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Christians “Lifted Up” In Love
Adrian Rogers
Love Worth Finding
Yes,
that’s true.
But
neither will you find the Trinity by name in the Bible, nor the word mission
and a number of other terms we use to describe theological concepts clearly
taught in Scripture.
The
word “rapture” in Scripture is taken
from the Latin “rapio” for the two
words “caught up” used in 1
Thessalonians 4:17.
It
has come into popular use today to refer to the Lord Jesus coming for the
church, to lift her up into the heavens.
One
raptured is “lifted up” in love.
When
you are studying the rapture of the church, there are several things you need
to keep in mind.
First
of all, the second coming of Christ is in two parts, separated by a period of
seven years.
The
first part is sometimes referred to as the “Rapture” (1 Thessalonians
4:13-18, 1 Corinthians
15:52-58).
The
second part occurs when Christ physically, bodily returns to this earth on the Mount
of Olives from which He ascended.
The
interval between these two events, known as the Tribulation and Great
Tribulation, is divided into two, three-and-a-half year periods each. The
seventy weeks described in Daniel 9:24-27 speaks of this.
The Great Tribulation is the “wrath to come” from which the believer is delivered by the Rapture
(1 Thessalonians
1:9-10).
The
children of God, “because they have kept
the word of His patience, will be kept from that hour of trial.” (Revelation 3:10).
We
believe that the Scripture teaches that Christians will not be judged with the
world when God pours out His wrath in the day of the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 5:9 says, “God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord
Jesus Christ.”
Scripture
teaches us to look for the Lord’s return, not for the tribulation (1 Thessalonians 1:10 and Titus 2:13).
Jesus said regarding His second coming, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man,
no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only.”
We
should live like Jesus is coming today. It may be closer than we dare dream.
By Adrian
Rogers. © 2006 Love Worth Finding Ministries. Website. www.lwf.org.
Dr. Adrian Rogers, preacher/teacher of
Love Worth Finding Ministries, and one of America 's
most respected Bible teachers. Under his 32 years of pastoral leadership, Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis , TN ,
grew from 9,000 members in 1972 to more than 29,000.
Most
important to Dr. Rogers have been the tens and thousands of believers who have
had their faith strengthened and thousands of others who have for the first
time entered into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Dr. Rogers passed
away on November 15, 2005.
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