Will You Be Left Behind? How to Be 100% Ready for the Rapture

Excerpted from The Rapture, the Antichrist and the Tribulation.

To ensure we are ready for the moment Christ comes to rapture the Church, we must be willing to probe deeply into our hearts to determine if our spiritual status is what we think it is.

When Paul addressed believers in Second Corinthians 13:5, he said, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”

The word “examine” in this verse is interpreted from a form of the Greek word peiradzo, a word that pictures an intense investigation. The use of this word informs us that Paul was not speaking of a surface investigation, but of a deep probe into one’s own heart to see if he or she is really in the faith. As a phrase, the original Greek means, “Examine and deeply probe your lives to determine if you are really in the faith…”

Paul then added that we are also to “prove” ourselves. That word “prove” is interpreted from a form of the Greek word dokimadzo, a word that means to approve after testing. It is the very same word used in the ancient world to illustrate a test used to determine real and counterfeit coinage. Counterfeit coins looked very authentic — and there were so many counterfeit coins in circulation in ancient times that it became an accepted practice to test them to determine if they were real or counterfeit. If tested and proven as fake or counterfeit, they were rejected. Only if the coins were tested and proven authentic were they approved for public circulation and accepted as a form of payment.

Paul used this word to urge us to probe our hearts to see if our faith is real or if it is counterfeit. The fact is, there are so-called believers in the Church who act like us and talk like us, but a deeper probe reveals that they are not of us.

This is the category of people John referred to in First John 2:18 and 19 (AMP), which says, “Children, it is the last hour [the end of this age]; and just as you heard that the antichrist is coming [the one who will oppose Christ and attempt to replace Him], even now many antichrists (false teachers) have appeared, which confirms our belief that it is the last hour. They went out from us [seeming at first to be Christians], but they were not really of us [because they were not truly born again and spiritually transformed]; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out [teaching false doctrine], so that it would be clearly shown that none of them are of us.”

These so-called believers did not pass the test — dokimadzo — of a true, saving belief in Christ.

But the word “prove” in Second Corinthians 13:5, translated from dokimadzo, was also a word used to picture the act of refining metal by fire to remove its impurities. First, the metal was placed in a fire that burned at a certain degree of heat; then it was placed in a fire burning at an even higher degree; and finally, it was placed in a blazing fire that burned at the highest degree of all. Three such tests were needed to remove from the metal all the unseen impurities that were hidden from the naked eye.

From the viewpoint of the human eye, the metal looked strong and ready to be used even prior to those tests. But unseen defects were resident in the metal that would have shown up later as a break, a fracture, or some kind of malfunction. To be assured the metal was free of defects and ready to be used effectively, with no breakdown, these three purifying tests at three different degrees of blazing hot fire were required. The fire was hot and the process was lengthy, but the tests were necessary in order to achieve the desired result.

This historic meaning is also carried into Paul’s call for each of us to “prove” ourselves. You see, one may seem to have a genuine and strong faith, but the genuineness of one’s faith is revealed by fiery tests that expose faith’s true nature. The tests that come may not be sent by God, but regardless of the source, such tests expose impurities and reveal the weakness or strength of one’s faith.

In ancient Athens, the word dokimadzo was also used to describe the process of testing the character of individuals before they were permitted to be installed in any public office. Being a public officer was so serious that to find out if an individual possessed the right inner character for such a notable position, he was thoroughly examined to see if he could pass a character test. This intense examination was carried out by a supreme council, and its purpose was to determine if a candidate was worthy to hold a public office. If a candidate was approved, he could be chosen for public leadership — but if he failed the character test, he would be eliminated from any public leadership in society.

Just as candidates in the ancient world were put through an intense test to determine if their character was sufficient to hold public office, Paul urged us to probe and test our heart to discover what is really at the core of our being.

There are “spiritual mannequins” who have a form of godliness but lack the real substance within (see 2 Timothy 3:5). But by allowing the Holy Spirit to probe deep into our beings to test us, we will be able to determine our real spiritual status. Especially in light of the Lord’s coming and the prospect of eternity, it is imperative that we deeply probe our hearts to make sure we do not fall into the category of those who say, “Lord, lord,” yet He responds to them saying, “I never knew you.”

This Earth and Its Works Will Pass Away, But He Who Does the Will of God Will Live Forever

In Second Peter 3:10, Peter wrote, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”

Each time I ponder this verse, my mind goes to one day long ago when our family stood at the foot of the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt while we were on a trip. We had spent that entire week floating down the Nile River, touring all the sites of ancient Egypt, which were thousands of years old. We were all amazed at how well the condition of these ancient locations had been preserved.

But finally, we stood at the foot of the ancient, massive Great Pyramid of Giza. It, too, was in marvelous condition, especially considering that it had been standing there for many thousands of years. It was very evident that the Great Pyramid had been built solidly so that it would stand as an eternal remembrance to the Egyptian king who built it.

But as I stood there with my family, I told my sons, who were young at the time, “This pyramid has stood here for thousands of years, but a day is coming when it will be completely dissolved. The Bible tells us a day is coming when everything on the earth will melt with fervent heat, and the earth and all its works will be burned up. That means a day is coming when none of these monuments will exist any longer. Everything built by man will vanish, including these monuments that have stood the test of time for thousands of years. The only thing that will last is what people have done for Jesus Christ.”

Of course, the scripture I referred to was Second Peter 3:10. This verse says that a day is coming when “…the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”

According to Peter, a day is coming at the very end of the age when everything we presently see and know will be changed. Even the heavens as we currently know them will pass away. The words “pass away” in Second Peter 3:10 are from the Greek word parerchomai, which pictures something that is temporary and will soon be passing away.

Peter said the present heavens will pass away with a “great noise.” The words “great noise” are from the Greek word rhoidzedon. This word describes a sound so loud that it is nearly deafening to those who hear it. It further carries the idea of a tremendous rushing, hissing, sizzling, cracking sound or a noise so thunderous that no one can escape it.

When these events transpire, the heavens and all “the elements” shall melt with a fervent heat. The word “elements” is the Greek word stoicheion, and it refers to everything that exists — from the heavenly bodies in the sky overhead to the mountains, the earth, the buildings constructed by man, and even the smallest atomic particles. Absolutely nothing will survive the transforming, purifying fire that will melt everything.

The word “melt” in this verse is from the Greek word luo, which normally means to loose. But in this case, it pictures the dissolving of matter and the complete dissolution of the earth’s elements. This melting of the elements will occur because of a “fervent heat.”

The words “fervent heat” come from the Greek word kausoomai, which depicts a fire so intense that nothing escapes its fierce blaze. It was used by medical writers to convey the idea of a fever that consumed a victim. This is an intense, raging, blazing, blistering, burning fire that consumes and, hence, purges everything it touches. And absolutely nothing from this physical world that has been built by man will survive when Jesus purifies the present world and creates a new Heaven and a new Earth.

But years ago on our family trip to Egypt, I reminded my sons of all this because I wanted them to know that the only thing to survive this life will be what we do for Jesus Christ. We tend to think that houses, buildings, and the things we construct in life will live forever. But the truth is, even the structures that are built to survive through the ages of time will eventually pass away.

Since only that which is done for eternity will outlast this world, we can see why Peter asked the question, “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness?” (2 Peter 3:11).

A day is coming when all the material possessions you own and hold dear will be “dissolved.” The word “dissolved” is from the Greek word luo, which is the same word mentioned in Second Peter 3:10 to describe the complete dissolution of everything that presently exists. By using this word, Peter was alerting us to the fact that nothing we presently own will last forever. In light of this truth, how should we view our material possessions, and how should we prioritize our lives?

The truth is that too often, we devote the bulk of our time to our homes, gardens, cars, businesses, or other worldly affairs. Although we must give attention to the basic things that are necessary to life, we make a huge mistake if we focus on these temporal matters while neglecting eternal matters that will actually pass from this life into the next. Only that which is done for the Lord will last. Everything else will be left behind in a world that will one day be consumed with a fervent heat. John corroborates this truth in First John 2:17, where he wrote, “…The world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

Since everything will be dissolved and “pass away,” doesn’t it make sense that we invest spiritually in our present and future lives? How should this knowledge affect the way you live? Peter asked, “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be...?” In other words, since the heavens and the earth and everything in them are temporary and will one day pass away, what should have your greatest attention and devotion?

Unsaved men in today’s world live for the present. While they often do great philanthropic works and long for their names to be remembered in future generations by perhaps having their names on buildings or streets named after them, every building that bears a person’s name will one day evaporate.

On the other hand, those who live for eternity, walk by faith, and obey what the Word of God tells them to do will make a name for themselves that will be remembered in Heaven for all of eternity. Doing what God has told them to do may include doing things that are philanthropic or building buildings, neighborhoods, and monuments. But when the physical structures they have built one day “melt” along with everything else, the “faith” they have put to work in obedience to God’s command will reach into eternity — and for that they will be richly rewarded.

But the message I conveyed to my sons that day in front of the Egyptian pyramids is the same message I want to ask you today:

• Are you investing in eternity — in works of obedience to Jesus that will stand the test of time (see 1 Corinthians 3:13-14)?

• Or are you consumed only with natural things that will one day melt along with everything that exists?