The #1 Item on my “BUCKET LIST”……and its NOT about THIS WORLD. (This is a long read…sorry) 

Background:

I’m 58-1/2.  Been a Christian for over 20 ++ years.  Been an “end times” student for 15+ years.  Started to learn and believe in the Return of Jesus Christ at the height of my career and income…..so it wasn’t out of desperation that I became a believer in a PreTrib Rapture.   But…..as the last 12 years became a greater and greater challenge in THIS life……my desire (and belief) in a very near Rapture has become greater and greater.

When the world’s financial markets – from real estate to stocks – crumbled in 2008, I really thought it would have been the “perfect” time for the Rapture, as the world economy was very well poised to go right down the toilet, and usher in the AC to take control and bring peace to those left behind. 

So, here we are 5 years after that…..and (while things are not anywhere near like they were pre-2008) they have returned to a “new normal” ….and life then…….goes on just as it always has.  (Hmmmmm, sounds like that time just before the flood in Noah’s day.   Quote from Mathew 24: 36-39:

36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[f] but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

Gosh….could that be any more true of TODAY????  …and they KNOW NOTHING about what will happen until the Rapture comes and takes away the true believers in Jesus Christ….JUST as the Bible says. 

But those who will be watching…..   WE shall KNOW when the time IS NEAR…..even upon us!!

Quote: Theslonians 5:  Verse 4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5 You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

So……..  for so many many reasons…….and the “signs of the times” …..of the LAST of the LAST DAYS…..  I’ve been CLOSELY watching for the Rapture ever since 9-11-2001…….THE DAY that changed the world.

In this life, I started a “Dream List” …..or you could call it a Bucket List… about 20 years ago.  Dreams for travel, business plans, personal/family plans, charitable efforts, Christian mission trips,  golf, flying, etc, etc.  And over the last 20 years, many of those dreams have come true. 

But the greatest item still on my dream list now……is NOT about THIS world.  My GREATEST DREAM now is to see the Rapture Happen…….to meet Jesus Christ in the air…….to be AT the Marriage Supper of the Lamb of God….for 7 years…..and then to see Jesus Christ come back to earth (along with His saints) and usher in the Millennium Kingdom for 100 years.  I believe it is THAT near…..I believe it is THAT important!  And I CAN’T WAIT……even though life here is still good (if not very good).  The Dreams of THIS life just aren’t as important and exciting to me as they once were.  THIS item….the Rapture/Marriage Supper of the Lamb of God and the Return of Christ / Millennium Kingdom -  has become so REAL and IMMINENT to me, that it has overshadowed ANY of my other Dreams in my Dream Book. 

So……..that being the case…….

How does one PLAN OUT this Dream, as one would any other Dream on the list?  You know, a Dream such as getting a pilot’s license has many parts to it.  Ie, Take a test ride in the plane you want to learn in.  Sign up for lessons and start.  Complete the book work and take the test.  Complete all lessons in the air and then take the air-test.  Then, there were planes I wanted to fly and places I wanted to fly over as the pilot.  (The grand canyon, Hawaiian volcanoes, Niagara Falls, the Hudson River, the Golden Gate Bridge, etc, etc.)  You get the idea.  A Dream has MANY components to it.  

So…….what’s IN my Dream List for the Rapture and all that comes with it over those next 7 years?  And, can these “plans” be backed up with Bible quotes, or are they just my “hopes” during that time?

Well, interestingly, John MacArthur JUST FINISHED a Radio Sermon Series that fit right into this.  (hmmmm, coincidence?  I hope NOT!!)  go to John’s Website to hear it all yourself.  www.GTY.org  Find his series on HEAVEN.  (As I remember, John said “If we don’t think about what heaven will be like, since that IS our PROMISE from God one day……then maybe you really aren’t a Christian- if these things don’t run through your mind from time to time.”  GOOD POINT!  As I believe the Rapture is so very near, I find thoughts about heaven on my mind more and more over the past few years.) 

BTW….in the meantime, in THIS life……I find myself “coasting”……..  trying to enjoy every last moment with my kids and grandkids;  every last trip – big or small…..even a weekend getaway to another city, or a round of golf and especially flying…..which is still my one great love, as it lets me see the earth from a POV that is a little more from God’s perspective.  And, from 3000 feet, the world looks like a more wonderful place….rather than getting caught up in the nightly news where so many people are being killed at the hands of another evil person.  But….I digress…….sorry……..   

So, I’ve started to seriously consider how I might put together MY DREAM LIST for the next GREAT EVENT on God’s Timeline….for these, the LAST of the LAST Days…and the Rapture and all that goes with it.  So, here are some of my thoughts on all of this…….FYI

1)      I KNOW……that I “get to go” when the Rapture happens.  And I am so very very glad I don’t have to wonder about it!!   And I believe a PRE-Trib Rapture is the ONLY good explanation about what happens next…….now that Israel has fulfilled Bible prophecy to come back to their homeland, after the atrocities of the Holocaust,  in 1948…..just under 70 years ago.  (This is NOT meant to be a teaching paper….so I won’t go into the Biblical proofs…sorry)

2)      So then……what will the Rapture be like?  And what will the Marriage Supper of the Lamb of God be like?  And, WHO will I see FIRST when I get there?  These are the type of questions I play with now from time to time.  I don’t have any “firm” answers….I just mull these things over in my head.  And I have more QUESTIONS, than I do ANSWERS.

3)      Questions:

a.       Will we be in a LARGE dining hall?  Where will I sit?  With old friends?  New friends?  Will I be able to “explore” beyond this place? 

BTW……..I know the Bible speaks of what we CAN expect in heaven…..crowns for various reasons……the ability to “rule and reign with Christ” in heaven…..over others…   I gotta tell you, I have NO expectations on that, though I will take the Bible at face value on this subject.  As for me, I’m going to be so very very HAPPY just to BE THERE……that everything else……is up to Christ…….everything else is the “icing on top of the cake.” 

But remember, there are 4 events on this DREAM LIST ITEM:

1)      The Rapture

2)      The Marriage Supper of the Lamb of God

3)      The Return of Christ with His Saints…..of which I think I will be one of the multitude.  How it goes down, I really don’t know. But the book of Revelation gives a stirring account of it all!!

4)      And then, the Millennial Kingdom.  So, many of my “hopes” probably involve those 1000 years.

So, the questions I wonder about are:  (and there aren’t too many….but they do stir my imagination)

1)       There is a HUGE UNIVERSE out there…….and I LOVE to travel.  So I wonder a lot “Will I/we have the chance to see all of the universe up close and personal?  We have only a glimpse of it, through the Hubble telescope photos. 

2)      And, I wonder:  What will we be doing for those 1000 years?  Some of my hopes are

a.       To rule and reign is up to Christ.  If He has plans for me on this issue….I’m IN! 

b.      And I know…..there will be a lot of Praise and Thanksgiving going on.  Hey we will ALL be so glad to be there.  And I love a great choir…great music…..and all of that.  And I’m sure it will be the BEST we have ever experienced…..and again….I CAN’T WAIT!!   My best day on earth (obviously) can’t compare to all of that!!  (There is an old phrase: my worst day in heaven will still be better than my best day on earth.   To which I say:  DUH!!  Lol)  But I don’t think there will ever be a “worst day in heaven!!” 

c.       Will there be an “economy” I heaven?  Or is it all free?  For all of our needs?  But if there is, will we all need to have jobs then?  I mean, there will be a 1000 year millennial kingdom.  Personally, I hope it will be like the Garden of Eden.  Did Adam and Eve need to work then?  Were they farmers, tending to the garden?  (Hey….I have a 2 hour round trip drive to work for the last 2-1/2 years….I have a LOT of time on my hands!!  Lol)  

And beyond that……..

·         HOW will we travel?

·         Can we travel ALL throughout the Universe?  Seems like a waste of GOOD WORK if we all don’t get a chance to see it someday!.  (lol)  Hey….I LOVE looking over the rim of the Grand Canyon…and hiking in and rafting the Colorado River……  just think how much MORE incredible it would be to be ON a planet with TWO suns……or be ON Saturn and see those incredible rings above your head.   So….TRAVEL plans (really Hopes) play a big role in my Dream List here!! 

Anyway…….these are the kinds of things that float through my mind A LOT these days….especially when I hear a great sermon series like the one from John MacArthur over the last few weeks on the subject of HEAVEN. 

God gave me a VERY ACTIVE mind…….. that’s for sure! 

TICK TOCK……  hope it’s all very SOON!

YFIC,

Randy

PS – I understand I COULD BE WRONG about the nearness of the Rapture.  But it IS what it IS.  I believe what I believe and I couldn’t forget about it and concentrate JUST on THIS life If I HAD TO!!  I get a lot of enjoyment out of learning about the Rapture and all that comes right after it….even if I’m wrong about how near it is.   

It IS....my greatest DREAM at this point.  And.....I long...to FINALLY be right!!