By 
More and more often these days I find myself turning off the TV, or not turning it on at all. Maybe, like me, you have made a conscious decision to spend your time in more productive and uplifting pursuits than watching what is presented on television. There is simply too much discouraging news about lost and hurting people, misguided governments, a sick economy, even real war and rumors of war. All of these forecast a calamitous future that very well could come true.
With good reason, and belief in Scripture, my hope is in Christ who said that His kingdom is not now of this world. Therefore, in this world we will have trouble. But in the future, His beautiful kingdom will come to earth and we will be its honored citizens. He will be our divine King.
In the meantime, “our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20, NIV) where a fantastic future awaits us. Our focus here should be on the beauty and glory that will be ours there. Jesus’ focus was on having us in heaven with Him. At the end of His life He prayed to the Father: “I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the earth” (John 17:24, NIV).
Our future is fantastic because we will leave this troubled world to be with Jesus in heaven and live in splendor and glory. Heaven is a place where Everything Sad is Coming Untrue (Jason Gray, 2009). Even death itself will be banished as every citizen of heaven will have an eternal life. Believers, living when the supernatural event we know as the Rapture occurs, will never experience death. They will be caught up/raptured to meet Jesus in the air, along with all the saints of the church age who will have been resurrected and raptured first.
This Rapture of all who have trusted in Jesus is the next prophetic event on God’s calendar. It could occur at any moment. While it will initiate a fantastic future life for multitudes who are taken, it will also be a sign of the coming end times, of seven years of severe tribulation on the inhabitants of the earth who are left.
It's of interest that though the Rapture of the church is anytime future, there are six other raptures recorded in scripture. Beginning in the Old Testament, in Genesis 5:24 we read of Enoch walking faithfully, and then of him suddenly being taken away by God. In 2 Kings 2:11, Elijah was walking and then went up to heaven in a whirlwind. In Isaiah 6, Isaiah is supernaturally lifted from earth to the very throne room of God.
Also, in the New Testament Jesus, in His resurrected body, is giving final instructions to the disciples when He is caught up in a brilliant cloud and taken to heaven as the men stand watching. An angel sent Philip to give the gospel and baptize an Ethiopian traveler. As they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. Paul has a miraculous experience as he is “caught up” (raptured) to the third heaven—paradise. There he learned “inexpressible things”, so divine that he was forbidden to speak of them (2 Corinthians 12:2-5, NIV). The final rapture found in the Bible is still future—the Rapture of the church foretold in 1 & 2 Thessalonians.
Pondering the fantastic future that awaits us as God’s elect, we can echo the closing words of our Bibles: Amen. Come, Lord Jesus (Revelation 22:20, NIV).
Susan Howard
I am Susan Howard and I live in Tyler, Texas. I am the mother of 3 grown children, all married, and the grandmother of 7. I grew up in Tyler as the daughter of a Methodist minister so from my earliest memory I have loved being in church and learning about the Lord. I graduated from Southern Methodist University with a B.A. in English and History along with a teaching certification. I taught English for several years, but my passion is to teach the Bible and I have done that most of my life. I have taught Sunday school at every level, several middle school Bible studies, BSF classes and many other women’s Bible studies, most of those in my home. Desiring to strengthen my teaching, after raising my children, I attended and graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary in 2014 with a Master of Arts degree in Biblical Studies. I currently serve as Executive Director of Womenary, a theological studies program for women.
When I am not teaching and studying, I am nurturing grandchildren, attending their soccer games, helping them with school projects, and thoroughly enjoying the blessing that they are. Otherwise, I love to play golf, to read, to plant and grow things, to have lunch with my friends, to pray, and to watch for the next place God is leading me to do His work. I would describe myself as a life-long learner and I have found that that description is accurate and appropriate for women I meet that are following hard after Christ, in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden. (Col. 2:3) My desire is to be continuously discovering as many of those treasures as He gives me eyes to see, to the end that I may live according to His wisdom and knowledge and make it known to others.
Susan can be contacted at info@womenary.com 
