June 6, 2026 | www.gospelofjesuschrist.blog | River Wilde
I would like to begin today by briefly sharing Christ’s teaching about the Rapture as recorded in the New Testament. Understanding this one principle is quite revealing in so many other aspects of the gospel.
The Rapture
1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 (KJV)
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heavenwith a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
This teaching is filled with information relating to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let’s unpack it.
The Lord will be descending from a place called “heaven.” Heaven, therefore, is where Jesus Christ resides. As stated, He will call for the dead “in Christ” first to meet Him in the clouds. This characteristic of being “in Christ” is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to understand!
Identifying How a Person is Identified as Being “in Christ”
The phrase “in Christ” is one of the most important teachings in the New Testament. It describes a person who has placed their faith in Jesus Christ and has been spiritually united with Him. The Bible teaches that salvation, forgiveness, eternal life, righteousness, and security are found in Christ, not in ourselves.
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus…”
— Romans 8:1 KJV
Those who are in Christ are no longer under God’s condemnation because Jesus has already paid for their sins.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
— 2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV
Being in Christ means receiving a new spiritual life. This is because of the concept of being spiritually reborn, or Born Again, as taught beautifully in the New Testament. The old person is spiritually transformed through faith in Him.
“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.”
— 1 John 5:11 KJV
Eternal life is not found in a church, a religion, or good works. It is found in Jesus Christ alone.
“To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”
— Ephesians 1:6 KJV
Because of Christ’s righteousness, believers are accepted by God. Are you seeing the simplicity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Are you also seeing the significance of His gift, the atonement, and the importance for all of us to accept this gift by becoming Spiritually Reborn, (Born Again), as He has commanded?
“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”
— Ephesians 1:7 KJV
Those who are in Christ have been redeemed and forgiven through His shed blood.
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”
— Romans 8:35 KJV
The believer’s relationship with Christ is secure because it is based on His faithfulness, not our performance. This has indeed been a life changer in my own personal life. My Salvation is a GIFT from Christ, and nothing that I have earned for myself.
The atonement has always been important to me, as I recognized the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for me…us! But to realize that because of His gift to us, I will be going to HEAVEN adds a depth to His sacrifice that I had not ever considered. Going to heaven is not up to me and my good works, paying a full tithing, nor special temple rituals…It is all because of His atonement… HIS Sacrifice.
This was done for all mankind, yet it is not forced upon anyone because of our free agency. I’m again grateful for His teachings of how we can accept His atonement into our own lives by experiencing this new rebirth, which does require some action on our part of accepting Him into our lives. Let’s continue to learn how we can do this.
The Bible teaches that a person enters into Christ through faith in the gospel:
“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”
— Galatians 3:26 KJV
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.“
— Romans 10:9 KJV
When a person trusts in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, they are born again, receive the Holy Spirit, and are placed into Christ.
Now, this teaching might be difficult for some people to accept, due to how they have been taught their entire life through their religion, but please understand Christ’s teaching. Our FAITH in this, MUST be that our Salvation (living with Jesus Christ forever) is ONLY because of the atonement of Jesus Christ, Nothing Else
If you think that a temple ceremony, paying a full tithing, church attendance or even your own good works play a part in your salvation, then you are not there yet in your faith of His atonement. THIS IS A BIG DEAL!!! Christ has even given us this scripture to show the importance of us understanding the significance of giving all of the glory to Him and not sharing it with your church, or yourself:
Matthew 7:21–23 (KJV):
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
To be “in Christ” means that your faith is in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. His death becomes your payment for sin, His righteousness becomes your righteousness, His life becomes your life, and His future becomes your future. Every spiritual blessing is found in Him.
“And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ…”
— Philippians 3:9 KJV
The great question of the gospel is not, “What church am I in?” but rather, “Am I in Christ?” according to the Scriptures.
So, let’s return to the teaching of the rapture for a moment, using some additional supporting scriptures:
1 Corinthians 15:51–52 (KJV)
“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
Those who have died “in Christ” will be resurrected at the time of the rapture, and those of us who are alive (in Christ) will be “changed” into the same perfect bodies of those who have been resurrected. This happens “in a moment.”
John 14:2–3 (KJV)
“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
Again, a powerful teaching that continues to lend credibility of what He is sharing with us.
In this scripture, Jesus is talking to His apostles, yet He is declaring the information to ALL who are In Christ. He is telling us that He will come back, and receive us unto Himself, and then He makes a profound statement…That after He accepts us, we will be with Him forever. And where will that be? IN HEAVEN, as it was the place that He descended from, as detailed in 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 (KJV)
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven..”
Let’s keep learning…..
Philippians 3:20–21 (KJV)
“For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body…”
For those who are born again through faith in Christ alone, the rapture is the blessed hope—the moment when the Lord gathers His people to Himself and they shall “ever be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:17 KJV)
To conclude, I’d like to identify the comfort that is mentioned in this scripture:
1 Thessalonians 4:18 (KJV)
“Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
If you are “in Christ” as identified through these writings, you KNOW the following:
*You will be included in the rapture which is about to take place.
*You will be going to HEAVEN! And will be “forever with the Lord.”
*And most importantly, you can know of this right now, instead of waiting to see what will happen. This faith will give you the knowledge that this indeed will happen to you.
Can you see the comfort that was promised through these teachings? You are already there! You have done what you needed to do to be rescued by God from the coming disaster which will come upon the earth during the 7-year Tribulation Period. Is their no greater comfort than to know this?
I invite those of you who still question the validity of what I am saying to take your concern to God in prayer. I, or any other person, cannot convince you that this is the case. Your belief will come from the teachings and conformation from His Holy Spirit.
If this does not immediately happen when you pray, I can tell you what God has continually told me…”To keep studying HIS Gospel”, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as He taught when He was on the earth, and nothing more. Some of you reading this must break free from the deceptive teachings that the adversary has injected into Christian religions.
You MUST be teachable, and humbled in order to be taught the truth. If you study to PROVE your religion is correct, you will continue to spiral in confusion. Rather, SEARCH for the TRUTH that He taught in the New Testament.
Let me share a very important scripture teachings that assisted me greatly in my search for truth.
“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”
— Galatians 1:8 KJV
He goes on to repeat the same teaching…
“As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”
— Galatians 1:9 KJV
This is one of the strongest warnings in Scripture. Paul teaches that the gospel of Jesus Christ does not change, and even if an angel appeared from heaven and taught a different gospel, believers are not to accept it.
“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”
— Hebrews 13:8 KJV
The message of Galatians 1:8–9 is clear: God’s gospel is not subject to revision, addition, or replacement by any man, church, prophet, or even an angel. The true gospel is the one delivered through Jesus Christ and His apostles, and believers are commanded to hold fast to it.
In my search for truth, this gave me the perimeter of gospel content that I should be studying. I recognized that the New Testament was the Gospel of Jesus Christ, nothing more. This is what I chose to focus on in my research and study.
By doing so, the truth becomes so VERY CLEAR. There is no longer all of this conflicting information that complicates His gospel teachings. I’ve come to recognize a consistent pattern of deception through religion: Any teaching or principle that gives glory to a religion, a prophet, or anything else that is NOT Jesus Christ, is a false gospel principle.
You do not need a church for your repentance process and forgiveness. You do not need a temple ceremony to be taught how to get into heaven. We are not to give our “praise to the man.” To be taught that we will be burned at His coming if we do not pay tithing, is a blatant defamation of the second coming of Christ, and certainly a false teaching.
I thought throughout my life that I knew Jesus Christ. However, I certainly recognize that I did not, nor did I understand the Gospel that He taught. I have that knowledge and understanding now.
I am not one to judge anyone else. However, I am certainly one to ask the questions;
“Do you know Jesus Christ?”
“Do you know the gospel that He taught?”
You judging yourself right now might be the most important thing that you have ever done.
I give thanks for God’s plan of the end times. I know that even those who have not experienced this spiritual rebirth now, will be given an opportunity during the upcoming Tribulation Period, even though they will miss the rapture. God’s plan of extreme hardship will certainly humble those who continually reject His call to come to Him, and know Jesus Christ.
I invite all of you to listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost, for you will know the season of the rapture, and if you will be taken home during this glorious event. Our spiritual learning and growth start with US, and no one else. Take that ownership today and learn of Him. See you soon.
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