Beloved brethren and sisters in Jesus Christ, may peace and grace be multiplied unto you from Him who lives eternally — our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. In Him are fulfilled all the greatest and most precious promises of God the Father, so that through them we might become partakers of the divine nature; in Him we also have this hope of sharing in the coming glory that the Father has reserved for all the saints. May reign, power, glory, and wisdom belong to Him alone throughout all the ages. Amen!

Since its birth on the Day of Pentecost until the present day, the Church of Jesus Christ has been awaiting the fulfillment of one of the greatest and most precious promises made by its Head, Jesus Christ: the Rapture of the Church. It was upon this promise that the primitive Church — the early Christians — was so firmly anchored that it became their very reason for living, for they earnestly believed that the Lord would return to take the Church during their own lifetime. Yet, while awaiting the fulfillment of this wonderful promise, fewer and fewer Christians in these end times — in these few remaining years before the coming of the Son of Man, the Prince of Peace — hold fast to it any longer. In other words, a great many Christians in these last days no longer believe in the promise of the Lord; they no longer even believe in His return — hence the apostasy.

And yet we so quickly forget that the Lord does not delay the fulfillment of His promise. What He says, He always fulfills. Beloved, the purpose of this message is to demonstrate that the Rapture of the Church will most certainly take place — and very soon; that it is not a myth; that the promise is real, truly real.

Before examining the promise made by the Lord Jesus Christ concerning His return and the Rapture of the Church, I invite you, my beloved, to examine with me the passage of 1 Peter 1:3–5, 10–13.

1 Peter 1:3–5, 10–13

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ¹⁰Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: ¹¹Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. ¹²Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. ¹³Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ ;

Beloved, the salvation ready to be revealed in the last time, which the Apostle Peter mentions in verse 5, is directly linked to the appearing of Jesus Christ — that is, this salvation can only be revealed on the day when Jesus Christ returns in all His glory. In other words, this Salvation can only be revealed through the rapture of the righteous. This is the same Salvation that the Apostle Paul, in Romans 8:19, chose to call the manifestation of the sons of God, which the whole creation is waiting to behold.

What is truly remarkable in this passage from 1 Peter is that the early prophets who lived before us had made this Salvation — this promise — the very object of their inquiry and investigation, going so far as to search out the appointed time. What does this mean? It means simply that these prophets believed in this Promise of the Lord more firmly than we do; they were more determined to search out this promise of the Rapture of the Church than we are. And yet it is to us — Christians of the last days — that this Promise has been reserved. By this we understand that these men of God had greater faith in the Rapture than we do.

What is even more astounding in this passage is the fact that the angels of the Lord also desire to look into this promise — that is, even they wish to understand the glory hidden behind this promise of the Rapture of the Church. Do you now realize how great, how precious, and how glorious this promise of the Rapture of the Church truly is? If these angels of the Lord attach such great importance to this promise, how much more the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who is its Author? I leave you to answer that.

Let us now turn our attention to the promise of the Lord. We begin by reading John 14:1–4.

John 14:1–4
¹Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. ²In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. ⁴And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

In this passage, we see the Lord Himself — during His earthly ministry — speaking to His disciples of His return, and therefore of the Rapture of the Church. He makes them the promise of going to the Father in heaven, preparing a place for us there, and then returning to take us. Brothers and sisters, do you think that God is a liar? Do you think He can repent of the promises He has made? Do you think that God can be mistaken about certain things? Let us read Numbers 23:19 and Isaiah 55:11.

Numbers 23:19
God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

Isaiah 55:11
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Beloved, the Rapture of the Church is truly real, and Jesus Christ is coming very soon to take His Church. Let us complete this passage from John 14 with Acts 1:9–11.

Acts 1:9–11
⁹And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. ¹⁰And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; ¹¹Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

Brothers, if we believe that Jesus Christ has ascended into heaven to the Father, let us also believe that He will return in the same manner to take us.

Why should we firmly believe that the Lord will return to rapture His Church? Because in the past He had already taken up righteous men unto Himself. Let us therefore examine these various instances of rapture.

The first example of rapture is that of Enoch. Let us read Genesis 5:22–24 and Hebrews 11:5.

Genesis 5:22–24
²²And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: ²³And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: ²⁴And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

Hebrews 11:5
By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

The second example is that of the prophet Elijah. Let us turn to 2 Kings 2:9–11.

2 Kings 2:9–11
⁹And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. ¹⁰And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. ¹¹And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

To these two examples may be added the rapture of the two Witnesses, which will take place shortly before the Rapture of the Church. Revelation 11:3, 7, 11–12.

Revelation 11:3, 7, 11–12
³And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. ⁷And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. ¹¹And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. ¹²And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

Brothers and sisters, if the Lord raptured Enoch in ancient times, will He not rapture His Church in these last days? If the Lord raptured Elijah the prophet, will He not rapture His faithful servants? If the Lord will resurrect and rapture the two Witnesses, will He not also resurrect the dead in Christ and rapture them (1 Corinthians 15:22–23)? Beloved, Jesus Christ does not change (Hebrews 13:8) — what He did yesterday, He will do today also. The return of the Lord and the rapture of the saints are real, and they are coming very, very soon. Why not believe in the promise of the Lord? Why allow yourselves to be shaken by the mockings and scoffings of this world? Why give heed to the perverse philosophies and doctrines of this world that would have us believe that the Lord of glory, Jesus Christ, will no longer return? Know this, my beloved: if you do not have the faith of the Rapture, you will never be raptured; for even Enoch, the first to be raptured, was raptured by faith.

Hebrews 11:5
By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

My beloved, the Rapture of the Church concerns not only the living who remain until the coming of the Lord, but also those who die in Christ — those who die while remaining faithful to the Word of the Lord, those who keep the testimony of Jesus Christ unto their death. It is these dead in Christ who will be caught up on the day of the coming of the Son of Man. The Bible bears witness that when Christ appears, it is first these dead in Christ who will rise, and we, the living, will be joined together with them to ascend into the air to meet the Lord of lords, Jesus Christ. Let us read 1 Thessalonians 4:13–17.

1 Thessalonians 4:13–17
¹³But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. ¹⁴For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. ¹⁵For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. ¹⁶For 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: ¹⁷Then we which are alive and remain shall 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.

Let us therefore hold fast to this hope: that if we die in Christ before the Rapture of the Church, we shall be raptured; for as the Word declares, if we believe that Christ died and rose again, let us also believe that He will raise up His dead on the Day of His coming.

John 6:40
And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

If it is only in this present life that we believe in Jesus Christ, then we are of all men most miserable, declares 1 Corinthians 15:19. Let us read this passage beginning at verse 16 through verse 23.

1 Corinthians 15:16–23
¹⁶For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: ¹⁷And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. ¹⁸Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. ¹⁹If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. ²⁰But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. ²¹For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. ²²For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. ²³But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

Those who die in Christ before the Rapture of the Church can therefore be reassured that they will first be resurrected and then caught up into the air to meet the Bridegroom. Blessed already, therefore, are the dead in Christ. Be comforted!

1 Corinthians 15:39–44
³⁹All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. ⁴⁰There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. ⁴¹There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. ⁴²So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: ⁴³It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: ⁴⁴It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

Beloved, know that on the day we ascend to meet our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in the air, we will no longer bear these corruptible (fleshly) bodies; for the Lord, the Almighty God, will clothe each one of us with a new body — what we call the Glorified Body. Whether the dead in Christ or the living, all will be clothed with this Glorified Body. As we have just read, it is an incorruptible body — like the body Adam possessed before his fall; it is an immortal, glorious, radiant body. In a word, it is a spiritual body. After the Rapture of the Church, we will be called to live eternally at the side of God — but with our present mortal and corruptible body appointed for destruction, this is impossible. Therefore we will all be changed in order to meet the Bridegroom. This mortal body will put on immortality; this corruptible body will put on incorruption; this present natural body will become spiritual.

1 Corinthians 15:51–54
⁵¹Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, ⁵²In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. ⁵³For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. ⁵⁴So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

In short, remember this, my beloved: at the Rapture of the Church, we shall be like the angels.

Matthew 22:30
For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.

May the Lord bless you!