Dion & The Belmonts had a hit song in 1960 titled ‘Where or When,’ and one verse says, “but who knows where or when?” The song had nothing to do with Christianity, but the title and lyrical question could certainly be applied when considering the topics of our physical death and the Rapture of the Church (Christians) from the earth by Jesus Christ. The Rapture is the event that precipitates the horrible seven-year great tribulation period on the earth, which will be dominated by the anti-Christ. None of us should want to experience those awful seven years.
We do not know where or when we will face our physical death, so that should create a sense of urgency in every person to become a believer in Jesus Christ and thereby avoid an eternal spiritual death, separated from God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, forever. So, the sooner you believe in the scripture words found in verse John 3:16 of the Holy Bible, the better for you! “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
You could die tomorrow in any place, at any time. We are all God’s children, but each of us must personally choose to accept the free gift of salvation made possible through your belief in Jesus Christ and what He did for you on the crucifixion cross. Your belief in Jesus’s death as the sacrificial Lamb of God is the only way to have your sins redeemed and thereby be made righteous in the sight of God the Father, and thus enable you to enter eternal life in heaven (Hebrews 9:28).
Entering heaven can only happen by your belief in the shedding of Christ’s blood for you, His death upon the cross for you, and then His victory over death by His Resurrection. Jesus is the ONLY way to eternal life. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).
To be a Christian means you chose to enter the narrow gate that leads to heaven, through your faith in Jesus, rather than choose to enter the wide gate of unbelief that leads to damnation (Matthew 7:13).
Now, for those Christians who are still alive on the earth when the Rapture takes place, we still need to ponder the question of where or when will this event take place. We do know that Jesus will appear in the air above the earth and snatch away believers in Him, all in the twinkling of an eye, with a shout and a trumpet sound, to join Him in the clouds of His glory in the air, and we will be taken to heaven with Him in our new resurrection bodies. The Bible does not give us all the precise details about the Rapture, but it would seem it occurs all around the earth at the same time (Matthew 24:31; 1 Corinthians 15:51-54; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17).
Some fortunate Christians are going to experience the trip of a lifetime without physically dying when the Rapture takes place, but all Christians, dead or alive, will receive their resurrection bodies and be taken to heaven. Not to exist as just some spirit floating around without a body for all eternity, but we will have a real touchable body, capable of the enjoyment of eating and much more, just as Jesus did during the 40 days He spent on Earth after his resurrection, and before His ascension to Heaven (John 21:12-13).
Now, as to the ‘when’ question about the Rapture, the answer is easy. We do not know when. The Bible states clearly that only God the Father knows the precise time (Mark 13:32-33).
However, the Bible does share some details as to the ‘signs of the end-times’ which will take place prior to the Rapture. These signs give us a general indication on when the Rapture and the following Great Tribulation period will occur. By noting and seeing with our own eyes the increasing severity and frequency of the signs, as listed in the Bible (which scripture compares to childbirth pains), it appears the Rapture is rapidly getting closer by the day because the signs are falling into place and beginning to happen all at the same time today. Therefore, it seems the time of the Rapture is imminent (Matthew 24:3-14; Romans 1:21-32; 2 Timothy 3:2-4; Matthew 15:19; 2 Peter 3:3; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 4:18-19; Revelation 3:10).
There is nothing left to be done, as recorded in Bible prophecy, to prevent the Rapture from taking place at anytime now. So again, there is urgency in your decision to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, because you don’t want to be ‘left behind’ to contend with the ugly hardships of the seven-year tribulation period. Make your decision for Christ right now because no one knows exactly ‘where or when’ our death, or the Rapture, will take place. But your choice is a matter of your eternal life or death. Don’t gamble on this most important decision of your life.
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