HOW SECRET WILL THE “SECRET RAPTURE” BE?

Mark 13:24-27

²⁴ “But in those days, after that time of suffering, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light; ²⁵ the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the sky will be shaken. ²⁶ Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds, displaying great power and glory. ²⁷ Then he will send angels and they will gather [his] chosen ones together from the four winds, from the tip of the land to the tip of the sky.

everyone will see

Jesus had just warned his disciples that false Messiahs would appear all through the interval age between his first and second advents. Now, he contrasts that with a message about his second coming – the appearance of the true messiah. No one will have to alert us when Jesus really returns. The sky itself will shake and unravel. Darkness will fall, making the dazzling brilliance of Christ’s glorious return even more spectacular. Everyone will see him, making the “secret rapture” the universe’s worst kept secret. Angels will flood the earth, harvesting believers from every continent, and every elevation.

When exactly will this happen. We do not know. If anyone tries to tell you that he knows, it is a lie. It could be today, or a thousand years from today. The only clue our Lord gave us is that it would happen after the suffering time he had previously mentioned. That time of suffering ended in the first century. Twenty centuries later, we still await his return.

LORD, prepare us for your return, whenever it happens. We long to see you, bursting through the clouds.