Rapture Advent of the Last Days

by Jocolby Phillips

  As Jackson started reading the typed Bible study notes from yesterday, he could feel the passion Rev carried through the words he had written. Rev almost pleaded with the entire team to accept, as he put it, the “gift of salvation.” It became more and more evident to Jackson as he read Rev’s notes that the man had been more at home in this environment than with his “day job.”

  Jackson’s mind drifted back to the Bible study as he read Rev’s opening prayer note. Jackson felt a flush of shame as he remembered that he had been people watching instead of praying, taken by the genuine sincerity of those attending.

  The more he read of Rev’s Bible study notes, the more he wanted to know about what Rev had said yesterday, and sleep became a distant memory. Jackson continued to pore through the Bible study, trying to digest Rev’s message, making further notes of what Rev had said beside Rev’s written comments in the journal.

  As Jackson began reading the passage dated yesterday in Rev’s journal, he was transported once again in thought back to Rev’s last Bible study. Jackson pictured himself sitting in a small folding chair in the Omega Team dining facility on Camp Marez the previous evening, mesmerized by the passion Rev exuded regarding the Bible. As he studied the journal this remarkable man called Rev had left behind, he could almost hear Rev’s voice as he had said, “There is an ancient saying amongst sailors and fishermen: Red sky at morning, sailor take warning. Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Jesus quoted that proverb to the religious elite of His day, and it is recorded in Matthew 16: 2-3: ‘He replied, When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.’’’

  Jackson noticed that Rev had scribbled a note in the margin of yesterday’s entry that said, “If people missed the signs that Jesus Himself presented, which announced him as the Messiah, what might we be missing that is announcing the approach of the final season, or bluntly stated, the end-times?”

  Leafing through Rev’s journal with a pen in his mouth and Rev’s open Bible in the adjacent seat, Jackson looked like a college student cramming for finals. He scribbled in the journal margin that Rev had been covering the segment of history known as the end-times, which the Bible says culminates with the second coming of Christ Jesus.

  Grabbing the Bible, he tabbed Matthew 24–25, which Rev called Jesus Christ’s “Olivet Discourse,” Jesus’ sermon to His disciples on the end-times. In this passage of the Bible, Jesus answered the question of what “signs” mark the last days.

  Jackson began writing down his own translation of Rev’s message in simple terms that he could visualize. He wrote, “Jesus told the disciples that the end-time was not immediate and that the start would be decided by the Father alone. However, in Matthew 24:8, he compared the signs of the end-time to a woman going through birth pains, meaning we should see an increasing frequency of the end-time signs as the start to this final season draws near.”

  Jackson remembered the soldier sitting next to him lifting his hand. When all eyes turned toward the man, it seemed to Jackson that everyone was looking at him, since everyone knew he didn’t believe in God, and he remembered how his face grew warm under the imagined scrutiny. The soldier asked, “I am confused, Rev. If only the Father knows when the end-time will begin, as outlined in Matthew 24:36, then why does Jesus tell us to watch and be ready? What am I supposed to be ready for exactly?”

  As Jackson shifted his attention back to the notes in his hand once again, he realized Rev had prepared for just such a question. Jackson followed Rev’s notes as they transitioned to a passage of Scripture in Matthew 24, where Jesus outlined the entire end-times period; Rev had also noted that the opening act and final scene are two watershed moments in human history. He had written that Jesus’ second coming to Earth would serve as the capstone to the last seven years of history and would also mark the start of the millennial kingdom. Jackson wrote question marks next to millennial kingdom so he could figure out later what that meant. Undeterred, Jackson tabbed several Scriptures in the Bible that Rev had used as sources for his notes, including Daniel 7:13–14, Zechariah 14, and Revelation 19:11–15.

  It seemed to Jackson that what Rev had referred to as the “opening act” to the end-times was central to the notes for his last Bible study. Jackson wrote in the margin that the answer to the soldier’s question was that Jesus was telling us to be vigilant regarding the indications of the rapture. “We are to be watching for evidence that Jesus’ rapture of faithful Christians is drawing near.” Jackson saw another note that Rev had penned in the margin: “Knowing that the rapture is imminent should make Christians live in a way that brings people to the comfort that salvation in Jesus Christ provides.”

  Rev noted in his lesson that Jesus’ rebuke about the religious elite having a better understanding of the weather than discernment for the advent of the Messiah was a subtle warning to Christians in our day. Rev’s challenge to both Christians and nonbelievers like himself leaped from the pages of the journal as he silently read, “We should live each day with the knowledge that the rapture could happen today, right now…that our friends, loved ones, and the world must come to accept Jesus, for we are not promised tomorrow in this life. As Jesus says in Matthew 24:43: ‘Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.’”

  Jackson smiled as he read over a note Rev had made for himself that hinted at his sharp wit. He remembered Rev covering this very point.

  “Yes, I know that the word rapture is not in the Bible. However, it is the proper word to describe this event. Rapio is the Latin base for our English word rapture where rapio means to seize or snatch from one location to another,” Rev had told them.

  Jackson, afraid that he would miss the point Rev was trying to make speaking through the journal, brought his mind back to the present and jotted down his own definition of the rapture. “The rapture means Jesus will suddenly and with force take the Church out of this world to be with Him.”

  While the Bible study and the Bible, in general, were foreign to Jackson, he was captivated by Rev’s message. He carefully examined the rest of Rev’s detailed notes on the last days, savoring the way this written message filled him in a way that he had never experienced.

  He wrote underneath Rev’s notes on the rapture: “The rapture will affect the entire world, believers and nonbelievers alike.” Rev had scribbled, “Those who have accepted Jesus Christ’s salvation, collectively known as the ‘Church,’ will be ushered off to what the Bible describes as the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.” Jackson wrote, “Look up” by this statement, realizing more and more his ignorance about the topic.

  Jackson read that the occurrence of the rapture means the unbelieving world will begin the final seven years of human history, which the Bible calls the tribulation.

  “Would you like anything else?” Jackson startled as the flight attendant spoke, dismissing him with the wave of someone who was deep in thought. Jackson drew a box around one of Rev’s sentences, which stated that “God the Father declares the moment along the road of time and history when the end-times are to start; however, Jesus has provided us roadsigns to know when the exit is drawing near.” Rev had journaled that the Church (those accepting Jesus Christ’s gift of salvation) will be “raptured” from Earth to be forever with Jesus, just as He promised in John 14:3.

  Grateful was the best word Jackson could come up with to describe how he felt about finding Rev’s journal. As complex as it was, it provided a wealth of detail. Jackson found notes on the end-times all way to a point described as the “Glorious Appearance of Jesus.” He assumed Rev had meant to teach the team more about the end-times in other Bible studies. Jackson followed Rev’s written guidance to “see Matthew 25,” thumbing through the man’s worn Bible to find the chapter. Jackson was confused by the story he read there, but he dr
ew from the notes that Jesus was describing in the passage how we are to be watchful for His return using an example Rev called a “parable.”

  Jackson rewrote the story in a way he could understand. He noted that the parable of the ten bridesmaids described five who were watchful (a symbol of the Church) and ready for the groom’s return (referring to Jesus) and five who were sleeping (symbolizing the unbelieving world). Rev had noted that “Jesus calls us to always live with a prepared mentality because His return will happen swiftly and unexpectedly for the world at large—but this is not to be the case for the bride (Church) awaiting her groom.”

  It was here again that the notes threw Jackson back to the Bible study as he remembered one of the communications support soldiers challenging Rev. The soldier blurted out, “Bad things have always been happening. What makes Jesus’ claims about these events significant?” He recalled that Rev had handled the test masterfully, like a seasoned trial prosecutor cross-examining a flawed witness. Jackson smiled as he remembered the sly grin he had observed on the range the previous day slide across Rev’s face just before he answered the belligerent kid. Rev, seemingly savoring the challenge, first asked the soldier, “How do you know Major Barrett is in charge of this unit?”

  The communications expert responded, “Because his actions demonstrate the authority the Army has given him over this group.”

  Jackson knew Rev was drawing the young man into his snare. He was, at this point, on the attack as he asked his next question. “I assume you would follow Major Barrett’s orders if given by someone else in the unit because of his authority?”

  The soldier, growing slightly uncomfortable with all the attention, replied in the affirmative.

  Rev sprung his trap. “Then you understand power stems from someone’s position and actions.” Just like an expert prosecutor, Rev did not give the young man a chance to answer. Instead he offered the answer himself. “Jesus’ authority came to Him from the position and actions of being the Son of God. Jesus fulfilled forty-four prophecies announcing Him as the Messiah.”

  As Jackson glanced at the section of the journal highlighting the exchange between Rev and the soldier, he once again forced himself back to his present study of the notes. Based on what he was reading and what he had witnessed, it was apparent that Rev had anticipated a challenge to Jesus’ authority. Jackson unfolded an underscored section torn from the book Science Speaks that was taped to Rev’s notes. The page detailed the statistical improbability of one man, whether accidentally or deliberately, fulfilling just eight of the prophecies Jesus fulfilled. The statistical probability is 1 to 1017 power, and that would be like trying to find one silver dollar in a place the size of Texas covered with silver dollars. Jackson remembered that he and the others at the Bible study had been floored by those statistics when Rev had shared them.

  Jackson pulled the simple truth from Rev’s notes that Jesus’ reference to the end-times or any other matter would be significant, due solely to the unique authority he holds as the Messiah—a fact that was described in the Bible before He was born in Bethlehem, just as the last days have been explained before they occur.

  Jackson realized that Rev was trying to drive home in the study that the authority that identified Jesus as the Messiah before His arrival had also described signs leading up to the end of time. Rev wrote that “Jesus drew His power from God the Father, guided by the Holy Spirit, and He demonstrated His authority throughout His life as recorded for us in the Bible. The nation of Israel and their religious elite failed to recognize the deity of Jesus and the signs that pointed to the source of his Messiahship.”

  Rev’s voice continued before Jackson as he read. “The signs Jesus illuminates in Matthew 24 have continued gaining intensity since Jesus’ ascension from the Mount of Olives over two thousand years ago. The fact that Jesus Christ’s birth, ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection were all announced in the Bible before they ever took place make Jesus’ statements on the end-times critical to understand.”

  A bit of turbulence and a call over the intercom to buckle seat belts interrupted Jackson’s focus on his crash course in biblical end-times prophesy. As he glanced about the dark plane cabin, Jackson saw that his reading light had become a single beacon in the vast economy section.

  Returning his thoughts to the notes, Jackson realized he had never had someone articulate something so utterly incomprehensible and implausible, yet at the same time so simple and straightforward as clearly and passionately as Rev had done in his journal. While he still found it hard to believe in the existence of God, he was intrigued to know that daily events were perhaps not a mere coincidence, but maybe part of a message described thousands of years ago to warn humanity of dark days ahead.

  Jackson contemplated recent world events, recalling the numerous theories, some of which seemed to have a biblical connection that stemmed from the invasion of Israel by a Russian-led coalition a few years ago. The attack came after Israel’s announcement of finding the world’s largest natural gas reserves within its borders, and its deal to supply the European Union with natural gas over Russia and Middle Eastern energy leaders. He began highlighting Rev’s examples of current-day events that illuminate the birth pains described in the Bible.

  Rev pointed out that terrorism was not a new phenomenon: “Terror’s global spread and growing ties to religion provide a modern example of Jesus’ message in Matthew 24 regarding intensification of old troubles.”

  Jackson highlighted Rev’s declaration on climate change in the journal, which said, “Climate change or any issue facing humanity is not a simple black-and-white issue, but contains a spiritual component as well. I acknowledge humanity’s sinfulness and failure to steward the Earth as God intended, which enhances climatic problems. However, the Bible decrees in Romans 8:22 that we know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time, meaning even the Earth is anticipating Jesus’ return to set things back into proper order.”

  The conclusion of the study notes served as a mirror for Jackson; he saw himself as one of the lost of the world that Rev was desperately imploring to receive God’s gift of salvation. He was beginning to realize that being a decent person was not enough…that God’s gift of salvation was Jesus Christ, and that the offering of His only Son to die for the sins of the world—for each one of us—was a gift without price. Jackson thought on Rev’s challenge to the team to understand the view that Jesus offered about the events of today, a perspective that was written thousands of years ago, an assessment that said the events of the world serve as a proclamation to receive Jesus as the gift of salvation before it’s too late.

  The final notes of the Bible study brought a chill to Jackson’s frame, and a shiver ran down his spine as he read it. Rev boldly appealed to his listeners that “the end-times, announced by the rapture of the Church, could happen at any time. The signs that Jesus provided for His disciples and all that have followed over the last two thousand plus years lead to the inevitable climax of humanity’s history. I urge all of you who have been attending these Bible studies to review the notes provided, seek to understand the message of Jesus Christ, and make the decision to accept His gift of salvation before it’s too late. While there may be some who come to find Jesus as their Lord and Savior during the final years of humanity’s history, it will come at a tremendous cost, which will likely be your life.”

  Jackson felt a tightness in his chest as he read the last paragraph Rev had written: “I don’t want to scare anyone, but I do want to leave you with an authoritative description of what the end of time will be like for those who choose to ignore God’s warnings and are left in the wake of the rapture. Jesus has this to say about the latter days: ‘If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened’ (Matthew 24:22).”

  Jackson had no idea what to make of what he had read and heard over the last day, but he would be lying to himself
if he didn’t acknowledge that Rev’s message did stir within him something he didn’t yet understand. As the plane made its final approach and landing, Jackson promised himself that he would study Rev’s Bible and notebook and come to a decision about God sooner rather than later.

  CHAPTER 3

  “Hello? Hey, we are downstairs outside the hotel waiting for you, so hurry up. Let’s not make the day any worse by being late,” Jackson growled through the phone into Christopher’s ear.

  “Oh man, I’ll be down in ten minutes,” Christopher promised, surfacing from a deep sleep. He was glad that he had put his dress uniform together last night before crashing into a coma-like sleep. Christopher ran through the lobby, slowing only long enough to grab a cup of black coffee before heading out to the waiting standard black government SUV. The soothing aroma of the coffee almost pushed from Christopher’s mind the feeling that this day would be one to remember.

  “Well, hello, sleeping beauty. I am glad you could join me for the festivities today,” Jackson razzed.

  “Listen, old man, I am trying to get through this day without killing anyone, and why are you so chipper?”

  “I am chipper because I am the supporting cast in this drama, not the lead. I also know that most of the anger is coming your way, so how could I not be happy?”

  “Thanks, Jackson, that’s really hilarious. I am so glad you’re here,” Christopher returned sarcastically as he sipped the black coffee. “Joe Cunningham! You’re still working for the Executive Support Office. Great to see a decent person this morning,” he greeted as he took notice of the driver.

  “Glad to be with you again, sir. I hope you have been giving all these terrorists some justice.”

  “Joe, business has been a little rough lately. Have you met Jackson?”