THE RAPTURE COMES NEXT
The Rapture Comes Next
Dr. J. Vernon McGee
Looking for that blessed hope,
and the glorious appearing
of the great God and our Savior,
Jesus Christ. (Titus 2:13)
If you are a believer today and are trusting Christ, you are next
on the program of God - as far as prophecy is concerned. I believe
it is tissue-thin between where we stand today and the Rapture of
the church. There are no signs, no Tribulation, no anything to be
fulfilled before Jesus takes the church out of the world. This does
not mean we know when He is coming, because that is something
that the Scriptures absolutely do not reveal. We cannot know the
day, the hour, the minute, or the "twinkling of an eye" when this
event will take place (1 Corinthians 15:52). But our attitude should
be that of "looking for that blessed hope" (Titus 2:13). The phrase
"looking for" is from a Greek word meaning "entertaining." It is
a glorious and delightful future prospect to which one would
look forward.
What do I mean by Rapture? To define the word very briefly,
the Rapture is the moment when Christ takes believers, which I
shall call "the church," out of the world. And that fits into a time
program that God has put down, because He moves in a very orderly
manner. I believe that next on the program of God comes the
Rapture when He will take the church out of the world. Then after
that I believe there will be a time of Great Tribulation, which is
concluded with the return of Christ to the earth to set up His kingdom.
This has been labeled "the Revelation" - and I feel accurately
so, because the Book of Revelation deals with the Great Tribulation
and the coming of Christ at the end of the Great Tribulation to
establish His kingdom. You can see that this is a very orderly program
that God is following.
There are those today who deny the Rapture because they say it
is a term that is not used in the Bible. Their argument is that the
Bible, therefore, does not teach the Rapture. Well, I ...
Dr. J. Vernon McGee
Looking for that blessed hope,
and the glorious appearing
of the great God and our Savior,
Jesus Christ. (Titus 2:13)
If you are a believer today and are trusting Christ, you are next
on the program of God - as far as prophecy is concerned. I believe
it is tissue-thin between where we stand today and the Rapture of
the church. There are no signs, no Tribulation, no anything to be
fulfilled before Jesus takes the church out of the world. This does
not mean we know when He is coming, because that is something
that the Scriptures absolutely do not reveal. We cannot know the
day, the hour, the minute, or the "twinkling of an eye" when this
event will take place (1 Corinthians 15:52). But our attitude should
be that of "looking for that blessed hope" (Titus 2:13). The phrase
"looking for" is from a Greek word meaning "entertaining." It is
a glorious and delightful future prospect to which one would
look forward.
What do I mean by Rapture? To define the word very briefly,
the Rapture is the moment when Christ takes believers, which I
shall call "the church," out of the world. And that fits into a time
program that God has put down, because He moves in a very orderly
manner. I believe that next on the program of God comes the
Rapture when He will take the church out of the world. Then after
that I believe there will be a time of Great Tribulation, which is
concluded with the return of Christ to the earth to set up His kingdom.
This has been labeled "the Revelation" - and I feel accurately
so, because the Book of Revelation deals with the Great Tribulation
and the coming of Christ at the end of the Great Tribulation to
establish His kingdom. You can see that this is a very orderly program
that God is following.
There are those today who deny the Rapture because they say it
is a term that is not used in the Bible. Their argument is that the
Bible, therefore, does not teach the Rapture. Well, I ...
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