The Mystery of the Rapture: Luke 21:25-28
““25) There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26) men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27) Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28) But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”” Luke 21:25-28
Without forcing the text, this might fall into Revelation 14. This chapter has the first mention of the Son of man coming on a white cloud and being visible by the nations. (See Revelation 14:14) He has a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in hand.
This appearance of the Son of man coming creates chaos and mayhem on earth. He is coming to shake up the powers of the heavens and pour out wrath on the earth.
Ephesians 2:2 and 6:12 pulls the mask off the prince of the power of the air. In this text, Jesus is coming on the clouds to interrupt the end time grip of the kingdom of darkness over the world.
It seems that midway through the tribulation, the table is turned on the anti-Christ. Jesus begins to judge, reap and shake up Satans end time systems and control over the earth.
This will be welcomed as a sign of hope and redemption by the saints living through the tribulation period. According to Revelation 13:7, the dragon has been aggressively making war against the saints on the earth.
So, this forces the obvious question, “When does the rapture take place? “The answer is: “I honestly don’t know!” It is not mentioned in Matthew or Luke, nor can it be clearly found in the book of Revelation.
The concept of a rapture is built on 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18. I do not take the concept lightly. A “calling away” seems to happen, but the timing is a mystery. The word “rapture” is not found in the Bible.
One reason why the rapture concept may be absent from the books Mathew and Luke is that Jesus was addressing the nation of Israel and not the church. Jesus was describing events as they will unfold from the perspective of Israel.
The mystery of the absence of a clear rapture in the book of Revelation is more difficult to explain. I have read and studied the book of Revelation hundreds of times and listened to it audibly many more times. Two facts stands out; 1) Satan makes war against the saints (Revelation 12:17, 13:7, 14:12-13) and 2) there are many martyrs.
Some place the rapture in Revelation 7:9-17 where there is a great multitude standing before the throne and the Lamb. I am open to this view, but verse 14 says “these are the ones who come out of the great tribulation .” Again, we are left with a mystery.
As you might surmise, I do not have a dogmatic view of the rapture. This is a terrible concept to argue and fight about. The Bible doesn’t clearly mention it and yet we are willing to divide the church over it! Satan enjoys this futile battle among Christians.
My passion is to love, serve and worship Jesus while focusing on the Great Commission and let Him be Lord of the end times. They will unfold exactly as the Father has planned.
I do know people are very unsettled right now and many are searching for answers. The church needs to rise up and seize the moment to intentionally and aggressively spread the gospel. These are exciting days on the front lines of world evangelization!
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
Sent from my iPhone
““25) There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26) men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27) Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28) But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”” Luke 21:25-28
Without forcing the text, this might fall into Revelation 14. This chapter has the first mention of the Son of man coming on a white cloud and being visible by the nations. (See Revelation 14:14) He has a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in hand.
This appearance of the Son of man coming creates chaos and mayhem on earth. He is coming to shake up the powers of the heavens and pour out wrath on the earth.
Ephesians 2:2 and 6:12 pulls the mask off the prince of the power of the air. In this text, Jesus is coming on the clouds to interrupt the end time grip of the kingdom of darkness over the world.
It seems that midway through the tribulation, the table is turned on the anti-Christ. Jesus begins to judge, reap and shake up Satans end time systems and control over the earth.
This will be welcomed as a sign of hope and redemption by the saints living through the tribulation period. According to Revelation 13:7, the dragon has been aggressively making war against the saints on the earth.
So, this forces the obvious question, “When does the rapture take place? “The answer is: “I honestly don’t know!” It is not mentioned in Matthew or Luke, nor can it be clearly found in the book of Revelation.
The concept of a rapture is built on 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18. I do not take the concept lightly. A “calling away” seems to happen, but the timing is a mystery. The word “rapture” is not found in the Bible.
One reason why the rapture concept may be absent from the books Mathew and Luke is that Jesus was addressing the nation of Israel and not the church. Jesus was describing events as they will unfold from the perspective of Israel.
The mystery of the absence of a clear rapture in the book of Revelation is more difficult to explain. I have read and studied the book of Revelation hundreds of times and listened to it audibly many more times. Two facts stands out; 1) Satan makes war against the saints (Revelation 12:17, 13:7, 14:12-13) and 2) there are many martyrs.
Some place the rapture in Revelation 7:9-17 where there is a great multitude standing before the throne and the Lamb. I am open to this view, but verse 14 says “these are the ones who come out of the great tribulation .” Again, we are left with a mystery.
As you might surmise, I do not have a dogmatic view of the rapture. This is a terrible concept to argue and fight about. The Bible doesn’t clearly mention it and yet we are willing to divide the church over it! Satan enjoys this futile battle among Christians.
My passion is to love, serve and worship Jesus while focusing on the Great Commission and let Him be Lord of the end times. They will unfold exactly as the Father has planned.
I do know people are very unsettled right now and many are searching for answers. The church needs to rise up and seize the moment to intentionally and aggressively spread the gospel. These are exciting days on the front lines of world evangelization!
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
Sent from my iPhone
