The Bible says:
“And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.”
— Genesis 5: 24
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord (Rapture) shall not prevent (precede) them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we (Christians) 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: 15-17) Enoch was the first missing person. He disappeared for God took him from earth to be with Him in Heaven.
We have no record of anyone going and looking for Enoch. Elijah was the second missing person. Elisha saw him carried away to Heaven in a chariot of fire and knew he was missing from earth, but was present in Heaven.
The sons of the prophets thought he was just missing and went looking for him, but naturally never found him. (2 Kings 2: 11-18) People go missing every day for some reason or another, some for nefarious reasons, and are never found. Some, thankfully, are found and returned to their families.
But at the Rapture of the church there will be an innumerable company of people that go missing. All of these missing people will be Christians.
Jesus Christ will have come and gathered His Bride and taken her from this sin-cursed world to be with Him in Heaven. These missing people will not return to earth again until seven years later after the Tribulation. (Revelation 19) At the Rapture, people will be missing from all over the world. From every town, village, and city. Of every race, language, and nation they will ascend at the trumpet sound and meet Christ Jesus in the clouds along with those Christians that died and had gone to Heaven before them.
They will all instantaneously be changed and given a glorified body like Jesus has and will then go to Heaven where they will forever be with the Lord.
These missing people will be reported but when its reported that millions are missing from around the world there will be many that will assess the situation and realize what has happened and then believe the horror that is next to happen according to the Bible they did not believe before.
I will, unless I leave by the grave, come up missing one day. Don’t put out a “missing person’s” bulletin for me for you will not find me here on planet earth.
Rest assured I am in Heaven with my Lord gathered around the supper table with all the family of God. I wouldn’t miss Heaven for all the world.
James H. Cagle is a Ray City resident who pastored several churches for a total of 11 years. Email him at [email protected]
