The old adage states,
"Whatever goes up must come down." But the One who created gravity can and has
changed that rule more than once, allowing a few individuals to defy gravity by
going straight to heaven in past generations. The grand finale is around the
corner; I can't wait! How about you? Will you be a participant?
For example, the
Scripture tells us, "Enoch lived 365 years, walking in close fellowship with
God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him" (Genesis 5:23-24).
Then, there was the prophet, Elijah; "And as they {Elijah and Elisha} still
went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the
two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven" (2 Kings 2:11). Jesus
ascended into heaven forty days after His resurrection from the dead. At His
ascension, we are told, "He was taken up into a cloud while they were watching,
and they could no longer see him. … 'Men of Galilee, why are you standing here
staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he
will return from heaven the same way you saw him go!'" (Acts 1:9-11).
All these men went up
individually, defying gravity! They didn't come down as the adage tells us. But
defying gravity is about to change from individual situations to a multitude
going up simultaneously; remember, the grand finale is around the corner! The
Scripture tells us Jesus will return to escort His children home to heaven; He
will come from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel,
and with the trumpet call of God (see 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
Jesus will not land on
the earth, but with that commanding shout, many things will happen
simultaneously: dead believers will resurrect in their new bodies, believers
living at the time will change instantly--the mortal putting on immortality,
and together with the resurrected, we will all meet Jesus in the air, and go up
to heaven. What a wonderful day that will be! We will be with Him forever;
gravity will not be able to hold us back or bring us down.
I am looking forward to
that day with excitement because we'll see Jesus and our loved ones from the
earth face to face. We will say hello to the streets of gold, the pearly gates,
and the mansions that have been prepared for us. We'll leave sin, death,
injustice, chaos, and all the headaches of life behind. Heaven will be so
beautiful, peaceful, and full of rejoicing; we will wonder how we ever survived
on earth all those years.
Although the grand
finale is around the corner, no one knows when; the Scripture says, "No one
knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in
heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows" (Matthew 24:36). Although we
don't have details of the event date or time, we are admonished to live right
and expectantly. The world is not our home; we are just passing through it on
our way to our eternal home--heaven. Let's be in a constant state of readiness
because we won't have time to get ready when the trumpet sounds. In Jesus' parables,
He illustrated the dangers of not staying on guard, for instance: the five
foolish virgins who didn't have enough oil for their lamps when the bridegroom
arrived and the master who didn't know when the thief was coming (see Matthew
25:1-13; Luke 12:39). He ended that illustration with, "You also must be ready,
for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect" (Luke 12:40).
His return, therefore,
will be unannounced and could take us by surprise unless we are waiting and
watching.
But how do we stay
ready? First, make sure our names are written in the Lamb's book of life.
Second, live in obedience to God's Word and not live in sin. Third, stay in
fellowship with the church and use our gifts to help each other grow in
godliness. And finally, get busy with soul-winning; too many people have
already perished! Let's make godliness and soul-winning a priority as we look
expectantly for our Lord's return. (See 2 Corinthians 13:5; Revelation 20:15;
James 1:22; Hebrews 10:24-25; Matthew 28:19-20).
"He who is the faithful
witness to all these things says, 'Yes, I am coming soon!' amen! Come, Lord
Jesus!" (Revelation 22:20).
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