Immediately upon recording Christ’s message to the seven Revelation churches, the apostle John was called up into heaven. Here, in the Spirit, he would bear witness to a series of dramatic events leading up to the installation of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. John would share these details for our benefit in the remainder of the book of Revelation. This final book of the Bible completes the prophetic picture of Jesus Christ returning in His glory at the second advent.
John begins:
1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” 2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and someone was sitting on the throne. Revelation 4:1-2 (NASB)
“After these things” refers to “after the things of the church”. John had just recorded Christ’s commendations and corrections to His church on earth, as represented by seven fellowships in Asia Minor. The first three chapters of the book of Revelation reveal Jesus’ intense focus on His churches, recognizing their many contributions to Him and His kingdom, but also highlighting several major corrections that needed to be made in their congregations. These required changes also apply to our own churches today, and, in fact, to our own personal lives.
After these things, Jesus would focus on what must take place next, and this was no longer the church. The church would not be mentioned again until near the end of the book of Revelation, when it returns with Christ in glory at His second coming.
This observation has led many Bible commentators to believe that God was using John’s experience being called up to heaven as a prophesy, a parallel experience coinciding with the rapture of the church.
The rapture of the church is outlined by the apostle Paul in the first letter to the Thessalonians. Most theologians have no issue with this concept. But there is a huge disagreement among biblical scholars as to the timing of the rapture. Does it come before, during, or after the Great Tribulation of the last days, as prophesied by Jesus, Daniel, and many other Old Testament prophets?
To define it, what is the rapture?
The apostle Paul writes:
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore, comfort one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 (NASB)
At some point in the future, Christian believers living on earth will be “caught up” or raptured along with the faithful from times past to meet their Savior and Redeemer in the air. They, too, will hear the cry that John heard, “Come up here.” A big question for many is, “When will this take place?” We will take a closer look at some of the Bible passages that pertain to this query.
Reflection
It is beyond our ability to truly imagine what a spectacle it will be when believers are called up into the air to join with our Lord. The most important point is this: Be There!
We join in by calling on the Lord Jesus in faith, saying yes to His sacrifice on the cross for us and His resurrection from the dead. Just as He ascended into heaven two thousand years ago, all believers, past and present, will join Him there in our resurrected bodies, called up to be with Him at His glorious return.
Let us pray:
Heavenly Father, we thank You for loving us so much that Your beloved Son died in our place and rose from the dead, cleansing us from our sins and no longer holding them against us. In faith, we turn our will and our lives over to Your care, asking You to help us to follow Jesus and to be about the business of His kingdom. Help us to correct the things in our lives that need changing, and to approach You with clean hands and a pure heart. We ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Have a blessed and beautiful day in the Lord today!
