Christians are to be “looking for that Blessed Hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). Since the Second Coming of Christ is a time of great mourning by the inhabitants on the world (Rev 1:7) “the Blessed Hope” cannot possibly be a reference to that event. So this verse is about the Resurrection/Rapture which applies exclusively to those who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb (Rev 1:5).
No one can properly understand the significance of the Resurrection/Rapture (which for all practical purposes is one glorious event) until and unless that person understands what salvation is all about. Salvation does not stop with justification by God’s grace through faith, but continues with sanctification by the power of the Holy Spirit, and glorification by the power of Christ Himself (Romans 8:29,30). That is the only way that Christians will become "kings and priests".
We need to understand that when God saves a sinner, His ultimate plan is to transform that person into “the image of His Son”. Which means perfection of body, soul, and spirit. And it is only Christ who can perfect His Bride so that she is without spot and without blemish. Thus we have the truth about the Resurrection/Rapture. The Resurrection (which is the “First Resurrection”) is for the perfection and glorification of the saints who have passed on and are now in Heaven awaiting their immortal bodies. The Rapture (or “catching up”) of the saints who are alive at that time is for the perfection of these saints, so that they can enter Heaven in their glorified bodies. All of this is in preparation for the Marriage of the Lamb, which takes place just before the Second Coming of Christ with His saints and angels.
It is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself who presented the doctrine of the Rapture just before His crucifixion. We read in John 14:1-4: Let not your heart be troubled: ye 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 unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
What does this passage mean?
1. Let not your heart be troubled means that you are not to connect the Rapture with the Tribulation (the Time of Jacob’s Trouble). For the apostles, it also meant that they were not to be troubled by the betrayal and crucifixion of Christ. That was all a part of God's plan of salvation.
2. Ye believe in God, believe also in me means that Jesus is God therefore this a a revelation from God Himself. Those who say that Jesus never claimed to be God are willfully blind and willfully ignorant.
3. In my Father's house are many mansions means that since Heaven itself is God the Father’s house, Jesus is speaking about magnificent mansions in the heavenly city New Jerusalem. This city is a cube of 1,500 cubic miles. Therefore there is room enough for a trillion saints.
4. If it were not so, I would have told you means that Jesus cannot possibly mislead us since He Himself is the Truth. Every word of God is pure, and He is a shield unto them who put their trust in Him (Prov 30:5).
5. I go to prepare a place for you means that Jesus was absolutely certain that He would be crucified, rise again from the dead, and ascend back to Heaven in order to prepare a home for the saints. That was a guarantee since God knows the end from the beginning.
6. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself means exactly what it says. Christ will come personally for His Bride and receive her to Himself personally. He will not delegate angels to gather the saints, but He will personally summon them with a shout, while the archangel Michael blows his trumpet to summon the saints to Heaven. This is called “the last trump” or “the trump of God”, and has absolutely nothing to do with those seven trumpets which herald divine judgments and damnation in the book of Revelation.
7. That where I am, there ye may be also means that Christ is indeed in Heaven, and the eternal home of the saints is also in Heaven. Those mansions are within the New Jerusalem, which also has within itself the Paradise of God. This is a city whose Builder and Maker is God, and Abraham was already given a vision of this city before the apostle John.
8. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know means that the apostles were fully aware that Christ would ascend back to Heaven, and that the way into Heaven was exclusively through faith in Christ and His death, burial, and resurrection. Thus Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
This one passage should suffice to fully establish the doctrine of the Resurrection/Rapture, but the naysayers will not believe even though one rose from the dead.
No one can properly understand the significance of the Resurrection/Rapture (which for all practical purposes is one glorious event) until and unless that person understands what salvation is all about. Salvation does not stop with justification by God’s grace through faith, but continues with sanctification by the power of the Holy Spirit, and glorification by the power of Christ Himself (Romans 8:29,30). That is the only way that Christians will become "kings and priests".
We need to understand that when God saves a sinner, His ultimate plan is to transform that person into “the image of His Son”. Which means perfection of body, soul, and spirit. And it is only Christ who can perfect His Bride so that she is without spot and without blemish. Thus we have the truth about the Resurrection/Rapture. The Resurrection (which is the “First Resurrection”) is for the perfection and glorification of the saints who have passed on and are now in Heaven awaiting their immortal bodies. The Rapture (or “catching up”) of the saints who are alive at that time is for the perfection of these saints, so that they can enter Heaven in their glorified bodies. All of this is in preparation for the Marriage of the Lamb, which takes place just before the Second Coming of Christ with His saints and angels.
It is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself who presented the doctrine of the Rapture just before His crucifixion. We read in John 14:1-4: Let not your heart be troubled: ye 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 unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
What does this passage mean?
1. Let not your heart be troubled means that you are not to connect the Rapture with the Tribulation (the Time of Jacob’s Trouble). For the apostles, it also meant that they were not to be troubled by the betrayal and crucifixion of Christ. That was all a part of God's plan of salvation.
2. Ye believe in God, believe also in me means that Jesus is God therefore this a a revelation from God Himself. Those who say that Jesus never claimed to be God are willfully blind and willfully ignorant.
3. In my Father's house are many mansions means that since Heaven itself is God the Father’s house, Jesus is speaking about magnificent mansions in the heavenly city New Jerusalem. This city is a cube of 1,500 cubic miles. Therefore there is room enough for a trillion saints.
4. If it were not so, I would have told you means that Jesus cannot possibly mislead us since He Himself is the Truth. Every word of God is pure, and He is a shield unto them who put their trust in Him (Prov 30:5).
5. I go to prepare a place for you means that Jesus was absolutely certain that He would be crucified, rise again from the dead, and ascend back to Heaven in order to prepare a home for the saints. That was a guarantee since God knows the end from the beginning.
6. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself means exactly what it says. Christ will come personally for His Bride and receive her to Himself personally. He will not delegate angels to gather the saints, but He will personally summon them with a shout, while the archangel Michael blows his trumpet to summon the saints to Heaven. This is called “the last trump” or “the trump of God”, and has absolutely nothing to do with those seven trumpets which herald divine judgments and damnation in the book of Revelation.
7. That where I am, there ye may be also means that Christ is indeed in Heaven, and the eternal home of the saints is also in Heaven. Those mansions are within the New Jerusalem, which also has within itself the Paradise of God. This is a city whose Builder and Maker is God, and Abraham was already given a vision of this city before the apostle John.
8. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know means that the apostles were fully aware that Christ would ascend back to Heaven, and that the way into Heaven was exclusively through faith in Christ and His death, burial, and resurrection. Thus Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
This one passage should suffice to fully establish the doctrine of the Resurrection/Rapture, but the naysayers will not believe even though one rose from the dead.
Thank you so much for that. It is refreshing to see someone who simply believes the Scripture instead of trying and shoot holes through it by calling everything that doesn't suit they fancy a "mistranslation."