Suddenly.

Have you ever stopped to think how much control you have over your life? God presents us with options but ultimately, we get to decide how we want to live our lives. Last few weeks we have been talking about filling our lamps with oil so that our lives can burn with a holy fire that is pleasing to God.

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 says, “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

We get to choose how we want to live our lives. God has given us free will, so He won’t make that choice for us. Choosing to have oil in our lamp is choosing life, it is choosing blessing, and it is choosing to engage the promises of God in our lives. The opposite is also true.

In the last few weeks, we have mentioned how Jesus is coming back for His Bride. We also talked about how the Bride represents the Church. I am aware, however, that I have not gone into the details of how Jesus is coming back. What does it mean when we say Jesus is coming back?

The Bible talks about the second coming of Jesus in Revelations 19:11- 12 which says, “Then I saw heaven opened, and suddenly a white horse appeared. The name of the one riding it was Faithful and True, and with pure righteousness he judges and rides to battle. He wore many regal crowns, and his eyes were flashing like flames of fire. He had a secret name inscribed on him that’s known only to himself.” This verse is talking about the second coming of Jesus (Second Coming). I believe this happens much later than what I am referring to. What I’m talking about when I say Jesus is coming back for His Bride is something that happens in between now and the Second Coming which has been referred to as the rapture.

The word “rapture” is not in the Bible but it is derived from a Latin word which means to snatch away, carry away or transport. 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 says, “Listen, and I will tell you a divine mystery: not all of us will die, but we will all be transformed. It will happen in an instant —in the twinkling of his eye. For when the last trumpet is sounded, the dead will come back to life. We will be indestructible and we will be transformed. For we will discard our mortal “clothes” and slip into a body that is imperishable. What is mortal now will be exchanged for immortality.”

Jesus warns us that when this event happens, it will happen in an instant. It will happen suddenly and without warning.

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 says, “This is the word of the Lord: we who are alive in him and remain until the Lord appears will by no means have an advantage over those who have already died, for both will rise together. For the Lord himself will appear with the declaration of victory, the shout of an archangel, and the trumpet blast of God. He will descend from the heavenly realm and command those who are dead in Christ to rise first. Then we who are alive will join them, transported together in clouds to have an encounter with the Lord in the air, and we will be forever joined with the Lord. So encourage one another with these truths.”

Encourage each other with these truths. The rapture is all about hope and not despair. We are to take courage and get excited, ready ourselves and get expectant for our encounter with Jesus in the clouds! It is exciting! We are living our lives longing to meet with Jesus face to face and one it will happen and what a glorious day that will be!

1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinthians 15 both seem to be talking about people who are alive in their human bodies one moment and in the next moment are taken up to have an encounter with Jesus in the air and are instantly transformed. This is separate to Jesus coming back riding on the white horse.  These passages are talking about something other than the Second Coming. If the Second Coming is the end of life as we know it, it means the rapture will likely happen before the Second Coming.

As Christians, we do not concern ourselves about the timing of when things will happen, the timing belongs to God. There are different views on when the rapture will happen. All we know is that like the Second Coming, the rapture will happen suddenly and without warning so we have to be ready. We have to count the cost and choose life. Choose Jesus. Fill up with Holy Spirit oil and love and obey God.

I’ll leave you with this, Matthew 24:44 says, “So always be ready, alert, and prepared, because at an hour when you’re not expecting him, the Son of Man will come.”

Love and blessings,

Melissa Tsingano.