rapture – Here I Am, Lord –

The Kingdom of Heaven Is at Hand

“In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea. And saying, Repent you for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand (Matthew 3:1,2).

John the Baptist came on the scene just prior to the coming of our Lord and His earthly ministry. He was calling Israel to repentance in anticipation of the Messiah’s arrival. Multitudes came to the Jordan River to see and hear what John was preaching, including the Pharisees and Sadducees. He was calling them to examine themselves to determine if they were truly following the Lord.

The Kingdom of Heaven was being offered to Israel and this call to repentance was the way of separating those that believed in a national salvation, or a works based salvation, from those who realized the need for individual repentance and true faith in the coming Redeemer. Those that came were baptized by him in the Jordan River confessing their sins.

There were two groups of people that came to John as he preached his message of repentance. There were those that realized their need for repentance and truly sought the Lord and His way, and those that were self-righteousness. The Pharisees and the Sadducees fell into the latter group. John called both groups to bring forth evidence that they understand what the Lord required, which was repentance and faith. As evidenced by our Lord’s ministry, and the opposition by the religious leadership that He experienced, the latter group never brought forth the proper repentance.

Israel, due to unbelief, was destroyed. They had the ministry of John the Baptist followed by the arrival of the Lord Jesus and His incredible ministry of some three and a half years. They had no excuse. Judgment came in AD 70 when the Roman army destroyed Jerusalem and the Jews were dispersed throughout the known world of the time.

This is a lesson for our world of today, and a warning for the church of our day. The King is coming. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. The Lord is calling all those alive today to repentance. The question is, which group will each of us fall into. Will we realize our need for repentance and come to the Lord repenting and placing our faith in the Lord’s gracious provision of Salvation, Christ and Him crucified, or will we walk out our life in self-righteousness having our faith in something other than Christ and His sacrificial death on the Cross.

Faith in our own ability to be pleasing and accepted by the Lord, or faith in our religious practices, or in a belief that because we were born into a particular denomination we are in the Kingdom, will not lead to the Salvation that must be our chief desire. These practices and beliefs can only lead to self-righteousness, just like the religious leaders of John the Baptist’s time; there are both true followers of the Lord and apostates in our churches today.

At the Lord’s coming, He will separate the wheat from the tares as the Lord told us in the Parable of the Wheat and Tares. In the church as a whole today, there are those that belong to the Lord (wheat), as well as those that follow a false way (tares). He asks us all to decide today whether we realize our great need and will come in repentance, or will we stand in our own righteousness awaiting the judgment that will come on all those who refuse the Lord and have gone the way of perdition. We must remember what happened to Israel in rejecting their Messiah. Our faith must be placed in Christ and His sacrificial death on the Cross, daily. The reward for walking with the Lord is great; the punishment for rejecting the Lord is eternal.

“He (Jesus) came to His own (Israel), and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the Sons of God” (John 1:11,12).

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

Find podcasts of this article, and all the articles on this website on the “Here I Am Lord” podcast on Spotify for Creators, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic.

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2026

The Glorious Appearing of Our Lord

A Fictional Narrative

The Fourth in the Series on ” The Life of Joey.”

“Looking for that Blessed Hope, and the Glorious appearing of the Great God and our Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).

This is the fourth article on “The Life of Joey.” In the first three articles, we saw how Joey came to the Lord and found victory in his Christian walk. We also saw how thankful Joey is for all the Lord has done for him. We found Joey continuing to share the Gospel, the way to a victorious Christian life, and the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, with all those that he comes across as the Holy Spirit leads him. In this installment, we find Joey learning about the Rapture of the church.

Our story takes place at the time of Joey’s conversion. He was the recipient of the Lord’s Mercy and Grace and he felt so blessed. Joey read his Bible every day and was amazed at how the Bible had come alive to him since he was born again and had started his spiritual journey. He knew the Holy Spirit was there to help him in his Christian walk and he had come to love the Word of God, spending much of his time reading and studying it.

Joey saw how the “Blessed Hope” was a promise of the Lord’s soon return for us in the Rapture of the church. He saw this as something that we are to take comfort in each day knowing that one day soon we will see the Lord in His “Glorious appearing,” and be with Him forever. This greatly encouraged Joey in his daily walk with the Lord. Life can be difficult a times and this “Promise” stood as a beacon of hope for Joey.

In knowing and discussing it with his fellow Christians, he found many who had rejected the Rapture or knew nothing about it, which surprised and troubled him. How could something so clearly promised be rejected out of hand? How could some in the church not know about it? The Resurrection of all the saints down through all of history is a fundamental belief of the church. Joey was aware of the fact that there were disagreements on the timing of this event, but the Resurrection of all believers is an important doctrine of the church. He understood that this promise of the Rapture was something the Lord, in His love for His church, knew would give us comfort and be a sure hope for us. It is a promise that we can count on.

Joey also saw that other places in the Bible spoke of the Coming of the Lord for His church in the Rapture. He found the following Scripture that spoke of this great event:

“Behold, I show 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 trump will sound, and dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15: 51,52).

Joey learned from his study of the Bible on the Rapture that those who are living at the time of Christ’s return for His church will be caught up alive while those who have passed on will be resurrected. Joey was so glad that he was walking with the Lord and could look forward to His soon return. Joey saw how the world continues to spiral downward and this “Hope” gives all Christians great encouragement in these troubled times. Joey also had great comfort in the following verse in 1 Thessalonians;

“For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, 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” (1 Thessalonians 4: 14-17).

You may run across Joey as you go about your daily business. He is still preaching the Gospel and pointing the way to a victorious Christian life. Joey tells all who will listen that salvation is by faith from first to last and that we have the promise of the Lord’s soon return that, by this promise, we might be encouraged every day. He loves the Lord and it shows in all he does.

Joey walks in the victory the Lord has provided for all who come by faith and rest in his finished work. The Rapture of the church is on Joey’s mind each day and he tells all He comes across to look up for the Lord will soon return. He continually encourages his Christian brothers and sisters as the Apostle Paul did in the following verse:

“Wherefore comfort one another with these words (regarding the Rapture of the church) (1 Thessalonians 4: 18 commentary mine).

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Prayer Changes Things

The Lord wants us to come to Him with all our needs. Prayer requests can be left on the comments page of this website.

“For the eyes of the Lord are on the Righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers…” (1 Peter 3:12).

The Lord hears our prayers and is faithful to answer.

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

Find podcasts of this article, and all the articles on this website on the “Here I Am Lord” podcast on Spotify for Podcasters, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic. Also, Here I Am, Lord is on Telegram.

Tag: rapture

A Call to Repentance

Joey Looks to the Blessed Hope

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