Isn't it funny (strange, not humorous!) the way things sometimes work out. If I hadn't left my laptop and "banana pouch" behind on that Monday morning, I would have been in my bed, fast asleep, at the time of the storms that I witnessed by having had to return to the home of my hosts, and then start my journey to my own home all over again! And, of course, if I hadn't witnessed the storm, I would have been unlikely to write three posts about the Rapture! "God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform;" as the 18th century hymn writer, William Cowper claims!
Anyway, we have considered that, at the Rapture, there is a departure that disciples of Jesus will make; there is a destination we will have; and, in this post, I want to share that there is a delight that we shall know.
“… we, who are still
living on the earth, will be swept up … into the clouds to meet the Lord in the
air. And, after that, we will be with
Him for ever.” (I Thess.4:17; J.B.Phillips).
Each of us, I am sure, knows the joy of being in the presence
of a loved one. It may be a husband, or
a wife; it may be a father, or a mother; it may be a brother, or a sister. It may well be that it is “just” a friend –
someone who is as close to us as our dearest relatives. For me, that person is my wife. And words alone cannot express my feelings
when I am with her – which is, I would contend, exactly as it should be! Sometimes, I think to myself: “Well, if I
experience such an intense happiness when I am with my wife, what’s it going to
be like when I am “with the Lord” which, Paul assures us, “is far better” (Phil.1:23)”?!
And I find that I can’t even begin to comprehend the intensity of that
delight! “The principal happiness of
heaven”, writes Matthew Henry, “is this: “to be with the Lord”, to see Him,
live with Him, and enjoy Him for ever”. (Commentary, I Thess., in loc).
But, as we think of the intensity with which we will behold
Him, we must also rejoice in the eternity for which we will be with Him. “we
shall be with Him – for ever.” Not
only do we have an intense delight in being with a loved one; we also, usually,
hate to have to tear ourselves away, to be parted from, that loved one. We might even go as far as to say that we
dread the very thought of separation – and, indeed, is not separation the main
factor behind our natural grief on the physical death of one to whom we were at
all close?! But this situation won’t
arise for the believer, when the Christ calls us to Himself. Because we are to be with Him for “the
eternity of eternities”.
Our feeble, finite, minds cannot even begin to grasp the
vastness of eternity (but it's dealt with, certainly to some extent, in my book "Great Words of the Faith"!).
Even “for ever” is too much
for us. Yet this is the way it will be
with Jesus. We will never be separated
from Him, if we truly belong to Him, and He to us.
And that is so important! You see, although it’s exciting to think of the Rapture of the Church - to think of the departure we shall make – the certainty of it, and the suddenness of it; to think of the destination we shall have – the Person we will meet, and the perfection we will gain; to think of the delight that we shall know – in the intensity with which we will behold Him, and the eternity for which we will be with Him. But if you are not "in Christ Jesus" and He is not in you, then that Rapture will only serve to show you that you have missed an amazing opportunity - and that you have only yourself to blame! I happen to believe that there will be those who will be saved during the period following the Rapture, but they will suffer terribly!
John records: "Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, clothed in white robes, and whence have they come?" I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night within His temple; and He who sits upon the throne will shelter them with His presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." (Rev.7:13-17; emphasis added).
Those who are saved during that time will have suffered - perhaps more than any others before them. so may each of us be ready for that trumpet-sound (I Cor.15:52), that we might avoid such persecution, and that ours might be that departure; that destination; that delight.