Beyond the Rapture
Moving Beyond the Second Coming of Christ
by
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Finally, we look at what Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica, mistakenly believing they needed no one to instruct them concerning the times and the seasons. We know from Second Thessalonians, chapter two that Paul did indeed need to instruct them regarding the times and the seasons. However, let’s examine what is written. Paul writes that we shall be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Now, if we except this scripture carnally based upon a cursory examination we will conclude that at some point in time, the Lord will come physically, or bodily in the clouded sky above us, and gravity will lose its hold on our physical bodies, and up we shall all fly into the fog bank of great clouds, where we shall ever, or at all times be with the Lord. Do you actually believe that Paul was telling the church at Thessalonica to get ready to float around forever in the clouds of the atmosphere? Do you really believe that such words would be a comfort to the church? In this particular scripture, the word "air" is the Greek word "
Again, if the church at Thessalonica had their hope set upon being physically alive and remaining to this great catching-away, and if their hope was a physical hope, we must conclude that there hope was a false hope, because they did not receive the promise which was meant to comfort them. But if we say that they did receive the promise, and that they that were alive and remained were caught-up together in the clouds to ever be with the Lord, why do we yet look for such things? Too, the Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth explicitly declaring that he was confident and willing to be absent from the body, and present with the Lord, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. Now, another question asserts itself; how could we be present with the Lord in the clouds, while we are at home in our physical bodies? The laws of logic demand that we are either with him, or we are not with him, but it cannot exist both ways. It must be one or the other. To further add to this dilemma, let us refer to a song that was written during the American Civil War. It is a song with which we are all familiar, and have sung many times during our lives; The Battle Hymn of the Republic. The very first words of the first verse begin like this: "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. He is tramping out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored. He has loosed the lightening of his terrible swift sword. His truth is marching on." Did the writer of this Hymn understand what he was writing, or were they just words the writer threw together, without comprehension and without meaning? Clearly, the writer was referring to something from the Bible; but did he hold the same view as we hold today; or has our view of the scriptures changed in the last one hundred and fifty years? And if our view has changed, in what way has it changed? Is our view of the second coming of Christ changed or different than that of the early church? Should our view be the same as the early church? If you believe that understanding is important, as I believe that understanding is important, it behooves us to sort out these issues, and gain the same understanding that the Apostles had. Let us seek out the mind of the Lord, who is a spirit; for this Spirit is the Lord.
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About the Book
There are many who teach eschatological theories and hold them as a matter of faith, or more properly stated as a matter of hope, because those theories are all futuristic. Now every theory that is futuristic cannot be proved, and is completely irrelevant in the present life of the believer, except maybe to offer a future hope, because the blessed event is somewhere in the ambiguous future. Beyond the Rapture is an intriguing inquiry into the Biblical accounts and references to what has become known in the church as the "Rapture." It is a fresh and spiritual look at familiar and other not so familiar scriptures, which refer directly to the doctrine of the rapture. Beyond the Rapture effectively brings the hope of the future into the here and now, in the life of every faithful believer. It is a magnificent overview of the New Testament that is sure to rapture the soul of the reader, and translate him beyond the rapture.
About the Author
Being born again, and filled with the Spirit of God on January 18th, 1977, at Herrin, Illinois, life naturally changed drastically for Pastor Schuppert. Since that time, Schuppert pastored a small church in Effingham, Illinois for seventeen years, followed by three years in Buena Park, California. During these times, Pastor Schuppert raised four children by the grace of God, and took no thought of what he would eat, what he would drink, or what he would wear, but sought diligently the kingdom of God. Because he belongs to no religious denomination, but only to Jesus Christ, he had to believe the word of God for what providence would provide. Spending his time studying the scriptures, and doing the word of God, Schuppert has seen thousands of miracles of healing, and deliverance, and cleansings, and even the raising of the dead. But Schuppert’s greatest pleasure is teaching the word, and watching others learn to successfully apply the word of God to their lives. Thus, others are becoming rich in faith, and are learning to walk by faith and not by sight.