Day 1: The Gift…Flight via the Rapture
Read: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Wow! Can you get your head wrapped around this next event (gift to be unwrapped) on God’s calendar?
What a sweet gift of comfort and excitement! In 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, we are told this will occur with such rapidity that it will be “in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye.”
To better understand this passage, consider the following:
- This passage is written to believers.
- The assuredness of the rapture is as certain as the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord.
- We need not grieve the passing of fellow Christians as the world grieves, for we have this hope. Do we still grieve? Yes, but not at all like the world grieves who have no certainties to hold onto.
- We know the sequence of these events:
- The dead in Christ rise first. Their physical bodies reunite with their souls already in the presence of the Lord.
- Those of us alive will be caught up to meet them in the air.
- The Latin word for “caught up” is “rapturo” from which we derive our English word rapture.
- The trumpet call of God signals us home. We will without doubt hear our Lord’s call!
If this all seems a bit far-fetched to you, then it’s time to be reminded afresh of who your God is. He seems to love the outlandish and nothing is impossible with Him!
Challenge: Spend at least a few minutes today contemplating this exciting event soon to come! We will literally get to defy gravity and be gone! Because this could happen at any moment, is there someone who needs to hear the gospel today? Give them a call.
Prayer: Father, as the Day draws nearer, may I be found faithfully serving while expectantly listening for Your trumpet blast! I can’t wait!