The most common question people ask is “What is the Rapture?”
The Rapture is an event in which believers in Jesus, both dead and alive, are given new spiritual bodies in an instant and are supernaturally taken from Earth to be with God in heaven. Another term used to describe the Rapture is ‘The Blessed Hope’.
The Rapture is best understood in terms of a wedding. Jesus Christ is the groom, the church is his bride, and the wedding guests are the Old Testament Jewish saints. In simple terms, the Rapture is an event in which Jesus the groom comes to take his church the bride away from Earth to his Father’s house in heaven where they will be united for all eternity. There will be a wedding feast or wedding supper of the Lamb to celebrate this most holy union.
Many people are under the mistaken impression that the concept of the Rapture is non-biblical. Others believe that the church is destined to endure the trials of the Tribulation Week which is actually the last 7 years before Jesus returns. Many people believe that there either is no Rapture or that the Rapture happens right before the Second Coming of Christ. The concept of the Rapture is completely biblical. The phrase ‘caught u” used in 1 Thess 4:17 is from the Greek word ‘Harpazo’ and the Latin word ‘Rapturo’ which is used in the Latin Vulgate.
In his book, ‘Precepts of the Blessed Hope’, Don Mills offers so much more than a list of reasons and proofs for placing the timing of the Blessed Hope before Daniel’s 70th Week or the Tribulation.
Mills has done an outstanding job of compiling and illustrating the most amazing biblical types which are found in the Old Testament. Again and again these biblical types illustrate the Blessed Hope that Christ will soon return for his bride before the Tribulation.
Mills peels back the layers of prophecy by clearly defining the distinctions between the usage of the titles ‘Son of Man’ and ‘Son of God’ as well as between God’s earthly promises to Israel and his heavenly promises to the church, taking the reader deeper and closer to the core of understanding God’s prophetic Word; past, present and future.
The reader quickly learns that a correct understanding of prophecy can only be attained by understanding who Jesus was speaking to; be it the Jews, the church or the Gentiles.
‘Precepts’ systematically dismantles many misconceptions about biblical prophecy as it pertains to both the Jew and the Christian and should be required reading for all students of God’s Word, but especially for those who are passionate about understanding prophecy in these last days.