The Christian’s future is wonderful. We have been told that we should wait for the Rapture of the church. The word rapture means seizing and it refers to that momentous event when Jesus returns for his own.
Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory. . . Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord (1 Cor 15:51-58).
Paul told us that this is a mystery. A mystery in the New Testament differs from the mysteries of life. A mystery in the Bible is something that has been previously hidden, but now was revealed. A mystery Paul defined as, “. . . revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past (Rom 16:25).” The fact that the Messiah, the Christ, would return from Heaven to take up living believers with Him into the Heavens was not revealed in the Old Testament nor was it revealed clearly in the Gospels. It was implied in John 15:1-3; Christ said he would go away and create dwelling places in Heaven and he would return for us to take us there.
This hope of being taken from earth to Heaven is imminent, meaning it can happen at any time, so we can live in the expectation that our bodies will be changed to be like Christ’s resurrected, glorious body. We will meet our blessed Redeemer! We will be ushered into the presence of the Father where we can enjoy the relationships of Heaven. Nothing can improve on that.
