Looking Forward

By Pamela Rose Williams

“For 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: Then 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.” — 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

This is the blessed hope of every Christian. That rapture (catching up) of the saints when they are called to be with the Father in heaven. It will be a glorious day when we hear the voice of that archangel and the trump of God. It doesn’t matter what we are doing. We that believe in the gospel of our salvation will be called home. The earth will be missing many people and as some of the movies illustrate, there will be utter chaos as key positions are void of people.

I’m gonna be one of those called home that day. I know this because the Bible tells me that when I believed the truth of the gospel of my salvation that I was “sealed unto the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30). When I believed the truth the Holy Spirit was given to me as a promise … “the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession” (Ephesians 1:12-14). That means I received salvation and it is mine until the day that Jesus comes back to get me. Now I may be “dead in Christ” (gone from this earth) or I may be one of those whom are still “alive and remain”. No matter what my physical state, I am with the Lord spiritually. I like how Paul looks forward to his reunion with Christ:

Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) (2 Corinthians 5:5-7)

Paul is confident that since God promised eternal life to those that believe (through the earnest of the Spirit) that He will do exactly as He says He will do. When we are “in Christ” we have the cross behind us and we look forward to our reunion with Jesus. It is a blessed hope and a great thing upon which to meditate.

Things to think about and do:

1. Do you look forward to the future with confidence? Find one Bible verse that says you can know what the Bible teaches is true.

2. Are you ready to meet Jesus? Find a verse in the New Testament that says Jesus died for us even though we are sinners.

3. Do you doubt your eternal security? Do a Bible study on “eternal” and “everlasting” life.

Related passages to study: Romans 8:12,15; Galatians 3:29; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-8