Earlier this week, Ruth and I visited the cemetery where the remains of my parents, grandparents, and several of my aunts and uncles are buried. It was a bit sobering to reflect on their past lives now etched in bronze and marble. I know my parents (and a sister who died at age 3 before I was born) are with Jesus in Heaven, and I very much look forward to seeing them.

As for us, as weary saints who continue to traverse through this wicked and lawless world, there’s no greater joy amid our struggles and sorrows than looking forward to the astounding joys of Heaven. It will be a paradise that far exceeds even our most fanciful imaginations.

In 1 Corinthians 15:47-54, Philippians 3:20-21, and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, the Apostle Paul describes the event that we today refer to as the “Rapture.” It’s the time we receive our glorified bodies, meet Jesus in the air, and return with Him to glory, or Heaven (see Colossians 3:4). Even if you are young, strong, athletic, and in excellent health, the glorified body Jesus gives to you on that day will still be a vast improvement. If you are older like me… let’s just say I’m looking forward to my imperishable body, and not a day goes by when it doesn’t fill my heart with joyful anticipation of the future.

I often write about the signs of the rapidly approaching seven-year Tribulation, which are converging like at no other time in history. We surely live in biblical times. I cannot stretch my imagination far enough to conceive of a scenario that would change the course of this world and delay the rapidly approaching Day of the Lord.

My purpose here, however, is not to expound further upon the many reasons why we live in the season of Jesus’ appearing but rather to explain why it’s a cause for great jubilation regardless of our circumstances.

Jesus Is Coming Soon

In the past, some believed they knew the exact timing of the Rapture, and as a result, brought shame to the cause of Christ and turned many Christians away from the study of future things.

Today, many people make an equally serious mistake; they assume the Rapture will not happen in their lifetime and thus believe that nothing will alter the future course of their lives nor interrupt their many aspirations, both near and far. I’m not saying we shouldn’t make plans or have goals, but as the signs of the Lord’s return multiply, we must hold them loosely in our hands (see also James 4:13-17).

God’s Word tells us there will be a generation of believers alive at the time of Jesus’ appearing to take us to glory (1 Corinthians 15:51; 1 Thessalonians 4:17). The myriad of signs pointing to the nearness of the seven-year Tribulation indicate that we may be those who will meet Jesus in the air before we die. I dare say it’s likely for a great many of us; it’s the sole item on my bucket list.

How can we not rejoice at such a possibility?

Jesus is coming very soon! It’s because we don’t know the day or hour that we look for His appearing as though it could happen at any moment, just as He commanded us to do.

I know for many, the biblical event we refer to as the “Rapture” seems a bit scary, but please understand it will be the most wonderful and joyful experience you can imagine, and far better. Jesus has lovingly taken into account any apprehension we might have about this sudden interruption to our lives; we have no reason to fear.

Heaven Will Fill Our Hearts with Unbounded Joy

Is there any greater source of encouragement during these trying times than the exciting adventure that begins when we meet Jesus in the air? I don’t believe so.

Is it any wonder that Paul instructs us to “encourage one another with these words” after discussing the events associated with the Rapture? (1 Thessalonians 4:18; also 5:11). The promise of meeting Jesus “in the air” was to be a source of comfort and edification for Thessalonian believers. Today’s silence in so many churches regarding the Rapture tells me they no longer believe that Paul’s admonitions apply, but they are mistaken.

The Rapture will mark the beginning of our experience of Heaven, which will fill our hearts with boundless joy.

Below are some reasons for our blissful anticipation of eternity:

1. The surprising wholeness we will feel when we receive our amazing new bodies will long afterward remain a source of happiness and amazement. Jesus’ promise to give us glorious and immortal bodies should be shouted from the pulpits all across the land! Why do most pastors ignore one of the most wonderful truths they possibly could share with their people? It’s far more than sad.

2. Once in Heaven, our celebration and praise both before and during the Marriage Supper of the Lamb will surpass any thrill we have ever known on the earth. Our thunderous praise will rock Heaven (Revelation 19:6-10).

3. Our future reign with Jesus in His kingdom (Revelation 20:1-10) will be far more wonderful and satisfying than anything we have experienced on earth. Jesus will rule atop Mount Zion (Psalm 48:1-8); He will literally be high and exalted. Just as the angel Gabriel promised Mary, Jesus will sit on the throne of David (Luke 1:31-33). And as coheirs to His realm, we will rule with Him. Imagine spending time with the Lord in His majestic dwelling high atop this mountain.

4. We will dwell forever in the most beautiful city imaginable. The place Jesus is now preparing for us will be our home base during the Millennium and then throughout eternity. With our glorified bodies, we will travel back and forth with ease between the New Jerusalem and the millennial earth to fulfill our kingdom responsibilities.

I know how easy it is to become wrapped up in the things of this life and how difficult it is for many of us to imagine that Heaven will be far better than the best possible circumstances on earth (those of us in the U.S. perhaps struggle with this the most). The wonders listed above don’t even scratch the surface of the exuberant and thrilling joys of Heaven.

We will wonder why we stressed so much about things in this life.

The Warnings Are Everywhere

We live in the season of Jesus’ appearing to take His church home to glory. Please, please don’t make the mistake of assuming that the Rapture cannot happen today, this week, next month, this year, or next year. We live at a time when the convergence of a myriad of signs point to the soon arrival of the Tribulation and thus to our meeting Jesus in the air before it begins.

Longtime pastor and prophecy spokesman David Jeremiah recently warned that those who ignore the reality of Christ’s imminent return do so at “their own peril.” In his interview with The Christian Post, he also said this about the Rapture:

“There’s no excuse for us, if we read the Bible, to be surprised, because the Bible tells us that this is going to happen. There’s no sign of the return of Christ and the Rapture, but there certainly is a prediction of the kind of season it’s going to be…. I believe that Christians really need to stay glued to the Scripture and not get too far away from the truth because it’s pretty precarious right now.” ^[i]

I can’t keep up with all the warnings that abound in our day pointing to the rapidly approaching Tribulation. I don’t know how it could be possible for the Lord to give us more warnings of what’s about to happen than what He’s giving to us at this moment.

Yet so many believers remain asleep in a bubble of normalcy, deaf to the alarm bells ringing in their ears and blind to the signs given to them throughout Scripture. (For a deeper discussion of this, please see my post, How Can You Not See?) Sadly, a great many Christians are lulled into such drowsiness by “Bible-believing” pastors who promote the false veil of normalcy by proclaiming a message of “peace, peace” when it doesn’t exist (read Jeremiah 6:13-14).

As I look at the wickedness, violence, rampant deception, and extreme lawlessness in America, I’m certain that we live on borrowed time. God’s judgment on the country that I love is long, long overdue. Someday, perhaps very soon, the Lord will say “enough,” and sudden destruction will fall on America and the world, but only after He removes believers from the earth.

It could all begin on a day just like today.

Jesus is the Only Path to Heaven

If you are reading this and have not yet placed your faith in Jesus, please do so before it’s too late. Make no mistake, the Rapture will happen, and it will be followed by God’s fierce judgment on this wicked world, which the Lord fully describes in many of the Old Testament prophets and sums up in Revelation 6-18.

You don’t want to be on earth during this time of judgment that’s revealed on the pages of Scripture. Nor do you want to endure an eternity of woe apart from the Lord’s presence, which will happen if you ignore His gracious offer of forgiveness and eternal life. A monument in a cemetery means nothing if you don’t belong to the Savior.

Please see my post, Jesus is the Only Path to Eternal Life, for a full explanation of how you can know for sure that your sins are forgiven and that you will possess the sweet, thrilling, and joyous glories of Heaven once this life ends.

Please don’t delay; the urgency has never been greater. Jesus is coming for His Church very soon, and with it, the beginning of God’s judgment, which will shake the earth.

Please don’t fall for the lie that these things cannot begin this very day.

***

My books:

I provide a detailed defense of the Pretribulation viewpoint in: The Triumph of the Redeemed-An Eternal Perspective that Calms Our Fears in Perilous Times. A lifetime of defending the pre-Tribulation Rapture comes to life on the pages of this book. And you will understand my passion for warning people about what’s to come.

My latest one is Cancel This! What Today’s Church Can Learn from the Bad Guys of the Bible. The book is all about growing to maturity in Christ. The bad examples of these characters reveal the mindset we need for living at a time when the cancel culture dominates our culture.

Note: Please consider signing up for my newsletter on the home page of my website at https://www.jonathanbrentner.com/. Thanks!

[i] David Jeremiah as quoted on The Christian Post website at: https://www.christianpost.com/news/david-jeremiah-shares-how-christians-should-prepare-for-end-times.html

(There is a special message at the end of this article for those who might happen to read this and do not have Jesus in their life and are looking for peace and a way to better understand the present-day insanity and confusion.)

“About the time of the end, a body of men will be raised up who will turn their attention to the Prophecies, and insist upon their literal interpretation, in the midst of much clamor and opposition.” – Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727)

Over the last year or so, I have noticed that those of us who study and write about the relevance of Bible prophecy have been prompted, inspired, and even driven to get our message out as never before.

When I say “our,” I really mean the message of the Holy Spirit to appeal to the Church as well as the rest of the world, to wake up to the realities of the times in which we live.

Jesus made it clear that this message is much too important to be ignored.

“But He replied to them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?” (Matthew 16:2-3). Emphasis added by me.

In this, Jesus meant His appearance. The long-awaited Jewish Messiah prophesied in their own scriptures, in detail, was being fulfilled in their sight, and they could not discern it.

The principle warned of in (Matthew 16:2-3) still applies today.

Jesus will soon remove His Bride, and the world will be shattered by the sudden intervention of God in the rapidly deteriorating affairs of man, just as He has promised.

We, who endeavor to warn the world of God’s future prophecies, particularly those of us who hold to the Pre-Tribulation and the Pre-Millennial view, are frequently mocked, derided, and even excoriated by the unbelieving world.

That is understandable and not a mystery.

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).

Who are those who are being “saved”? Please see the “Special Message” at the end of this article.

Sadly, these descriptors: mockery, derision, and hostility even apply to many “pastors” and those who attend churches that claim to be “Christian.”

Why such derision and mockery, especially of the Pre-Tribulation view?

Because the Church, the True Church, is promised in prophecy to be removed from the earth in an event known as the Rapture prior to God’s execution of the judgments detailed in the Book of Revelation commencing in Chapter 4:1 – and we believe it!

We believe in the plain reading of and the literal meaning of God’s Word.

We believe that Jesus Christ paid the total and complete price for sin for those who not only believe in Him but also believe Him. Every single Word.

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33).

We believe that nothing further needs to be paid. Jesus paid it ALL! The Church has already been fully forgiven and purchased by Jesus through His death on the cross. There is nothing for the Church to “prove.”

As I see it, any need for the Church to be tried during any part of the Tribulation to prove it is “worthy” would constitute some sort of a form of “works,” and works save no one.

No one is “worthy” to be saved.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

We believe and understand the true focus of the 7-year Tribulation (The Time of Jacob’s Trouble/The 70th week of Daniel) has a specific purpose in refining God’s people Israel and to cause them to finally acknowledge their Messiah.

It is also the time that God will execute judgment on those who dwell on the earth (willful rejectors of God’s Grace through Jesus Christ).

We believe that the True Church, the Bride of Christ, stands in the presence of our Savior by His own command to “come up here” at the first verse of the fourth chapter of the Book of Revelation.

The reason for that is stated in Jesus’ own words.

“Because you have kept My word of perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of the testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who live on the earth” (Revelation 3:10).

It is because of this view (I believe the only view that is completely compatible with the entirety of God’s Word, both Old Testament and New) that most of this “clamor and opposition” has arisen.

The unbelieving world, by and large, mocks the Bible and those who believe it, but they do so by implementing a sort of “blanket” application of mockery as they do not know the Word of God, and they can’t understand it. They mock it out of willful ignorance.

“But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

But it is those who claim to be the church who carry the greatest burden of condemnation because they, if indeed they do read the Word of God, can understand it and believe it if they are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. It is He who enables understanding.

Sadly, there are many professing “Christians” who seldom, if ever, brush the dust from their Bibles and seek after God, even with half their heart.

“Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, Who seek Him with the whole heart” (Psalm 119:2).

Newton’s prediction appears to have been based on serious and sober study of the Word of God and his apparent awareness of the many “viewpoints” related to the future that were being propounded during the time he was engaged in his work on the subject.

I would not label him a “prophet,” as God’s prophecies ended with Jesus’ message to John on the Isle of Patmos, but I would consider him to have wisdom and knowledge through his diligent study of God’s word.

The Holy Spirit through the prophet Daniel revealed the following:

“But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase” (Daniel 12:4). Emphasis added by me.

We see this prophecy literally being realized today: both in terms of general knowledge and expanded understanding of prophetic clarity. What was once a little vague is now becoming crystal clear.

Once the Church (the True Church) is gone in the “blink of an eye,” the stark reality of scriptural Truth will poleaxe the unbelieving world.

This opposition to the literal understanding and accuracy of God’s prophetic message, both in the secular (unbelieving) world and, sadly, within much of the church, is markedly increasing.

“Clamor and opposition” are undeniably present during the approaching, “Time of the End” that we see all around us.

There are many articles and commentaries that are now widely available that soberly convey the lateness of the hour and the startling increase in the convergence of prophecy with worldwide events.

This “convergence” MUST take place – and it IS taking place.

Many unbelievers are and have been increasingly becoming aware that things are spiraling out of control, and normal seems to have become extinct.

It is not necessary for anyone who might be so inclined to exaggerate or sensationalize these events.

They are occurring.

The contemporary awakening of the Church (The True Church) to prophetic realities, in my opinion, began with Hal Lindsay and Carole C. Carlson’s now classic work, The Late, Great Planet Earth, published in 1970.

The Holy Spirit, in part through this book, awakened me when I first read it in 1993 as a new Christian believer. My desire to read and understand the promises of God was fueled, and from that time, I have never looked back.

Now to the crux of this article.

How many times have each of us found ourselves saying,

“Where has the time gone?”

“Wow, it’s Friday already! Where has the week gone?”

Time has a way of advancing without notice for most of us.

But it does indeed advance whether we notice it or not, and eventually, it culminates in whatever event(s) are on the horizon.

Have you ever been out for a walk and noticed some landmark “off in the distance,” but you may not have taken any special note of it; then, suddenly, you’re there.

It seemed it was a great distance away, until it wasn’t.

Whether you are a Christian or an unbeliever: ignoring God’s warnings conveyed in His Word or ignoring the “signs of the times” as they unfold have very serious and permanent consequences.

“For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

For the Christian, you will no longer be able to witness to the Truth of Jesus Christ and fulfill your obligation to Him.

You will never get another chance to tell family, friends, relatives, or anyone else about the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

For those who have rejected the Salvation paid on their behalf for their sins by Jesus: Eternal separation from the presence of God and all that means.

No Light, no Hope, only outer darkness and unending despair.

Whether you are a Christian or an unbeliever, I pray that you will be able to see the times for what they are and act accordingly.

By not choosing to respond to them, you will have chosen.

The special message I promised you:

For anyone who may read this article and has not trusted in Jesus Christ and therefore has no hope or peace in your life.

You can have hope. You can have the peace that Jesus has promised to all who have made Him their Lord and Savior. The peace that passes understanding.

It requires that you come before God on His terms.

And, what are His terms according to His Word?

• Genuine repentance (turning to God instead of continuing to reject or ignore Him).
• Confession of sins (that you are a sinner and acknowledge that to God).
• That you understand that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
• To acknowledge to God that you are unable to pay that debt.
• Belief that Jesus Christ paid your death sentence for you on the cross.
• To believe that Jesus is the Way, the only Way, that God has established by which humans may be saved from the consequences of their sin and rebellion.

God has made it absolutely clear that there is no one who comes before Him, under His terms, that will be refused.

• No one: no race, no color, no country of origin, regardless of any previous belief system: no one.
• No matter what your past sins have been, God can and WILL forgive you because He says He will.
• Salvation is available to everyone without any exceptions.

If you put all your trust for salvation in Jesus, and Him only, you can follow that prayer up by simply saying, “Thank you, Father God, for hearing my prayer and saving me,” because we can trust Him to keep His Word. He always has. He always will.

“Truly, Truly, I say to you that he who hears My words and believes the One who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned. He has crossed from death to life” (John 5:24).

There are no answers and there is no hope in the world by governments, organizations, politics or politicians. There is only lies and deception. But you can have the Truth and the peace you seek.

The answers are in the Word of God—The Bible. If you ask God, with all your heart, He will hear you.

“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

Pro Salvator Vigilans

To contact me: canoeman96@gmail.com