On April 10, 1986, the famous Halley’s Comet reached its nearest point to the earth, called its perigee. Edmond Halley, after whom the comet was named, published a catalog on comets, in which he suggested that the comet would return approximately every 76 years, saying that it was in orbit around the sun and a member of the solar system.
“Words from Above” in the Bible tell us that there is a member of the universe who appeared on the earth over 2,000 years ago, namely God’s Son Jesus. He Himself came to earth in human form, and returned to His home in heaven forty days after His resurrection from the dead, and one day will come back, exactly the same way He left. Acts 1 tells us that He was taken up in a cloud, and two angels present at the time told His disciples that He would also return in the clouds. The exact timing of this return is still a mystery, and He said that only His heavenly Father knew when this would occur. The sole purpose of His return will be to gather His faithful followers up out of the earth in a special event called the Rapture.
II Thessalonians 2 speaks about this gathering of the Church, and warns that we should not be “shaken in mind or troubled” because it will be a glorious time for the saints of God. The apostle Paul gives us many details in I Corinthians about what will happen on the day of the Rapture when he speaks about what will happen to our bodies. He distinguishes between those who will be in the graves and those who will be alive at the time of the Rapture. He compares those who are in the graves to a seed that is sown in the ground that comes alive to produce a living plant, which in turn produces more seeds. The human bodies of the saints are sown as a natural body, he says, but they are raised to be spiritual bodies, like that of the glorified body of Jesus following His own glorious resurrection.
Paul then continues by saying that whether we are dead or alive at the time of the Rapture, we will all be changed, so that our former corruptible bodies will become incorruptible. He also says that our former mortal bodies will become immortal, and that it will all happen in the “twinkling of an eye”, a moment of time between one-tenth to four-tenths of a second, and will be accompanied by the sounding a trumpet. So, Jesus takes away the sting of death and gives His faithful followers victory over death.
Larry R. Steffee is pastor of the Center Hill Brethren In Christ Church on Miller Road in Smithville. Everyone is welcome to attend. For information, you may email lrsteffeetn@yahoo.com.
