Snatched Away

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. —1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17

One day Jesus is coming for His church; He’s going to catch us up. He is going to take us by force out of this world. This “snatching away” is known as the rapture. Some people ignorantly argue against the idea of the rapture, declaring that the actual word “rapture” doesn’t even appear in the Bible. But the Greek word harpazo is translated in the King James Version as “caught up.” The word means “to be taken away by force or by power.” In translating from Greek into Latin, the Latin Vulgate version uses the word raptus, and the word rapture is a transliteration of that word.

**God wants us to live in constant, minute-by-minute readiness for His return.

When the rapture happens, it is going to take us by surprise. “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Luke 12: 40). The day is coming soon. With a shout, He will say, “Come on up!” And we who are alive and remain will be caught up, snatched up, taken by force out of this sin-cursed world.
Are you ready for this magnificent event?

Father, thank You for the glorious hope of the blessed appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Help us to live in such a way that we are ready when the moment comes. Amen.