Part of what I do in my spiritual life formation is watch YouTube videos on the Rapture and topics related to it. One of the most common videos being shared on social media are testimonials of dreams that people are having about the Rapture and the immediate and horrific events that will occur moments after this global event. These types of videos are two-fold in their content; on the one hand, they are encouraging in that being with Jesus in His kingdom is what believers long for. On the other hand, the dark and disastrous consequences of a world now void of the Holy Spirit restraining evil in it any longer is beyond description. One aspect focuses on the joy and elation that comes with being united with Jesus and all those who love Him; the other focuses on the terrors of a world where death is rampant and fear and trepidation are everywhere.
This is what is waiting everyone in this final hour; a choice. A choice to surrender to Jesus and receive His precious gift of salvation and eternal life with Him, or to reject Him and suffer the consequence of our unforgiven sin and selfish choices. People everywhere can feel the tension, they know something is off, they can sense that we’re about to experience a shift and that it will be as devastating for the unsaved and lost as it is a global event. On the flip side, believers who are truly watching for the Lord’s return can sense His nearness, that He is close, even at the very doors. (Matthew 24:33)
For way too many folks out there who are not as interested in honing in on their walk with Jesus (or lack thereof), they have chosen the god of entertainment and distraction to address this issue. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a brief vacation, a cruise, ship experience, a good movie, a concert, a nice meal, and even a good game from time to time; but never at the expense of my personal walk and relationship with Jesus. I take my Bible with me wherever I go. I can’t miss a day with the Master reading, praying, and spending time in His presence.
For those who are not as interested in this, distraction and entertainment is all that they have. Their effort to build wealth and security in a faltering global economy has thinned the insulation barrier that keeps them awake at night wondering what might happen if. or what will happen if not; or worse, what is already happening.
It’s human nature to look back on better days. Times when the shadow of the tribulation wasn’t so prevalent in our world. I am noticing a lot of YouTube/TikTok shorts that are projecting a trip back to the 80’s. I was a single man in my youth in the 80’s and I remember everything. The music, the times, the work, school, friends, the beach (I grew up in SoCal), and the socio and economic place that we (USA) had in the world. Our president was a cowboy, everybody was as young as they were healthy, and the hair was as big as the clothes were wild. In those days we were looking to the future with a hope that was withing reach of our abilities to work and pray for it; and we did, and the Lord blessed it. Today we are living in the fruit of that blessing; and as good as it is, even this is as temporary as the memories we tend to reach back for, for comfort.
I was watching a YouTube short that portrayed an older man, alone in his home with a storm outside. The lightning struck and immediately he was projected back through time to the 80’s where we was a high schooler in his bedroom. He came downstairs into the kitchen where his young mother and father were. She was at the sink and he was at the table reading the newspaper. She was calling for her son who came in, saw her, he said, ‘mom?’ and walked up to her and gave her a big hug. She asked if he had a bad dream. He looked at his father, and said ‘dad?’ He looked up from his paper at him, and then went back to reading. The caption said, ‘What if you could go back for a moment?’ And then it was over.
What we are looking at in these types of videos is what we call nostalgia. It’s, by definition, ‘a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one’s life, to one’s home or homeland, or to one’s family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time.’ It’s a money maker for song writers and film makers, especially in these uncertain and difficult times. While I can appreciate the sentiment of videos like these, I know that looking back doesn’t do it for a true believer in Jesus. Believers in Jesus can appreciate their past and those blessings that God gave them then, but what we are looking to is in our forward direction, not or rearview mirror, as it were.
Jesus said it this way, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62) He also told us to ‘Remember Lot’s wife.” (Luke 17:32) The context was to the OT passage in Genesis (Genesis 19:26) when God judged Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot, his wife, and two daughter were fleeing the city just prior. As Lot’s wife (let’s call her Karen) was fleeing, she stopped, and looked back. While the Bible isn’t clear as to her thought process, just her action, it is believed that she didn’t just look back, but began to go back, and was immediately turned into a pillar of salt. We can only speculate what she was thinking and doing at that moment, but what is clear is that her decision turned her into a table commodity.
The context of Jesus’ lesson here is that ‘whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.’ (Luke 17:33) The Lord then finishes up His thought by sharing what the moment the Rapture occurs will look like. ‘I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. 35 Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. 36 Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left.” (Luke 17:34-36)
Naturally Christ’ disciples asked the Lord where this would happen; to which the Lord answered, “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.” (Luke 17:37b) This is not so much a timing statement as it is a placement one. The word ‘wherever’ it not ‘whenever,’ but wherever. The Lord is telling us that His body will be gathered to the place where the eagles gather, the sky, the air, above the earth. He is telling us that He is going to lift His body, His Church, globally, off the earth and into the sky, at the moment of the Rapture.
Paul later would reiterate this by saying, “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. 17 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. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17
The key phrase is ‘in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.’ (vs.16d) While the world may be looking back at a better more nostalgic past, we believers in Jesus need to be looking forward to what is coming, and to Who is coming for us. I encourage you to not look back, but look forward, look up, for our redemption is drawing near.
Not only are things about to change, but they are changing already. While most people may want to stop what they’re doing and cease from their work, I would tell you to do just the opposite and to occupy, do business, and plan for your future here; it’s one of the best ways you can prepare for the Lord’s return.
For me, I prep, I work out regularly, I work hard at my job, and I take good care of my family and our home. I pray a lot and long for the Lord’s return, but I do not stop doing what He has called me to do. We’re late in the day, our time here is almost done, but there’s still work to be done for the Lord in what He has called us to do. Jesus said it this way, “I (We) must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” – John 9:4,5
In like manner, we too must be about the Father’s business, doing what He has called us to be doing in these last of the last days; because things are about to change. Don’t be discouraged that we have another day to serve the Lord in our prospective callings; rather, do your best to be your best as you do it. This in of itself will bestow a blessing upon you in both the ‘here and now’ as well, the ‘there and then.’ Jesus reminds us to “let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; 36 and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching.” – Luke 12:35,36
Keep looking up my brother (and sister) in the Lord. We need to be doing a good job in all those areas where the Lord has called us. Even if we stumble at times (and we will), we need to trust the Lord for our recovery, and get back into the race. Things are about to change, things are already changing, we must adjust and press on.
Maranatha!
Encourage Men 