Jesus was the first to speak of the rapture

Not long ago, Cynthia and I enjoyed a quiet evening together. We were sipping some fresh-perked coffee, the house was unusually still, and we had no plans to go anywhere.

For some reason, our discussion turned to Christ's return. We chuckled at the thought of leaving the chore of cleaning out our garage for the folks left behind. We also smiled, contemplating the joy that will occur the moment Christ appears.

You may be surprised to hear this, but Jesus—not Paul—was the first to mention what Christians have come to call "the rapture." The night before our Lord died, He promised His disciples something they had never heard before:

"I am going to prepare a place for you . . . When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am." (John 14:2–3, emphasis added)

Don't you just love those words? "I will come and get you." This was the first time the Lord revealed the rapture—that moment when Jesus will return to take His followers to heaven. There will be the shout of the archangel, the sound of the eternal trumpet, and then the sudden departure of all believers, both dead and alive!

As my evening with Cynthia slipped away, I kept returning to the thought, He is coming back. What a difference it will make! It's remarkable how many things we take for granted that will suddenly be changed at the sound of that trumpet. It's also amazing how just thinking about His return can overhaul our scale of values. It has a way of smashing our temporal idols and shoving us back to the basics—doesn't it?

When was the last time you meditated on the fact of Christ's return for His own? Most of us are more oriented to the here-and-now than the then-and-there. But our Bible runs over with promises directly related to the return of our Lord. Critics have denied it. Cynics have laughed at it. Liberal scholars have ignored it. But there it stands, solid as a stone, soon to be fulfilled, ready to offer us hope and encouragement amidst our doubt and despair.

Okay, I'll just say it. So what? What difference does that coming day make for today—for right now? Here's the short answer: we live today to glorify Him—as if it were our last day. At the same time, we work diligently in our jobs and our homes for His Name's sake—as if He were not returning for decades.

No sooner had Jesus spoken of His return than frowning Thomas raised his hand:

"We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." (John 14:5–6)