Rapture Fever!

Idea:Take heart that you are united to Christ now and forever.

Intro: This passage has receive a lot of attention in recent years because it has been used to teach a curious doctrine called the Rapture. Those who hold to this curious teaching say that Jesus will “rapture” his church up and away from the earth prior to some period of judgment and tribulation. Such teaching has led to speculation about men and women snatched from every day life in the midst of, say, driving their cars, flying airplanes, performing surgery, etc. leaving cars to crash, planes to fall from the sky, and so on.

I'm going to dismiss such confusion and speculation without much discussion by locating the rapture at the end of history, at Christ's second coming. But at the same time, I want to contend against what I've found to be the rapture mentality. That mentality seems to be a confidence not in Christ and our union to him that addresses life now and in eternity, but the rapture mentality seems to be one of just holding on until Jesus raptures you out of trouble. Such a view approaches suffering as defeat and leads to a hesitancy to take up your cross daily to follow Christ. Instead, Paul said to those in the midst of suffering, comfort one another with these words.

1. The Lord Himself will descend from heaven.
2. His descent will be marked by a mighty noise.
3. The dead shall be raised.
4. The so-called "rapture" will take place.
5. The resurrected dead and the living believers will be reunited with Christ.
6. "An thus we shall always be with the Lord."
7. "Comfort one another with these words."