Daily Devotional
Is this word in the Bible?
September 12, 2018
BIBLE MEDITATION:
For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. 1 Thessalonians 4:16
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
A time of great trouble is coming upon the world. In Matthew 24:21, Jesus called it “great tribulation.” This terrible period will last seven years and comes just before Jesus’s return to earth to reign. It will be a time of tyranny and persecution. All nature will be out of joint, demon spirits will infest the world, and the Anti-Christ will rule.
But before the Tribulation, the Church will be raptured out. What about that word, “rapture”?
Did you know the word “rapture” isn’t in the English translation of the Bible? But the word “caught up” is, and that’s what “rapture” means. Rapio or rapturo are Latin words describing the “catching away” of the Church on earth just before the Tribulation. The Greek word is harpazo (“to snatch or take away”). It’s used other places in the Bible. For example, Luke used it to describe how the Spirit caught up Philip and took him to Caesarea (Acts 8:30). Paul used it to describe being “caught up” into the third heaven (2 Cor. 12:2-4).
Paul says we who are alive at the time will be “caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:17). It’s clear he means actual “catching up” or removing people from earth to Heaven.
ACTION POINT:
Do you look for His coming? Long for His coming? Do your loved ones know what “the rapture” means? Why not ask them what they think this next week and open the door for a candid discussion about the future?
FOR YOUR GIFT TO THE MINISTRY
Front Porch Moments by Gayle Foster
WITH KEY INSIGHTS FROM HER FATHER, ADRIAN ROGERS
I try to unplug each morning with Jesus with just my rocking chair, my Bible, and a pen.
Having a secret place is very important because I know that Jesus is always there waiting for me. I know where I can find Him! His presence is everywhere, but there are places where it is so thick you can cut it with a knife. You may not even have a front porch, but there is a secret place for you as well. God’s invitations are for anyone who will respond. There is no more important request than the one found in Psalm 27:8: “My heart has heard You say, ‘Come and talk with Me.’ And my heart responds, ‘Lord, I am coming.’”
