“…take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a SNARE (it will trap you here if your not saved) on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. WATCH THEREFORE, AND PRAY ALWAYS THAT YOU MAY BE COUNTED WORTHY TO ESCAPE ALL THESE THINGS that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:34-36) “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until THE DAY that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and TOOK THEM ALL AWAY, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. (Matthew 24:37-39)
Noah prepared an ark which rose above the floodwaters and Noah and his family were LIFTED TO SAFETY while the world perished down below. Christ our Savior was lifted up on a cross, paying for all of our sins. When we trust in Him alone WE WILL ALSO BE LIFTED UP, but this time not just above floodwaters, but far above the earth into the heavenly realms.
“…the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God…the dead in Christ will RISE FIRST…we who are alive and remain shall be 1CAUGHT UP together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air…WE SHALL ALWAYS BE WITH THE LORD.” (1 Thess. 4:16-18) 1harpazō: “to be snatched up” or “seized.” In Latin, this word is rapere, from which “rapture” is derived.
THEREFORE COMFORT ONE ANOTHER WITH THESE WORDS…
-Bill Stockham