RP3. God's Promise in the Mystery of the Rapture
Jesus can simply speak a word while seated on His throne to take His bride the church up to heaven. Why does He choose to return in the air to meet her there?
- (0 Comments)
Key Points
- The Rapture is Jesus' fulfillment of 4 promises He made.
- A picture of the Rapture is in the parable of the wise and foolish virgins.
- The Rapture is Jesus' fulfillment of 4 promises He made.
- A picture of the Rapture is in the parable of the wise and foolish virgins.
The Word
- "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." 1 Cor 15:51-52
- "So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself ... This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church." Eph 5:28,32
Description
THE RAPTURE IS THE LORD'S FULFILLMENT OF 4 PROMISES HE MADE
All that the Lord needed to do was to speak a command, and heaven and earth and everything therein was created (Gen 1).
Similarly, Jesus can remain seated on His throne and just speak a word, and millions of born again Christians will be immediately taken up to stand before Him in heaven.
So why does King Jesus WANT to step off His throne to appear in the air to meet His bride and take her home? (1 Thess 4:16-18)
- "God is not man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change his mind. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not fulfill it?" Num 23:19
Jesus made four promises in John 14:2-3.
- "In My Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 4:2-3
Jesus will get off His throne to meet His bride in the air in order to fulfill 4 Promises:
| Sno | Verse | Remarks |
| P1 | "In My Father's house are many mansions: ... I go and prepare a place for you" | Where is Jesus' "Father's house"? In heaven of course. Jesus ascended to heaven (Mark 16:19) to prepare the bridal home for His redeemed, collectively known as the Christian church. The bridal home is in heaven. |
| P2 | "I will come again" | We are informed by the angels in Acts 1:9-11 that Jesus "shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven." When we read the account of Jesus' ascension, His return in the Rapture will be His ascension in 'reverse'. |
| P3 | "I will come again and receive you unto Myself" | Jesus will come in person to receive His bride. When we tell someone, I will "receive" you for eg. at the reception or at the airport, we are stating that we will do so in person; it is also clear to the party being received to expect that person who said it to turn up and not someone else. |
| P4 | "In My Father's house ... I go and prepare a place for you ... that where I am, there ye may be also." | Where is Jesus? "In His Father's house" in heaven of course. Jesus' promise is pretty clear and straightforward. Where Jesus is, is where we will be after the Rapture, "the dead in Christ ... and we which are alive ... so shall we ever be with the Lord." (1 Thess 4:16-18) |
A PICTURE OF THE RAPTURE IN THE PARABLE OF THE WISE AND FOOLISH VIRGINS
In the parable of the wise and foolish virgins in Matt 25:1-13 the groom comes to take the bride to the bridal home built at his father's house. The bride and her bridesmaids has a rough idea of when the groom would appear and had to be ready for this guaranteed return. It is a return for the groom because approximately a year earlier, he had met his bride and she was betrothed to him. In Jewish customs, this was not just an engagement but a contracted marriage, mutually accepted by both bride and groom.
When Jesus used this parable to speak to His Jewish audience in Matt 25:1-13, He was illustrating a picture of Himself, the Son of Jehovah God and the Lamb of God, who will one day return to take born again Jews and Gentiles, collectively His bride the church (Rev 19:7-9) home to where His Father's house is.
The entire process from betrothal through to the marriage supper were the highlight of the Jewish community during Jesus' time. Generations of Jews had themselves witnessed and participated in such events and what Jesus was speaking was not strange or foreign, but would culturally resonate with his listeners.
Version 22.1.0
