Have you caught the news lately? It’s hard to ignore the feeling that the world has completely shifted gears; honestly, it feels a bit chaotic! If you’ve been thinking the same thing, you’re definitely not alone. We are a long way from the early 2000s. In your opinion, what’s the biggest difference between then and now, and what do you think triggered such a massive shift?

Let’s take a look at what the Apostle Paul warned Timothy would happen when this world would reach its near end:

2 Timothy 3:1-5  This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.  (2)  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,  (3)  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,  (4)  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;  (5)  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

Look at the world today: every single one of Paul’s warnings is manifesting simultaneously. We’ve seen these things throughout history, but never all together like this! I urge you to study these underlined words deeply. Dig into their definitions and observe how they define our current reality ‘to a T.’ I was surprised by how much I missed until I did the research—once I understood the true meanings, everything clicked into place.

It is an incredible time to be alive, especially when we look forward with joy to the return of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, to gather His Church! While the Rapture was a mystery hidden throughout the Old Testament, the New Testament reveals it with absolute clarity. We know it was a fresh revelation because the Apostle Paul, who always grounded his teachings in Old Testament Scripture, presented it as a new truth directly from the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:51-55  Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,  (52)  In 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.  (53)  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.  (54)  So 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.  (55)  O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul introduces an exciting ‘mystery’: the truth that not every believer will experience physical death, or ‘sleep’, before Christ returns. He explains that for those who have already passed away, death is only a temporary rest for the body. While their spirits are currently present with the Lord in Heaven, they are awaiting the final redemption of their physical forms. At the moment of the Rapture, these souls will descend with Jesus to be reunited with their bodies, which will be raised from the grave and instantly transformed into an incorruptible, glorified state suitable for the Kingdom of God.

2 Corinthians 5:6  Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:

In a ‘twinkling of an eye,’ Paul tells us, everything shifts. This isn’t just a spiritual update; it is a total physical makeover. Those who have died will be raised with bodies that can never again face death, while those living will be transformed without ever tasting death! But Paul doesn’t leave us guessing about the result. By letting Scripture explain Scripture, we see in verses 53 and 54 that this ‘change’ is our final victory over the grave. We are being “fitted” for eternity, trading our temporary, earthly ‘tents’ for permanent, spiritual bodies that are immune to disease, sin, and time. Hallelujah!

1 Corinthians 15:53-54  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.  (54)  So 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.

Why can’t our current bodies enter Heaven? I’ve heard it put this way: “They are perishable, and the eternal cannot be built on a foundation of decay.” Whether a believer is in the grave or alive at the moment of the Rapture, they carry a body corrupted by the fall of man. This corruption isn’t just physical aging; it is the spiritual reality of our sin nature inherited from Adam. Death is the proof of that sin. To step into eternity, we require a radical upgrade, a complete makeover, if you will. We must trade our sinful, dying flesh for a body that is ‘incorruptible’; a permanent, heavenly body that is no longer subject to the curse of death.

Romans 5:12  Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

The first sin didn’t just bring physical death into the world; it introduced spiritual death, a state of separation from God that affects every human being from the moment of birth. This reality is exactly why Jesus’ ministry was necessary. Because we inherit a sinful nature from Adam, we are naturally born on a path that leads away from God toward eternal judgment. However, the message of the Gospel is one of rescue: by placing our faith in Jesus Christ, we are ‘born again,’ effectively changing our eternal destination from separation to life everlasting with Him.

John 3:18  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 5:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Once a person is born again, that person will live eternally, whether he dies before the Rapture or is alive at the time of the Rapture. No corruptible body of sin can enter Heaven. The born-again believer has become part of the body of Christ, the Church/Bride, and at the Rapture, that body will join the Head of the Church, her Lord/Groom! Jesus Christ will not allow His own body, the Bride, to go through any part of the terrible Tribulation period. He calls her out of the world to join Him in the clouds so He can protect her from it.

That is the whole purpose of the Rapture! It is not to judge the church because Jesus took that judgment upon Himself.

Romans 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

If we are in Christ Jesus, then we are counted worthy because HE is worthy! Jesus Himself gave us a glimpse of this when He spoke of the end times in Luke 21:5-36. The key verse is:

Luke 21:36  Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

When Jesus mentions ‘all these things,’ He is pointing back to the entire sequence of end-times events He described from Luke 21:5 through 35. This comprehensive list covers everything from global upheaval to spiritual trials. Just as God established a pattern of rescue by shielding Noah from the Flood and leading Lot out of Sodom before judgment fell, He continues that pattern today. He provides a divine escape for His Church, His own Bride and ‘flesh and blood’, ensuring that those who belong to Him are protected from the coming wrath.

As we learned in the last post, the word Rapture doesn’t appear in the English Bible. The New Testament was initially written in Greek. It was translated from Greek into Latin from which the English translation came.

• The Greeks’ word for rapture was “harpazo”;
• when it was translated into Latin, that word was translated to “rapturo” which is where today we get our English word rapture;
• but when the word was translated into English, it was translated as “caught up.”

Paul tells us that this “Rapture” will occur in the twinkling of an eye. Our physical bodies will be changed into the same type of body that Jesus had at His resurrection. (Luke 24:36-39) When we receive this new body, we can then have what it takes to enter Heaven with Jesus. Be encouraged, reader!

It isn’t by chance that you’ve been called to live in these significant times. God has a specific purpose for your life, starting with the invitation to receive the gift of salvation today. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!