The question has been asked of; How do we know that the rapture, the snatching away of the church is true. Of course my first answer is the question of: How do you know that the rapture isn’t true? There is no greater resource to authenticate the truth of the rapture than God by his Spirit and God by his word and deeds. Throughout the history of the world the bible has proven to be without error in its history, its prophecies fulfilled and being fulfilled. The bible speaks of the snatching away of the church and gives wonderful examples of this event taking place through persons of both the Old and the New Testaments. In The Rapture part 1 we conversed about man living forever be he sinner or saint, We showed from the word of God examples of people who died in one era of time or realm and was alive in another, namely Moses, Abraham, the rich man and Lazarus the beggar. Of course Jesus is the greatest of our examples. All of these persons died and were resurrected to live in another realm. There are others who died in this realm and were revived and restored to this realm only to eventually die to this world again to live in another realm. Their restoration to this realm was for the purpose of showing that God has the power over death and he uses his power over death at his choosing.
Jesus holds the key to death and the grave. Jesus holds the key to a blissful eternal life and he also holds the keys to a life of torment and separation from him. There are numerous passages of scripture that shows that God has power over death. There are passages that shows where he used his power through people to restore lives in the earth. The vessel used wasn’t the power of these restorations, the vessel was just that; a vessel used to demonstrate the power of God. Let’s look at the prophet Elijah.
During a time of great drought, the prophet Elijah the Tishbite had been lodging at the house of a widow in Zarephath, a pagan city in Phoenicia. Unexpectedly, the woman’s son grew sick and finally stopped breathing. She accused Elijah of bringing God’s wrath on her for her sin. Carrying the boy to the upper room where he was staying, Elijah laid him on the bed and stretched himself out on the body three times. He cried out to God for the boy’s life to return. God heard Elijah’s prayers. The child’s life did come back, and Elijah carried him downstairs. The woman declared the prophet a man of God and his words to be the truth. I Kings 17:1-24
Elisha the prophet after Elijah, stayed in the upper room of a wealthy couple in Shunem. He prayed for the woman to bear a son, and God answered. Several years later, the boy complained of a pain in his head and then died. The woman raced to Mount Carmel to Elisha, who sent his servant ahead, but the boy did not respond. Finally, Elisha went to see the dead boy. He cried out to the Lord and laid himself on the dead body, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. The boy’s body grew warm, then he sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. When Elisha presented the boy back to his mother, she fell and bowed to the ground in worship. Then she picked up her son and left the room rejoicing with gratitude for what God had done for her. 2 Kings 4:1-37
God. After Elisha the prophet died, he was buried in a cave or tomb. Moabite raiders attacked Israel every spring, one time interrupting a funeral. Fearing for their own lives, the burial party quickly threw the body into the first convenient place, Elisha’s tomb. As soon as the body touched Elisha’s bones, the dead man came to life and stood up on his feet. 2 Kings 13: 20-21
Jesus: At the town gate of the village of Nain, Jesus and his disciples encountered a funeral procession. The only son of a widow was to be buried. When Jesus saw her, his heart went out to her. He touched the bier that held the body. The bearers stopped. When Jesus told the young man to get up, the son sat up and began talking. Jesus gave him back to his mother. All the people were astounded. Praising God, they said, “A great prophet has appeared among us. God has come to help his people.” The crowds recognized Jesus to be a prophet similar to Elijah and Elisha. Luke 7:11-16
When Jesus was in Capernaum, Jairus, a leader in the synagogue, begged him to heal his 12-year-old daughter because she was dying. On the way, a messenger said not to bother because the girl had died. But Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; only believe, and your daughter will be healed.” Jesus arrived at the house to find mourners wailing outside. When he said she was not dead but sleeping, they laughed at him. Jesus went in, took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up.” Her spirit returned and she raised up to life again. Jesus ordered her parents to give her something to eat but not to tell anyone what had happened. Luke 8: 40-56
Three of Jesus’ closest friends were Martha, Mary, and their brother Lazarus of Bethany. Oddly, when Jesus was told Lazarus was sick, Jesus stayed two more days where he was. When he left, Jesus said plainly Lazarus had died. By the time they arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had been in the tomb four days. Martha met them outside the village, where Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again. I am the resurrection and the life.” They approached the tomb, where Jesus wept. Although Lazarus had been dead many days, Jesus ordered the stone rolled away, saying, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” Raising his eyes to heaven, he prayed aloud to his Father. Then he commanded Lazarus to come out. The man who had been dead walked out, wrapped in burial cloths. John 11: 1-44
GOD: Jesus Christ died on the cross. An earthquake struck, breaking open many graves and tombs in Jerusalem. After Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, godly people who had died earlier were raised to life and appeared to many in the city. Matthew 27: 50-54
Peter: Everyone in the city of Joppa loved Tabitha. She was always doing good, helping the poor, and making garments for others. One day Tabitha (named Dorcas in Greek) grew sick and died. Women washed her body then placed it in an upstairs room. They sent for the apostle Peter, who was in nearby Lydda. Clearing everyone from the room, Peter fell to his knees and prayed. He said to her, “Tabitha, get up.” She sat up and Peter gave her to her friends alive. News spread like wildfire. Many people believed in Jesus because of it. Acts 9: 36-42
Paul: 7 On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. 9 Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third storey and was picked up dead. 10 Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms round him. ‘Don’t be alarmed,’ he said. ‘He’s alive!’ 11 Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. 12 The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted. Acts 20:7-12
REVEALED PURPOSE
We have recorded several biblical occurrences where people literally died and were restored to life in the earth. This is not to say that these are the only occurrences that has happened in the history of the world. Please know that the bible is not all encompassing, meaning; not every detail of every life lived in the earth is recorded in the bible as you can clearly see that your personal name and life is not recorded there. Please know that your life has been and is being recorded along with every life on earth and God’s library holds those books. John wrote what was revealed to him in the Revelation of Jesus Christ which is: 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. (Revelation 20:12) The few occurrences provided where Jesus restored life may not be the conclusion to life restoration while he was here. John also said this: 24 This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. 25 Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. (John: 21:24-25)
The purpose of the above restored lives is to show that resurrection is a true claim of the Lord Jesus. There are some who believe that the last taken breath here on the earth is the end of life permanently. Jesus says otherwise. From old testament to new testament, we can see restored life after death