• Christ's return is proclaimed by an angel's trumpet blast. It's clearly not a secret matter.

• Believers who've already died will be resurrected to join Christ as He returns to establish His rule over the earth.

• Living believers will also be changed to spirit to join those resurrected from the dead.

• All the saints, caught up together in the air, will rise to meet Christ and be with him forever.

In related scriptures, we see that the saints will come down to Jerusalem with Christ to rule with Him in the Kingdom of God on the earth (Zechariah 14:1-5; Revelation 5:10; Revelation 20:6).

We have also seen that the saints being caught up at the last trumpet doesn't occur before the period of end-time catastrophe but at the end of the 3 1⁄2 years of the Great Tribulation and Day of the Lord. There will be protection for God's people during this time—but that protection will be on the earth, not in heaven.

There is no secret rapture of believers before the tribulation period. We can thank God that there is a resurrection when true Christians will be caught up into the air at the glorious second coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

This is the great hope for all who trust in God and believe in Him and His purpose for their lives (Romans 8:28). The big lesson of the coming Great Tribulation, the persecution of the saints and the eventual return of Jesus Christ and the resurrection of the faithful is that there's no time to waste in developing your relationship with God the Father and His Son.

The time is now. Start today by approaching God in prayer and asking for His help in submitting to His will in your life. Stay close to God the Father and Jesus Christ and leave the fear of the future behind. Trust in the hope of the resurrection.