This article is another piece of
my manuscript, Waiting for The Day and Hour:
The day the rapture occurs is the day when the body of Christ is finally made perfect. Its salvation process is completed. As I have mentioned previously, the final process in our salvation experience is our earthly bodies will be changed miraculously into heavenly bodies; they become glorified.
“Listen, I am
telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be
changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For
the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will
be changed. For this corruptible body must be clothed with
incorruptibility, and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality.” (1
Cor. 15:51-53, CSB).
The hour the church age is over
on the Earth is when the body of Christ will be redeemed spirit, soul, and body
(1 Thess.5:23). At this time, the true Church will be sanctified or made pure.
Everyone snatched away into heaven from the Earth will, in an instant, never
sin again. When the last trump sounds, the body of Christ, who is still living,
will be transformed from earthly beings to heavenly beings. That is what πάντες
οὐ κοιμηθησόμεθα (pántes ou koimithisómetha) “We all won't sleep” (15:51b,
mGNT) means. In a ἄτομος (átomos) “moment,” the transition will take place. The
metamorphosis will happen ἐν ῥιπῇ ὀφθαλμοῦ (en ripí ofthalmoús) “in the blink
of an eye” (mGNT). The believers in heaven will be reunited with their earthly
bodies, as I mentioned above under the heading, In the Clouds.
There were trumpets blown in
ancient Israel for various reasons: Feast of Trumpets [Yom Teruah] (Lev.
23:23-25); to sound alarms (Num. 10:5-6); to assemble the people (Ex. 19:13);
to announce the Year of Jubilee (Lev. 25:9-10); temple worship and praise (2
Chron. 15:14),[1]
and more. Angels will be given trumpets to blow during Israel’s 70th
week (Isa. 27:13; Zech. 9:14; Rev. 8:2, 13; 9:13-14; Matt. 24:31; Mk. 13:27).
The trumpet of God that will sound when the rapture occurs is not only to
announce the church age is over but to also alert the dead in Christ to rise (1
Thess. 4:16).
The “last trumpet” in 1
Corinthians 15:52 is the same trumpet of God in 1 Thessalonians 4:16. Some
disagree because they contend there is an interval between the time of the
rapture and the moment the body of Christ receives heavenly bodies. They
believe there is an indefinite amount of time between the two events. I
disagree because I argue both events are simultaneous. They believe the body of
Christ will fly up to the clouds like Jesus did when he was raptured. I
mentioned this above as well. I said there that when Jesus was taken up into
heaven, it was to correspond with his 2nd coming, as the two angels
proclaimed. But when the body of Christ is raptured, it will be different than
the rapture of Jesus and the rapture of Elijah. The body of Christ will be
seized out of this world suddenly. That is what the Greek term ἁρπάζω (harpazō)
means: Seized quickly, to grab with force. The body of Christ will suddenly
disappear. That would explain Paul’s explanation that the body of Christ is
changed from earthly beings to heavenly beings in a átomos (moment), en ripí ofthalmoús
(in the blink of an eye). One second, the body of Christ is on the earth, and
in the blink of an eye, they vanish. The transformation from earthly beings to
heavenly beings is straightaway, instantly.
When a person receives Christ and
becomes born-again, the Holy Spirit immediately becomes one with their
spirit-being. Immediately, that person’s spirit-being is sealed with the Holy
Spirit (Eph. 1:13; 4:30). This transformation allows them to communicate with
God through their spirit-being and he with them. At that instant, that person’s
body becomes a temple for the Spirit of God to dwell in (1 Cor. 6:19). The
believer is then “justified by his [Christ’s] blood” (Rom. 5:9a,
KJV). The believer is δικαιωθέντες (dikaiothéntes) vindicated by faith [in
Christ] (Rom. 5:1)—many English translations say, justified. The believer now
enters the state of ἁγιασμόν (agiasmón) sanctification, which leads to eternal
life (Rom. 6:22). Sanctification means the believer now goes through the
process of being separated from the world to God (1 Cor. 1:30).[2]
In the simplest terms,
sanctification is the transformation the believer goes through to become
heavenly beings (glorified people). When Jesus asked his Father to sanctify the
disciples by the truth, he was asking his Father to separate the disciples from
the world (John 17:16). Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit done in
the believer throughout their life as the believer submits to him and obeys the
word of God (1 Pet. 1:15; Jn. 17:17).
When the body of Christ’s salvation
is completed (at the hour the rapture occurs) and is in Eternity, do not be
surprised if there is a room containing church chronicles. In these archives,
there is not only a record of the works of the church in every generation, but
every believer can view how they contributed to the work of the Lord. This will
be the Record of Rewards.[3]
Do not be surprised about the room dedicated to the Journal of the Holy
Spirit. In this room is a record of how the Holy Spirit brought the body of
Christ through the salvation process to a victorious completion. This record
reveals how Christ was able to sanctify the church by cleansing her with a
λουτρῷ τοῦ ὕδατος ἐν ῥήματι (loutró toú ýdatos en rímati) “bath of water in the
word” (Eph. 5:26b, mGNT). The records will show how Christ was able to: “Present
the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
that she might be holy and without blemish [or holy and blameless] (Eph. 5:27,
ESV).
God has chosen the believer to
partake in the transformation process. The follower of Christ is to offer their
earthly body to God as a living sacrifice, it is an act of worship (Rom. 12:1).
The believer must not conform to the ways of the world any longer but change
the way he thinks by replacing the old man with the new man (Rom.12:2;
Eph.4:22-24). Because the church of God has his promises, it must cleanse
itself: “From every impurity of the flesh and spirit, bringing holiness to
completion [or spirit, perfecting holiness] in the fear of God” (2 Cor.
7:1b, CSB).
Picture: Pixabay (kiberstalker)
Free for use under the Pixabay
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[1] Understanding the
Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah)
(Accessed
2/11/2025)
[2] What is
sanctification? What is the definition of Christian sanctification?
https://www.gotquestions.org/sanctification.html
(Accessed
2/14/2025)
[3] What are some
Bible verses about rewards?
https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-verses-about-rewards.html
(Accessed
2/14/2025)
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