John didn't refuse to answer. He told them clearly. John 1:19-23.

 I am writing to people who have been taught poorly or were taught falsehoods, and some errors are intentional. I will include myself in this next weakness within the Christian community, and that is that WE do not nor will not pick up the Bible and read it. I can speak bluntly about this because I had to make a hard decision to fix this weakness in myself. In 2007 I started a job with early work hours, so I would give myself an extra hour before work to go to McDonald's, eat breakfast and read my Bible. So many people whimper about where they should start reading; I have suggestions, but there is a better time or place. I needed to know who God was and what His character was like, so I started with Matthew's gospel, where I saw His Son, Jesus, and slowly worked my way through the New Testament. Every day brought questions and challenges, and I wrote them down as I asked God my hard questions, all of which got answered.

I never spent a tremendous amount of time focused on John the Baptist.

The NASB entitles this next section, The Testimony of John the Baptist.

We covered a couple of details about John the Baptist in my previous post. In terms of teIn my previous post, we covered some details about John the Baptist. In terms of temperament, and I am imagining here, I perceive a touch of sanguine because he is outgoing and, to a degree, social. The other trait that I see is choleric. I say this because John comes across as short-tempered and irritable, much like the Apostle Paul (who may well be one of those being sent to verbally accost him.) He had, by the way, called them a den of vipers. 

Now apply the personality traits that we can only assume to the following few verses where we see John in action.

“This was John’s answer when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?””
(John 1:19 GW)

• “The Jews sent priests.”

We are not told who did the sending as even within the priests and council members, there was a hierarchy. I can see leaders sending lower-ranking members to go and challenge the man they obviously perceive as acting as though he is replacing them. However, John may not have felt that way.

If what I said seemed odd to you, think about this incident.

“Very early, while it was still night, Yeshua got up, left, and went away to a place in the wilderness; and there He was praying. Then Simon and those with him hunted for Yeshua. And when they found Him, they said to Him, “Everybody’s looking for You.” He said to them, “Let’s go somewhere else, to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also—this is what I came for.” And He went throughout all the Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and driving out demons. A man suffering from a dreaded skin disease came to Jesus, knelt down, and begged him for help. "If you want to," he said, "you can make me clean."(GNB) .” Moved with compassion, Yeshua stretched out His hand and touched him. He said, “I am willing. Be cleansed.”
(Mark 1:35-41 TLV & GNB)

There was no doubt that Jesus could heal, but to be cleansed was what the priests did, and apparently, religion was corrupt enough to demand payment for the procedure where you were reintroduced back into the community. So this man asked Jesus to heal him and pronounce him cleansed. But, if you follow the narrative, Jesus sternly warned the man to keep his mouth shut about Jesus pronouncing him clean. He knew this was a boundary that would feed into a deadly fight with the Pharisees. Considering that John's daddy was a priest, they knew who John was.

“When Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the division of priests named after Abijah. Zechariah’s wife Elizabeth was a descendant of Aaron.”
(Luke 1:5 GW)

Their question had no politeness connected to it. It is more of a challenge, similar to who do you think you are. The other side of this coin is that Jesus' own disciples, and several of them left John to join Jesus, did not understand that He was the Messiah, as they were looking for a warring messiah that would free them from Roman oppression, etc. This misconception stayed with them until they were filled with the Holy Spirit in the upper room after Jesus left the earth.

“John didn’t refuse to answer. He told them clearly, “I’m not the Messiah.”
(John 1:20 GW)

Adam Clarke wrote: “John renounces himself, that Jesus may be all in all.” Really, at this point, John is enjoying some freedom, but the day is coming after denouncing the actions of Herod."

“For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip,”
(Matthew 14:3 TLV)

John is close to death, so he sends some of his disciples to Jesus to do what?

“Now when John heard in prison about the works of the Messiah, he sent word through his disciples and said to Yeshua, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”
(Matthew 11:2-3 TLV)

““What then? Are you Elijah?” they asked him. “I am not,” said John. “Are you the Prophet?” “No,” he answered.”
(John 1:21 TLV)

• Are you Elijah?

  The answer is NO.

• Are you the prophet?

  Just a touch on the repetitious side. Wasn't Elijah a prophet? Yes, he was, and NO he never died because God took him, and this piece of evidence sort of mandates that Elijah must physically die. 

John told them straight out, I am not Elijah. Then who is this other prophet? Adam Clarke says this is the prophet spoken of by Moses, Deuteronomy 18:15,18.

“Instead, he will send you a prophet like me (Moses) from among your own people, and you are to obey him.”
(Deuteronomy 18:15 GNB)

I had no idea that Moses was a prophet.

“I will send them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will tell him what to say, and he will tell the people everything I command.”
(Deuteronomy 18:18 GNB)

This line, “I will tell him what to say, and he will tell the people everything I command,” says much about the character of Jesus.

“He will speak in my name, and I will punish anyone who refuses to obey him.” (Deuteronomy 18:19 GNB)

Every word that Jesus spoke was focused on the instructions of the Father, no matter how random those words may have seemed.

“So they said to him, “Who are you? Give us an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
(John 1:22 TLV)

I am not sure it mattered what the answer was; no matter how ridiculous, it just needed to quell the angst of the Jewish leadership. 

“He said, “I am ‘the voice of one crying in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of Adonai,”’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
(John 1:23 TLV)

The words that stand out in my mind are the same that I chose for my blog.” Why did I choose that? Because I felt, and still feel, like I am sharing God's voice and no one is listening. Someday soon, they will hear. 

It is never too late to make straight the way of Adonai, as long as you have breath in your lungs.

Grace and truth were realized through Jesus. John 1:15-18.

 “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1:4-5 NASB)

Some need to know information.

As I pointed out in a previous post, when you begin reading the gospel of John, you need to keep it straight in your mind who the passage is referring to. In verse four above, John is speaking about Jesus, but we only know that because of the definitions John gives us. In verse 15 below, John, the baptizer, tells people about Him. The Him, in this instance, is Jesus.

If you were to watch the series “The Chosen,” you would notice that it takes liberties with what we understand about Jesus; they have to as they merge several months of Jesus’ three-year ministry into a show that lasts a little over an hour each week.

When Mary came to Elizabeth, John the Baptizer was a four-month-old fetus, and he leaped in her womb. We were told that John received the Holy Spirit at this point, but there is nothing to substantiate that assertion.

"When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she cried out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! "And how has it happened to me that the mother of my Lord would come to me? "For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy."
(Luke 1:41-44 NASB)

So John is only a few months older than his step-cousin Jesus, and yet John eventually makes this extraordinary declaration about Jesus.

“John told people about him. He said loudly, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘The one who is coming after me is greater than I am because he was living before I was even born.’”
(John 1:15 ERV)

The NASB used the word “testified” to indicate how John spoke to those who came to hear him. Testify is the Greek word marturéō, meaning to bear witness to the truth of what one has seen, heard, or knows. The series “The Chosen” portrayed John as being rather direct and outspoken. For someone of this character to be loud would not surprise me.

“But when he (John the Baptist) saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”
(Matthew 3:7 NASB)

If these religious rulers were coming to John, submitting to the baptism that he was performing, then they apparently did not see him as a joke or some animated but entertaining radical.

Doesn't it make you wonder what this baptism represented to them?

It should be because Jesus submitted to John's baptism, and the oddity of Jesus indicating that he was fulfilling the law. In all my years of warming a seat in church, I never heard of or saw baptisms in the Old Testament.

“Then Jesus *arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?" But Jesus answering said to him, "Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he *permitted Him.”
(Matthew 3:13-15 NASB)

So, what was Jesus talking about?

It might be best to back up to an explanation of why John was baptizing.

“John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people were coming and were being baptized--for John had not yet been thrown into prison. Therefore there arose a discussion on the part of John's disciples with a Jew about purification.” (John 3:23-25 NASB)

The passage tells us that John was baptizing. This is the Greek word baptizo and means to immerse, submerge, or saturate. The first two options tend to indicate that there was a complete submersion. The general idea was that submersion was a rite of purification, a cleansing of the heart from sin. A huge clue comes from John 3:25, where John's disciples were having a "discussion" with a Jew about purification. Why would Luke bring this up, adding this conversation into the context, unless it carries some weight in the discussion?

Purification is the Greek word katharismós, and "it actually refers to the process of purification, the sacrifice of purification." (WSD)

Interesting how our life in Christ is based upon faith in Jesus Christ alone. Everything beyond that could potentially fall into the category of works. If I were to try to understand the statement “the process of purification,” I might do well to perceive this as part of the sanctification process. I am always reminded of the thief on the cross. He was afforded no water immersion, nor did he go through some over-embellished sanctification class, and yet what did Jesus reply to the man? This day you will be with me in paradise. Jesus, in those moments, sanctified the man because of the depth of his conversation, which most of us miss.

With the knowledge that Jesus was sinless (He was NOT born of tainted human blood, this is why God had to make a fertilized egg and have a virgin girl carry that egg as a surrogate.) There should have been no reason for Jesus to cleanse himself; He had no sin. (Scripture tells us this;) But, we can see that few understood or believed that He was God, God's son, so He had to in order to quell the voices of tradition.

Baptism would have to have been pulled from the Torah and, therefore, might be a reference to Ezekiel 36:25. I include verses 24 and 26 as they create a time frame and a context, which I think applies to the Spirit of God.

“For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
(Ezekiel 36:24-26 NASB)

Leviticus gives us several references, but they all pertain to blood, and it is a broad-spectrum cleansing. One in particular, Leviticus 14:5-7, conveys that they were to sprinkle the blood on the “one who is to be cleansed from the leprosy and shall pronounce him clean.” I would not say that this represents why Jesus came to John.

The book of Numbers might provide the reasons Jesus got baptized.

“Take the Levites from among the sons of Israel and cleanse them. "Thus you shall do to them, for their cleansing: sprinkle purifying water on them, and let them use a razor over their whole body and wash their clothes, and they will be clean.”
(Numbers 8:6-7 NASB)

In church, we rarely hear that Jesus was of the lineage of Levi, but Luke's gospel traces Jesus backward and, therefore, shows Him to be a descendant of Levi, one of Aaron's relatives.

“When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,”
(Luke 3:23-24 NASB)

The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is our high priest. A few examples of this priesthood.

Hebrews 2:17 "Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people."

Hebrews 3:1 "Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession;."

Hebrews 4:14,15 "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15)For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin."

Hebrews 5:10 "...being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek."

Numbers 19:13 tells us that anyone who touches a corpse.

“... and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from Israel. Because the water for impurity was not sprinkled on him.”

So far, I do not see a direct relationship between water baptism and a release from sin, but let's try one more.

“Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom. Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”
(Psalms 51:2-7 NASB)

Psalms 51:2-7, written by David, helps to make that connection, so it may have been an Old Testament understanding that immersion with water is part of the cleansing of sins. Again, Jesus had NO sin, but the humans He had to deal with did not know that.

A few more verses that pertain to cleansing by water. Leviticus 11:32; Leviticus 12:7-8; Leviticus 13:6.

Moving on with our study of John's gospel.

John 1:16 GNB)  “Out of the fullness of his grace he has blessed us all, giving us one blessing after another.”

The NASB reads: “For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.” This makes no sense to me.

Pastor John MacArthur says that John 1:16 “...emphasizes the superabundance of grace that has been displayed by God toward mankind...”

“For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.” John 1:17 NASB 

• Consider the phrase, “grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.”

History tells us that John wrote this gospel between 80 and 90 A.D. That would mean that John’s memories were only 50 to 60 years old. Compare this with “the writings of Plato” (born 428, died 347 BCE) that were written over a thousand years after his death. 

• “The ‘Clarke Plato’, the oldest manuscript (discounting papyrus fragments) for about half the dialogues of Plato, was written by John the Calligrapher in 895 CE for Arethas the deacon, originally a native of Patras, who later became archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia.” https://www.worldhistory.org/image/10818/dialouges-of-plato/

Realized is the Greek word ginomai. The King James concordance indicates 456 occurrences of ginomai; 88 were translated as came, and 63 were translated as done.

Would applying the word came to John 1:17, where it says realized, make sense?

Let’s see. “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” It works, especially if you consider all that Jesus did for you. The cross stands out as monumental when you think about Jesus. The word done is not as effective.

If I look up the word ginomai in the Word Study Dictionary, there is an extensive listing. 

• To come into existence;

• to be created, to be born,

• produced, grow, to arise, come on,

• occur, as the phenomena of nature,

• to be appointed, constituted, established,

• to come to oneself, to recover from a trance or surprise.

The first entry in this list stands out to me, not because there was no grace in the Old Testament, but because it certainly wasn’t as notable. Paul’s writings on grace were the game changer, but you have to remember that Paul only had the Old Testament – and that was by what he retained in the synagogue and a direct revelation from Jesus that came to him on the road to Damascus or the years that he spent at the base of Mount Sinai.

“grace and truth came into existence through Jesus Christ.”

I could take this literally and say there was NO grace until the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Let's finish this dive into John's gospel with verse 18.

“No one has ever seen God; but the one and only God, in the Father’s embrace, has made Him known.” (John 1:18 TLV)

The God's Word translation says it this way.

“No one has ever seen God. God’s only Son, the one who is closest to the Father’s heart, has made him known.”

Known or explained, as the NASB conveys, is the Greek word exēgéomai. Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary tells us that it means to be a leader; to detail, to set forth in language; to tell, narrate, recount, Luk_24:35; Act_10:8; to make known, reveal, Joh_1:18; Act_15:12; Act_15:14; Act_21:19.

The substitutionary word or phrase that best fits in John 1:18 as it tells us that Jesus has revealed the Father to us is to make known.

“but the one and only God, in the Father’s embrace, has made Him known.”

Jesus said, when you have seen me, you have seen the Father. Having been raised to believe that God was an angry God, just waiting to punish me severely for my sins. Thank you, Jesus, for taking all our sins to the cross with Him, and I want to thank the producers of the Chosen as they have shown us a Jesus that can laugh, dance, and cry; because of this, I have been able to see the Father as one that can, at least, laugh and cry.

Passages that speak to the rapture of the Church.

 In a recent conversation, I was told by a person who also spent a tremendous amount of time attending church, as I did, that they can see very little in scripture that tells us of a rapture of the church. They said that if there is a rapture, they don't expect it to happen for another fifty years. What makes this even worse is that I had a brother in Christ and a pastor tell me to relax as they could not see Jesus returning for His bride anytime soon.

I responded to the rather one-sided conversation by saying every prophetic event, up to this point, has been fulfilled, and all the events needed to make these things happen have exploded on the scene so quickly that there will be no stopping or slowing this process down. And we have a group called the World Economic Forum, run by Klaus Schwab and many rich, powerful, demonically motivated egomaniacs who desire to eliminate commoners. You are blinded by the enemy if you cannot see this in the scriptures.

Even as this person was talking to me, my head and heart were telling me that I needed to gather the information that validates that the church will be caught up to meet Jesus in the air and forever be with Him; and that the Bible is filled with passages that affirm that He is coming back for us, which has a secondary benefit as we are removed from the wrath that will quickly hit the earth. On that note, I did NOT include Noah and his family, who were told to get into the ark, and then scripture tells us that God closed the door. The other example or type is Lot and the fiery destruction of Sodom, Gomorrah, and several other cities. At one point in that narrative, the angels had to grab Lot and his family because they could do NOTHING until Lot was moved to safety – just as we, the church, will be.

With that, let's dive in, starting with Daniel, as he wrote extensively about the time we have been experiencing.

"But you, Daniel, keep this message a secret. You must close the book and keep this secret until the time of the end. Many people will go here and there looking for true knowledge, and the true knowledge will increase." (Daniel 12:4 ERV)

The question you should be asking is, is this speaking of when the church gets snatched away, or is it meant for the moment, seven years later, when Jesus comes back as the warring Messiah?

If it is intended to convey the moment Jesus returns on the white horse in Revelation 19, you have to ask, what has been going on up to this point? The time of wrath has been a non-stop onslaught of death at the hands of humans, weather changes that kill the plant life, death by starvation, death by plagues – both natural and lab-made, sky-born objects poisoning the rivers and oceans– making the waters undrinkable and fish life die.

Here in Revelation 3, the moment when the wrath is unleashed is called “the hour of testing” and does not exclude the other descriptives, such as day or week = 7 years.

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

Matthew 24 alerts those looking for Jesus to return for His bride that a multitude of signs will take place. Well, all those things have taken place; seeing Israel as the fig tree is one of those.

(Matthew 24:32-35 MKJV) “Now learn a parable of the fig tree. When its branch is still tender and puts out leaves, you know that summer is near. So you, likewise, when you see all these things, shall know that it is near, at the doors. Truly I say to you, This generation shall not pass until all these things are fulfilled.”

Another of those alerts tells us that “This generation shall not pass until all these thing are fulfilled.” The NASB conveys it this way “this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.”

1 Thessalonians 5 points out that we (believers) are not in the dark and therefore have an awareness of what is coming and approximately when.

(1 Thessalonians 5:1-5 MKJV) But of the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that I write to you. For you, yourselves, know accurately that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety! Then sudden destruction comes on them, as travail upon a woman with child. And they shall not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness, that the Day should overtake you like a thief. You are all the sons of light and the sons of the day. We are not of the night or of darkness.

The day will come like a thief in the night. How does the thief in the night function?

By sneaking around in the darkness, undetected. But Christ's return for His church is NOT like a thief, nor will those who are looking for Him be caught off guard. Why? Because we ARE NOT in the darkness, because the light became a part of who we are.

When I try to convey that we should be able to tell when Jesus is coming back, I am met with the “out-of-context” garbage that says, “no man knows the day or the hour.” This was said to Jews in a language that was completely knowable to them and had everything to do with seeing the moon, which indicated the new month. Even though there had to be witnesses, cloud cover could obscure the sighting to the point that an arbitrary announcement would have to be declared. Can't you see that even this has variables involved in it, just picking the winners of the World Series of baseball or how many games they will play?

Matthew 13:10- 13 MKJV) And the disciples said to Him, Why do You speak to them in parables? He answered and said to them, Because it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them. For whoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance. But whoever does not have, from him shall be taken away even that which he has. Therefore I speak to them in parables because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not; nor do they understand.

There is no doubt that Jesus was here and returned to the Father. His promise to us is John 14:1-3.

John 14:1-3 (KJV) Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2)  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. 3)  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

1 Corinthians 1:7 tells us that we are waiting for Christ to come again. For us, He will meet us in the air.

“This proves that what we told you about Christ is true. Now you have every gift from God while you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to come again. He will keep you strong until the end so that on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ comes, you will be free from all blame.”
(1 Corinthians 1:6-8 ERV)

Raised incorruptible, we shall be changed.

“I’m telling you a mystery. Not all of us will die, but we will all be changed. It will happen in an instant, in a split second at the sound of the last trumpet. Indeed, that trumpet will sound, and then the dead will come back to life. They will be changed so that they can live forever.”
(1 Corinthians 15:51-52 GW)

In his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul writes.

“There are many who live like enemies of the cross of Christ. I have often told you about them. And it makes me cry to tell you about them now. The way they live is leading them to destruction. They have replaced God with their own desires. They do shameful things, and they are proud of what they do. They think only about earthly things. But the government that rules us is in heaven. We are waiting for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from there. He will change our humble bodies and make them like his own glorious body. Christ can do this by his power, with which he is able to rule everything.” (Philippians 3:18-21 ERV)

To the church at Colossae, he wrote.

“Yes, Christ is now your life, and when he comes again, you will share in his glory.” (Colossians 3:4 ERV)

1 Thessalonians tells us about Jesus coming to save us from God's wrath.

“People everywhere are already telling the story about the good way you accepted us when we were there with you. They tell about how you stopped worshiping idols and changed to serve the living and true God. And you began waiting for God's Son to come from heaven—the Son God raised from death. He is Jesus, who saves us from God's angry judgment that is coming.” (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 ERV)

We are the prize set forth by those who have gone before that will fill the heavens with joy when we see Christ at His return.

“Who is our hope, joy, or prize that we can brag about in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Isn’t it you? You are our glory and joy!” (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 GW)

1 Thessalonians 4:14-18 ends with, “And so we shall ever be with the Lord, Therefore comfort one another with these words.” This is our hope. I, based upon God's promises, place my hope in the fact that the rapture is coming quickly. Because of the proximity of further deadly actions against humanity and the church, I personally think we are down to mere months of survivability. There are several reasons I feel so strongly about our coming demise, and all of them are based on common sense and the fulfillment of prophecy.

There is NO hope in fear, and the Apostle Paul wrote his second letter to the church in Thessaloniki to bolster the information he had already given them and to encourage them to hold on to faith and the hope that he had informed them of. The reality of that church body is that they all died and are already in heaven with the Father. The point is that WE never give up hope.

Brothers and sisters, we don’t want you to be ignorant about those who have died. We don’t want you to grieve like other people who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and came back to life. We also believe that, through Jesus, God will bring back those who have died. They will come back with Jesus. We are telling you what the Lord taught. We who are still alive when the Lord comes will not go ⌞into his kingdom⌟ ahead of those who have already died. The Lord will come from heaven with a command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet ⌞call⌟ of God. First, the dead who believed in Christ will come back to life. Then, together with them, we who are still alive will be taken in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. In this way, we will always be with the Lord. So then, comfort each other with these words! (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 GW)

It is wrath that is coming.

“For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 NASB)

2 Thessalonians chapter 2 has several paragraphs committed to our departure and the onslaught of the antichrist once we are gone. Unfortunately, very few translations use the word departure, as the Geneva Bible does. The state church of England got involved over 100 years after the publication of the Geneva Bible, as people were leaving the Catholic church. For this reason, the Catholic church ordered the King James Version to be changed to reflect their anger and dismay over people turning their backs on God and the church. Therefore, the terminology was changed from departure to apostasy to manipulate people into repentance.

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a departing first, and that that man of sin be disclosed, even the son of perdition,” (2 Thessalonians 2:3 Geneva)

That departure is our being called back to Jesus, and the thing that is coming is the antichrist. The church has to be removed before he will be disclosed. We will never see him.

“I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,” (1 Timothy 6:13-14 NASB)

2 Timothy 4 speaks of that day.

“I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:” (2 Timothy 4:1 NASB)

This crown of righteousness only happens at the Bema seat, and that seems to be integrated into that day.

“in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
(2 Timothy 4:8 NASB)

Titus speaks of the day.

“instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,” (Titus 2:12-13 NASB)

He is coming for those who eagerly await Him.

“so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.” (Hebrews 9:28 NASB)

Be patient as you await.

“Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains.” (James 5:7 NASB)

Your faith will be found tested on that day.

“In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;.”
(1 Peter 1:6-7 NASB)

When He appears, you are to have confidence.

“As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him. Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.” (1 John 2:27-28 NASB)

And I will end with this.

“Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come.” (Revelation 2:25 NASB)

The word caught is the Greek word harpazo and means to be snatched up or seized upon with force. The other word, and origin of the terminology rapture, is rapio. Revelation 12:5 uses the terminology harpazo (caught up). This clause gives the basis for belief in the Rapture (from the Latin rapio) of the living saints. The Rapture is clearly Pretribulational, for Paul's purpose is to comfort the Thessalonians by calling attention to this glorious prospect and blessed hope.  (1 Thessalonians 4:18) (The Ultimate Cross-Reference Treasury)

Time is short; you need to come to Jesus and give Him your life.