several sure things so far.
-All believers, from all times, will be Raptured.
-It will be quick and without a warning.
-Jesus Himself will be the one who makes the call.
-The day and the hour are humanly not knowable.
-Those Raptured are destined for a heavenly
reunion with Jesus.
-The Rapture will involve "heavenly crowns".
If you are Pre-Trib, Mid-Trib or Post-Trib, be assured of one thing; The Rapture is coming because God's and His scripture says so!

As a young Christian I asked a "what if" question for me at that time. "I am riding my motorcycle on the freeway and the Rapture takes place. What will happen?" His first answer was, "Your motercycle is about to crash!" "That will happen along with all the other things that are/were you." "Things like you helmet, gloves, jacket; infact all your clothing and aids like glasses, hearing aids, braces of all kinds and jewelry will nodoubt be strewn all over the freeway." Which leves me to wonder if we believers will in deed be entering the company of Jesus in the nude, or close to it? I know that in other areas of the scriptures "heavenly garments" are mentioned for a multitude of occassions. But, your guess is as good as mine as to just what that garment will be like for us. The point to remember though is not if we are or are not nude, but that we ARE in the company of Jesus. So, let the church say, "AMEN!"(Amen = let it be)

jetman

Posted: Feb 24, 2011

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 Alarec has posted some very interesting questions as to what it will be like for "we, the raptured and resurected beings", in God's kingdom. Many of these questions are easily answered. Some are not so easy, as the scriptures do not directly address them.

First the easy questions. With our new bodies we are a totally different (non human by human standards) creation then what we are currently like here on earth. To understand where you will be from where you are now, remember you are a totally new creation with totally different will, interest and desires . That differance is true both of our bodies as well as our minds. The needs of earth that we now have like eating, sleep and yes even the desire for sex will not be part of our physical or psycological makeup. For us there will be no marriage, no intercourse and no children to raise. Our wife, our children and all the other saved folks we knew when we were here on earth will be as brothers and sisters to us. Have you ever wondered why we church folks often refer to each other as brother or sister? Now you do! We are just getting ready now for that time to come.

There will be work for us (little time for struming on your harp) because there will be living humans in this new 1000 year world that God has created. Some of them will have survived the Tribulation and produced new generations upon the earth. They will need to hear God's salvation messages. They will see us and we will see and be able to communicate with them. They will be fully aware that we once lived as humans just as they are but they will also know that we were also transfigured to incorruptable bodies. We will not like them age, nor tire, nor become ill and die. That is somthing they will not have as they are fully mortal. An important task we will have to preform during their lives is to give testimony to these folks of their need to be saved just as we once were. When we show love, it will be our love for our Savior and His redemptive gift of salvation and our desire for them to know Him as we do.

We will NOT be like angles. Infact, we will be better then angles! So much so that the angles would worship us if it were possable. Why? Because we have the gift of salvation which even the heavenly angles do not have. Because of our special state of being, we will be able to be in the physical company of God Himself and we and all who are like us will be giving glory and homage and singing to our God during that 1000 years. I am reminded of an old church hymn verse,"What a day of rejoicing that will be. When we all see Jesus and sing and shout the Victory!"

As to the question of what will our state of dress be in heaven? I previously mentioned in a past posting that the scriptures tell of "garments of light" and/or garments of white being worn by God's elect. That may be the answer, but I can not be sure as scripture is vague on that subject. We will just have to wait and see.

How about pets or animals? Well, there will be living humans on this new earth and I see no reason not to believe that they will have as well as need animals of all kinds that we know today. Here again scripture is vague. But, we the Raptured, will have no such need nor do I believe desire for them. Again, our purpose will be to serve our God in all that we will be doing for Him and the remanent of humans on earth. By the way, don't be looking for the pets you have or have had in heaven. When they died, being soul-less, their total existance came to an end. One last thing about animals. Eden was a place of total peace and safety for man and animal alike. With the garden sin that peace and safety was lost. Many who study such things, believe that peace will again be restored as in the days of Adam and Eve where the Lion will again lay down with the Lamb.

I did not take time to give you scriptures to back up my comments but, I will gladly do so if requested.
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