WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE CHURCH IS GONE IN THE RAPTURE?

The proclamation of the Truth will be gone! There will be no source of truth for the world to draw upon. Paul writes the church is the household of the Lord, "the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:15). When the church is gone, the truth disappears! Though the Bible is still around during the tribulation, it will be more difficult to understand without the help of those in the church to explain what truth is all about!    The center of the church is Christ. Paul goes on and writes that by common confession "great is the mystery of godliness" (v. 16). The mystery of godliness is about a Person, the Person of Jesus. The full revelation about Him was not revealed until the New Testament. There are certain principles that circle around Him: (1) He was revealed in the flesh, (2) vindicated by the Holy Spirit, (3) seen by angels, (4) proclaimed among the nations, (5) believed on in the world, and (6) taken up into glory (vv. 15-16).    The church is the depository of the truth if it is proclaiming the Word of God. If not, the church can say all kinds of stupid things. Only the Bible is true; and only the Bible gives forth reliable truth.    By the way, don't listen to the foolish Progressive Dispensationalists who say that "glory" is never used to describe heaven. How crazy! Here Paul says that Christ was "taken up into glory." How clear can you get with such a statement?    "Taken up" is an Aorist Passive of the verb "analambano," "to go up." "Into" or "in" is the preposition "en" in Greek. ("In" as "in glory" is its most common use.) It is almost always translated with the idea to in or up to … The passage means "the place of glory," or heaven. (Nicoll)    --Dr. Mal Couch (1/11)