Rapture | The Only 4 signs Left | Strange Things Happening Worldwide

the Rapture will be forceful and sudden the Rapture is perhaps the most important prophecy for us to understand because it may have a personal impact on us this video will help you understand what the Rapture is and its personal and practical significance the term Rapture itself does not appear in the Bible the term Rapture comes from the Latin translation of 1 Thessalonians 4:17 which translates the Greek harpazo to catch up or carry away as rapure from the Latin rapio the Greek harpazo appears 14 times in the New Testament with four different meanings Each of which helps us understand what Paul is describing in verse 17 after that we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so we will be with the Lord forever first harpazo can mean to carry off by force Christ will use his power to deliver both living and deceased Believers from their final adversary death second harpazo can mean to claim for oneself eagerly Christ bought us with his blood and he will return to reclaim those who are his third parazo can mean to snatch away speedily the Rapture will take place in the twinkling of an eye 1 Corinthians 15:52 fourth harpazo can also mean to save from destruction this interpretation supports the notion that the Rapture will deliver the church from the Terrors of the seven-year tribulation this coming event is the first part of Christ's two-part return to Earth first removed the church from the world second 7 years later he'll establish his kingdom on Earth there are eight prophecies in the Bible about Christ's second coming for everyone about his first the new testament's 260 chapters contain 300 18 references to Christ Second Coming will the Rapture occur at Christ Second Coming the short answer is yes but three new testament passages tell us about the Rapture John 14 1-3 1 Corinthians 15 50-57 1 Thessalonians 413-8550 57 Amplified Bible now I say this Believers that flesh and blood cannot inherit nor be part of the kingdom of God nor does the perishable mortal inherit the imperishable immortal listen very carefully I tell you a mystery a secret truth decreed by God and previously hidden but now revealed we will not all sleep in death but we will all be completely changed wondrously transformed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the sound of the last trumpet call for a trumpet will sound and the dead who believed in Christ will be raised imperishable and we will be completely changed wondrously transformed for this perishable part of us must put on the imperishable nature and this Mortal part of us that is capable of dying must put on immortality which is freedom from death and when this perishable puts on the imperishable and this Mortal puts on immortality then the scripture will be fulfilled that says death is swallowed up Victory vanquished forever oh death where is your Victory oh death where is your Sting the sting of death is sin and the power of sin by which it brings death is the law but thanks be to God who gives us the victory as conquerors through our Lord Jesus Christ Paul shared this Revelation in order to address a practical concern of the Christians in thessalonica they were concerned about the fate of Christians who died before Christ's second coming and the timing of the Wrath Ure whether it had already occurred 2 Thessalonians 2 1-2 Amplified Bible now in regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to meet him we ask you brothers and sisters do not be quickly unsettled or alarmed either by a so-called prophetic revelation of a spirit or a message or a letter alleged to be from us to the effect that the day of the Lord has already come the Rapture according to Paul will occur in a moment in the twinkling of an eye the term twinkling most likely refers to the amount of time it takes for light traveling at 186,000 m per second to be reflected in the retina of one's eye the Lord will call Believers to himself quickly God's people from all ages the disciples the martyrs of the ages your Godly ancestors and many more will rise from their graves at the Rapture each of the three major passages teaching about the Rapture indicates that it is only for belie belies anyone who does not believe in Jesus as their lord and savior will not be raptured into the Lord's presence and will instead be subjected to the horrors of the tribulation in John 14 1-3 Jesus spoke to his disciples who were clearly Believers he assured them that he would prepare a place for them in his father's house they like Christians now were members of the family of Faith John 14 1-3 Amplified Bible do not let your hearts be TR troubled afraid cowardly believe confidently in God and trust him have faith hold on to it rely on it keep going and believe also in me in my father's house are many Dwelling Places if it were not so I would have told you because I am going there to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you I will come back again and I will take you to myself so that where I am you may be also three ways the Rapture might affect our Liv lives today the Rapture has the power to transform Our Lives it is a source of personal comfort and hope Paul wrote to the Thessalonians about it to ease their grief over their loved ones who had died death is not the end death's effects will be reversed by the resurrection of believers who have died everyone who has lost a loved one to the sting of death can find solace in the knowledge that they will see them again it is however a source of strength on the night he was arrested Jesus Promised his disciples that he would return for them it's no surprise that Paul advised the Thessalonians to find solace in the truth about the Rapture 1 Thessalonians 4:18 while we wait for the Rapture it can have three effects on our lives right now first we can live with expectation the letter from Paul to Titus expresses how we should live our lives in light of the Rapture Titus 2 11-14 for the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people it teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled upright and godly lives in this present age while we wait for the blessing of Hope the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own eager to do what is good second we can live with dedication time was ticking away we will not always have time to win souls for Christ or dedicate Our Lives to his service do not be ashamed before him at his coming the Apostle John exhorted his readers 1 John 2:28 the impending return of Jesus for his church is life's most powerful motivator for living a dedicated life thirdly we can live with preparation according to Titus 2:14 Jesus gave himself for us the he might redeem us for every Lawless deed what Lawless Deeds do you need to confess to him if Jesus Christ returned today would you welcome him or fear Him what is one change you will commit to making in light of the Lord's imminent return is the rapture biblical after his resurrection Jesus ascended to heaven and the disciples witnessed his Ascension this same Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in just the same way as you have watched him go into heaven acts 1 9-11 two points stand out in these Verses first the Jesus who returns to earth the second time is the very same Jesus who lived here on Earth with us and went back to Heaven following his resurrection and second he will return to Earth the same way in like manner as he went back to Heaven how did Jesus ascend to heaven after his resurrection did he go in secret no the disciples watched him literally rise into the air until a cloud obscured his view as a result these verses indicate that Jesus will return to Earth in the same manner not in secret is it hidden it was necessary for Paul to share this Revelation with the Christians at thessalonica in order to address a practical difficulty they were having in particular they were anxious about the destiny of Christians who died prior to Christ's second coming as well as regarding the timetable of the Rapture or whether or not it had already happened and he the Lord will send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they will gather together his elect from the Four Winds from one end of Heaven to the other Matthew 24:31 that is no secret note also that this is not talking about the church being caught up rather it refers to those who remain on Earth who are God's chosen on if we are in the process of getting ready we will be too late Matthew 24 with another then tells how quickly the Rapture will occur then two shall be in the field the one shall be taken and the other left two women shall be grinding at the Mill the one shall be taken and the other left Matthew two women who work at the Mill two men who work in the field and even two people who share the same bed when the Rapture occurs one will be snatched and the other will be left which of these will we be snatched or abandoned it is critical that we reach a decision on this matter watch therefore for you do not know what hour your lord is coming but know this that if the Master of the House had known what hour or what watch of the night the thief would come he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into if the master had known what was going to happen he would have stayed awake he would have been watchful so Jesus says be ready if we think we know we really do not know if we expect him to appear at a specific time he will not appear at that time I emphasize this because it has saddened me that millions of Christians have been duped into believing that Jesus would appear on a specific day or at a specific time it is diametrically opposed to is teaching Mark's words were mentioned earlier watch therefore for you do not know when the master of the house is coming mark 13 35-37 we have to be watching that does not mean we have to stay Wide Awake without sleep it means we must be sensitive to what the holy spirit is saying so he can alert us at any time of the day or night diligent waiting a parable a nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then returned calling 10 of his servants he gave them Tim minus and said to them engage in business until I come when he returned having received the kingdom he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him that he might know what they had gained by doing business the first came before him saying Lord your Mina has made 10 miners more and he said to him well done good servant because you have been faithful in a very little you you shall have authority over 10 cities Luke 1912-13 and 15-17 ESV emphasis added watchful waiting eager waiting as it is appointed for men to die once but after this the Judgment so Christ was offered once to Bear the sins of many to those who eagerly wait for him he will appear a second time apart from sin for salvation Hebrews 9: 27-28 transformation into the likeness of Christ Our citizenship is in heaven from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior the Lord Jesus Christ who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to his glorious body according to the working by which he is able even to subdue all things to himself Philippians 3:20-21 a grand exit the Bible is God's story of redemption and Reconciliation it has a beginning and an end in our modern translations some of the books are not organized in chronological order but we've got the beginning and ending placed correctly Genesis marks the beginning of time and Revelation marks the end many translations highlight the words of Jesus Christ and red do you know what the final red letter words of Jesus are surely I am coming quickly Revelation 22:20 and the response of our heart Echoes that of the Apostle John amen even so come Lord Jesus Revelation 22:20 when the Lord comes back and descends from Heaven his appearance will be visible to the whole world as will the rise of his people to meet him in the air an event known as The Rapture Paul speaks of a friend of his mentioned twice in 2 Corinthians 12 who was caught up in the third heaven 2 Corinthians 12 2-4 I knew a man in Christ above 14 years ago whether in the body I cannot tell or or whether out of the body I cannot tell God knoweth such and one caught up to the third heaven and I knew such a man whether in the body or out of the body I cannot tell God knoweth how that he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable Words which is not lawful for a man to utter and Revelation 12:5 says and she brought forth a Manchild who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron and her child was caught up unto God and to his throne four times in other passages the same word is used for taking somebody by force from a crowd or from some situation we have to be watching that does not mean we have to stay Wide Awake without sleep it means we must be sensitive to the Fig Tree puts on leaves there is one final sign Jesus gives in his discourse that involves looking up it is the parable of the Fig Tree now learn this Parable from the Fig Tree when its branch has already come tender and puts forth leaves you know that summer is near so you also when you see all these things know that it or he is near at the doors assuredly I say to you this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place Matthew 24 32-34 most people are familiar with the Four Seasons spring summer autumn and winter but not everyone some are not as you look up into their heights you see bare branches standing against the sky then a change begins to occur thin little green buds begin to appear creating a green Haze when this happens we know summer is coming in Luke's recording of This discourse Jesus says to look at the Fig Tree and all the trees Luke 21:29 Jesus is telling us in a fact that when we see trees putting on their leaves we do not need to go to the public library to find out what is happening next summer is near and when we see that this is happening in the world we do not have to go to church to ask the pastor we can see for ourselves that A change is occurring we look up at the trees and see and know for ourselves we must stay awake we must be alert we must not be lulled into a carnal Slumber many signs will occur in the heavens as the final days approach dramatic astonishing Signs by this we know that his coming is near there will be Jesus's Glory the father's glory and the glory of the Angels Isaiah 24:23 says that the sun and moon will be embarrassed because their light will be so dim and ineffective by comparison the Bible presents a picture of what the world will look like as the present age draws to its end through many prophetic passages and just as it was in the days of Noah so it will be in the time of the second coming of the son of man the people were eating they were drinking they were marrying they were being given in marriage they were indifferent to God until the day that Noah went into the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all it was the same as it was in the days of lot people were eating and they were drinking they were burying they were selling they were planting and they were building carrying on business as usual without regard for their sins but on the very day that lot left Sodom it rained fire and brimstone burning sulfur from heaven and destroyed them all it will be just the same on the day that the son of man is revealed on that day whoever is on the housetop with his belongings in the house must not come down and go inside to take them out and likewise whoever is in the field must not turn back remember what what happened to Lot's wife when she looked back whoever seeks to save his life will eventually lose it through death and whoever loses his life in this world will keep it from the consequences of sin and separation from God I tell you on that night when Messiah comes again there will be two sleeping in one bed the one the non-believer will be taken away in judgment and the other the believer will be left there will be two women grinding at the Mill together the one the non-believer will be taken away in judgment and the other the believer will be left two men will be in the field one will be taken and the other will be left and they asked him where Lord he answered where the corpse is there the vultures will be gathered Luke 17 26-37 Jesus uses the example of Noah's time to explain that the world was carrying on with their daily activities like eating drinking and getting married all things continued as normal that is until Noah and his family entered the Ark at which time the delu cataclysms came and destroyed all the people we read even so it will be in the day when the son of man is revealed even though life seemed to go on as usual Before the Flood and the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah Jesus said that when he comes back there will be some sense of normality Jesus didn't say that everything would be fine or that there wouldn't be any problems conditions Before the Flood and before the Judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah were terrible but the wickedness was accepted as normal and routine the word translated revealed is apocalypse but the ancient Greek word has the idea of revealing or unveiling when Noah's flood came one could imagine people trying to keep their possessions safe while they themselves perish vainly even so if one is ready for Jesus's coming they will not be concerned about the material things left behind the heart's Focus shouldn't be on what's in the house but what's in heaven we read let him not turn back remember Lot's wife because she disobeyed God and looked back at Sodom probably with regret and maybe with longing Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of salt as she and her family dodged punishment Jesus here cautioned his followers not to look back at a perishing World rip for judgment but to set their eyes on the Deliverance God sets before them to look back may have revealed her true attachment to Sodom was she displaying a love for what she was leaving behind her body was leaving but her heart was still in Sodom do you know that friendship with the world is enmity with God whomever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God James 4:4 do we want to be friends with the rest of the world this does not imply giving up everything in the world the world represents everything that is opposed to God the wickedness that was once a part of your life there will come a time when all of your opportunities to obey God will be gone some individuals scoff at preaching and teaching that refers to hell or any impending judgment they perceive it as Scare Tactics intended to frighten children of fools we are too wise to believe it more than any other subject Jesus spoke about hell his words inspired the images of nashing teeth and unquenchable fire consider the innumerable examples of people who had the opportunity to do right things and then lost that opportunity forever Pharaoh nadab abiu Kora and his gang Judas a scariot and so on and his word is still to not look back will you flee God's Vengeance in Jesus's blood let God's angels take you out of this city to safety there is full assurance that Christians who have died yet live we have more than a Wishful yearning of Resurrection in the resurrection of Jesus we have an outstanding instance of it and a promise of our own the Thessalonian Christians found solace in the statement God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus this statement means that faithful departed individuals will also be present when Jesus comes back their death won't prevent them from participating in the perusia when Paul wrote about the passing away of Believers he used the term sleep to describe it but in his depiction of Jesus's death he did not soften it by calling it sleep because there was nothing soft or peaceful about his death we read we believe that Jesus died and rose again again the Apostle Paul and the early Christians had a firm belief that because Jesus lives and our connection with him is stronger than death we too will live as a result we don't grieve like those without hope instead we have a hope that is more than just a Wishful thought when a sinner dies we mourn for them when a Believer dies we only mourn for ourselves one of the most common Christian epitaphs for the catacombs was in peace quoting Psalms those asleep in Jesus are not at a disadvantage the living will have no advantage over those fallen asleep they will not meet the returning Christ ahead of the dead nor will they have any precedence in the blessedness at is coming there is a debate among some people regarding the resurrection of the Dead in Christ some believe that these individuals have temporary bodies and are waiting for their Resurrection others believe that they exist as disembodied spirits and are waiting for their Resurrection there are also some who speculate that the dead in Christ are are immediately resurrected in God's Eternal plan there will be a day when the Believers who have passed away will receive their resurrected bodies however until then we can be certain that they are not in a state of Soul sleep or suspended animation Paul made it clear that to be absent from the body means to be present with the Lord 2 Corinthians 58 Amplified Bible we are as I was saying of good courage and confident hope and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord we are confident that God will fulfill his promise even if our bones are scattered to the for Winds of Heaven at the call of the Lord God they shall come together again bone to bone Jesus comes to meet his church 1 Thessalonians 4:17 then we who are alive and remain on the earth will simultaneously be caught up raptured together with them the resurrected ones and the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so we will always be with the Lord when Jesus returns the living Believers will be taken up to meet him in the air along with the dead believers who have already risen the phrase caught up means to seize or carry off by force it implies a sudden and irresistible force in ancient Greek the phrase to meet was used to describe the official welcoming of honored guests we read therefore Comfort one another Paul's intention was not to tell his readers to take comfort but to encourage them to give comfort to others as per God's ways when we offer Comfort to others we ultimately receive Comfort ourselves it's important to note that Paul doesn't seek to comfort or encourage his readers himself rather he urges them to actively comfort and encourage one another the present imperative emphasizes the ongoing obligation to do so both in private conversations and public services what are the key signs that will come in the end times number one can character degeneration one of Paul's prophecies began in a manner that's not typical in the Bible but Mark this there will be terrible times in the last days 2 Timothy 3:1 the Apostle now shares with Timothy a description of the conditions that will prevail across the Earth just before the return of the Lord it has been pointed out a number of times that the list of sins that follows is very similar to the description of the ungodly Heathen in Romans one the Striking thing is that in the last days professed Christians will be characterized by the same characteristics present among the Heathen in their state of savagery and uncivilization how solemn is this the last days referred here are the days between the apostolic era and the appearance of Christ to set up his kingdom to Timothy 3 2: 4 Amplified Bible for people will be loving of self narcissist self-focused lovers of money impelled by greed boastful arrogant revelers disobedient to parents ungrateful Unholy and profane and they will be unloving devoid of natural human affection callous and inhuman irreconcilable malicious gossip devoid of self-control intemperate immoral brutal haters of good traitors Reckless conceited lovers of sensual Pleasures rather than lovers of God we cannot study these verses without being struck by the repetition of the word lovers in verse two for instance we find lovers of self and lovers of money in verse three the expression despisers of good literally means no lovers of good in verse four we read of lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God in these three vers vers we discover a list of no fewer than 18 transgressions that will characterize Humanity in the last days although these conditions have always been present in some form or another during the past few decades they have become much more pronounced people will be self-centered and greedy as well as boasters or Braggs they will also be proud originally used in a good sense in Greek literature nevertheless it soon took on the negative connotation that it always has in the New Testament a person who possesses this attribute treats others with contempt abusive means slanderous and it may well be questioned whether children and young people were ever more disobedient to their parents than they are today ungrateful is the opposite of being thankful Unholy describes the person who is no fellowship with God and so is living a merely secular life without love means without family affection unforgiving originally indicated one who is irreconcilable treacherous is a noun meaning traitor or betrayer it is used for Judas es scariot number two a form of godliness Paul next makes an amazing statement in his passage about the people who exhibit these blatant evil sins 2 Timothy 3:5 holding to a form of outward godliness religion although they have denied its power for their conduct nullifies their claim of Faith avoid such people and keep far away from them even though he is describing people who Embrace heinous sins Paul states that these people have a form of godliness people in this world are so forced on themselves that they feel they can have any kind of religion they want like a salad bar where they can pick and choose what they believe in they have no problem with being very spiritual but they don't feel any pressure to be biblical in their beliefs keep your distance from such people the command to turn away from people described by the characteristics in this list is especially difficult in our present day in addition to being commonplace in modern society the people who do these activities in this list are often held in high esteem as cultural icons the simple responsibility of Christians is to distance themselves not merely from those who hold those ideas but also from those who engage in these behaviors many people believe it is sufficient if they are not like this and they pay little attention to the company they keep however they will have an impact on us if we allow them to entertain us or spend time with them in any other capacity as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:33 do not be deceived evil company corrupts good habits from such turn away also means that Paul knew those marked by the spirit of the last days were present in Timothy's own day however we should expect that they would be even more numerous and have increased in power in the last days shortly before the return of Jesus in a second passage Paul again says that the people listed here have no inheritance in the kingdom of God Ephesians 53-5 Amplified Bible but sexual immorality and all moral impurity indecent offensive Behavior or greed must not ever be hinted at among you as it is proper amongst Saints for as Believers our way of life whether in public or in private reflects the validity of our faith let there be no filthiness and silly talk or coar obscene or vulgar joking because such things are not appropriate for believers but instead speak of your thankfulness to God for be sure of this no IM moral impure or greedy person for that one is in effect an idle term has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God for such a person places a higher value on something other than God Paul groups together these ideas of sensual sin and impropriety emphasizing that none of them are proper for Saints and should not even be named among the people of God this emphasis on carnal depravity was very necessary elicit behavior permeated all aspects of Society during Paul's day but it was especially prevalent in the city of Ephesus the kind of conduct Paul deems unsuitable for Saints was virtually accepted by the culture of his day Paul also included covetousness and foolish talking in this list because of their close association with sexual sin the desire to have something that doesn't belong to us and foolish speaking have both LED many people into sexual sin yet covetousness and foolish talking also have relevance beyond their relation to sexual SIN number four there will be large amounts of scoffers two passages in the Bible warn that in the last days scoffers will come 2 Peter 3:3 and Jude 1118 both explain what that means 2 Peter 3 3: 4 Amplified Bible First of all know without any doubt that mockers will come in the last days with their mocking following after their own human desires and saying where is the promise of his coming what has become of it forever since the fathers fell asleep in death all things have continued exactly as they did from the beginning of creation it should come as no surprise to Christians to discover that there are those who ridicule the concept that Jesus will return in the future Peter has informed us that there would be those who laugh at us this is the first thing to know every time a blasphemer opens his mouth to deny the truth of Revelation he will help to confirm our conviction of the very truth that he denies we read walking according to their own lusts these words remind us that scoffers do not only have a problem with God and His word they also have a clear moral problem as seen by their desire to deny the lordship of Jesus Christ over their own lives these Skeptics have the mindset that Christians have been talking about the second coming of Jesus for the past 2,000 years yet he still has not returned at this point the narrative that the mock has spread is predicated on the assumption that things have always been the way that they are right now and that God has not done and will not do anything new in the plan that he has for created for they willingly forget the fact that the heavens existed Long Ago by the word of God and the earth was formed out of water and by water through which the world at the time was destroyed by being flooded with water but by his word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly people 2 Peter 35-7 the offers presume upon the mercy and longsuffering of God insisting that because they have never seen a widespread Judgment of God there will never be one but they willingly forget God's creation and the Judgment God poured out on the earth in the days of Noah we read the word that then existed perished being flooded with water the point that Peter is trying to make is that things of Earth have not always remained in the same manner as they do now now when God initially formed the Earth it had a different appearance and then again after the flood it had a different appearance therefore no one should make a light of God's promise that he will make it different once again by judging it with fire rather than water the same word of God that created all matter and judged the world in the flood will one day bring a judgment of fire upon the Earth the lesson taught by the flood was this is a moral universe that sin will not forever go unpunished and Jesus himself used the flood to point to this moral but these men chose to neglect It 2 Peter 3 8 to 10 Amplified Bible nevertheless do not let this one fact Escape your notice beloved that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like one day the Lord does not delay as though he were unable to act and is not slow about his promise as some count slowness but is extraordinarily patient toward you not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance but the day of the Lord will come like a thief and when the heavens will vanish with a mighty and thunderous Roar and the material elements will be destroyed with intense Heat and the earth and the work that are on it will be burnt up what seems like forever for us is but a short time for God just as an hour may seem to be an eternity for a child but a moment to an adult Peter quoted this idea from Psalms 904 for a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it passed or as a watch in the night all time is nothing before him because in the presence as in the nature of God all is eternity therefore nothing is long nothing is short before him no lses of age impairs his purpose God sees time with a perspective that humans do not have even the delay of a thousand years may very well look like a day against the backdrop of Eternity in addition God perceives the passage of time with greater Clarity than we do one day with the Lord is like a thousand years the Lord is not slack concerning his promise the reality is that God will keep his promise and he will do it promptly in accordance with the timing that he has determined any perceived Delay from our perspective is due to the longsuffering of God who allows man as much time as possible to repent a significant number of people who identify as Christians in the modern era are relieved that Jesus did not come back 10 years ago or 5 years ago or 2 years ago or even one year ago or even 2 months ago there is a merciful reason in the timing that God has chosen Peter has revealed some of God's glorious heart it is the same thought as expressed in Ezekiel 33:11 as I live says the Lord God I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turn from this way and live but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night the Lord's longsuffering love for those who are lost may give the impression that he is delaying his arrival but the reality is he will arrive at some point in the future when Jesus does come back it will be at an unexpected moment like a thief in night which will catch many people off guard the ultimate result of his coming will be a total transformation of this present world in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise and the elements will melt with fervent heat the word of God warns us of scoffers a scoffer in this context is one who mocks Christ ridicules the things of God and opposes the gospel both Peter and Jude were writing warnings against false teachers who were intent on leading others astray the word scoffer refers to one who denies the truths of script scripture and entices others to go along with this era scoffers have been present since the Garden of Eden Satan's first temptation of man was in the form of scoffing at God's command did God really say scoffers dominated Noah's day leaving god with little choice but to destroy them all and start over with Noah the only righteous man on Earth Genesis 65 to8 Amplified Bible the Lord saw that the wickedness depravity of man was great on the earth and that every imagination or intent of the thoughts of his heart were only evil continually the Lord regretted that he had made mankind on the earth and he was deeply grieved in his heart so the Lord said I will destroy annihilate mankind whom I have created from the surface of the Earth not only man but the animals and the crelling things and the bird birds of the air because it deeply Grieves me to see mankind sin and I regret that I have made them but Noah found favor and Grace in the eyes of the Lord by faith with confidence in God and His word Noah being warned by God about events not yet seen in reverence prepared an ark for the Salvation of his family by this act of obedience he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness with which comes by faith Hebrews 11:7 scoffers refused to believe the word of the Lord and set themselves up as their own Gods 2 Chronicles 36:16 Amplified Bible but they kept mocking The Messengers of God and despising his words and scoffing At His prophets until the Wrath of the Lord arose against his people until there was no Remedy or healing the pists warn against the digression that leads from casual association with these people Psalms 1:1 Amplified Bible blessed fortunate prosperous and favored by God is the man who does not walk in the Council of the wicked following their advice and example nor stand in the path of Sinners nor sit down to rest in the seat of scoffers ridicules Jude describes the scoffers of the last days as people who followed ungodly desires and create division in the church Jude 1118 Jude 18 Amplified Bible they used to say to you in the last days there will be scoffers following after their own ungodly passions those who live according to their own ungodly lusts love to mock those who want to please God Jude wants Christians to be prepared for this kind of ridicule so that they won't be taken back when it occurs we already see an increase of scoffers in our world today and several factors may be contributing to that rise there are more Skeptics in the world now than ever before and there are likely several causes for this by turning its back on the Bible modern society has lost any sense of Rights and wrong good and bad truth and lies in this climate anyone who claims to know the truth is a prime target for scoffers many individuals may feel anxious when contemplating the future but this doesn't have to be the case for those who know God thoughts of the future bring eagerness and comfort Proverbs 31:25 provides an example of a woman who trusts in God stating she smiles at the future two key thoughts to keep in mind about the future are the first important thing to remember regarding the future is that God is completely in charge of everything he has complete foresight and power over the future the second thing to remember about the future is that the Bible outlines what will occur in the end times or latter days because the Bible is God's revelation to humankind and because God knows and controls the future then it stands to reason that when the Bible speaks about what will occur in the future we can believe it the Bible tells us to do four things in response to its prophecies obedience comes first the second response is worship third a proclamation the last response to God's prophetic word is service all believers should be diligent about carrying out God's will in closing our question for the day what's a worship song that has helped you feel closer to God