Caught Up

By Jerry D. Ousley

            Disagreement.  It seems that it is rampant these days.  We strongly disagree on politics.  At times we violently disagree on religion.  Wars have been fought over the centuries because of disagreement.  Lives have been tragically taken and lost all because two opposing sides can’t agree on what is right, or at least agree to leave each other alone and disagree.  Even those who are members of God’s great and glorious Church seem to disagree – On a lot of things, really.  But today I want to focus on just one thing and that is the catching up of the Church.

            I can’t think of a Christian group who does not believe that the day is coming when the Church will be taken up off this planet and translated to Heaven.  On that we do seem to agree.  We just can’t agree on when that will take place.

            Just to establish that this event is going to happen here are a few scriptures to support the catching up:

            John 14:1-3 tells us, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In 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.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

            Matthew 24:36-44 says, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

            1 Corinthians 15:51-56 explains, “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 incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.  O Death, where is your sting?  O Hades, where is your victory?’  The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.”

            And 1 Thessalonians4:15-17 tells us the order of how this will take place – “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”

            It is going to happen.  We could quote many more scriptures but these are very powerful.  Notice one thing that is common to them all; none tell us exactly when it will happen.  There are those who believe that it will occur before the anti-christ takes his seat of power and that we who are currently alive will be spared from the horror of his aftermath.  Then there are those who believe we will have to endure part of the persecution and before God pours His wrath out upon the Earth, we will be taken out.  Still, others believe it won’t happen until the very end.  That is where the disagreement comes in.  I too have my opinion and could go into a long discourse to prove my point, but I won’t do that, at least not in this article.  The key point isn’t when it is going to happen but that it will happen.

            There is only one way to make sure that when it does happen, if we are alive when it occurs, that we will be ready to leave this place and that is found in Romans 10:9-10 which reads, “… that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

            Do you believe?  I sure do.  I want to see you in the clouds with the Lord when it happens.  If you don’t believe, read these passages of scripture again, think long and hard, and pray about it.  Listen to what God speaks to your heart.  Then, if you believe, I’ll see you when we get caught up!

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.?  Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.