The high point of history is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the perfect fulfilment of a pattern, which we have observed in the lives of Enoch, Moses and Elijah, Jesus came to a debased world that was dedicated to idolatry. The Greco-Roman system of worship was nothing more than an adaptation of the ancient Babylonion religious system that lifted up Baal and Ishtar. Aside the Babylonian Mystery religion, the cult of the Caesars thrived, as images and statues of Ceaser were erected in strategic places for people to worship.
Corruption characterized Israel, too. The Idumean Kings of Israel (from the Edomite dynasty) were close conspirators with their Roman overlords. The priests and scribes of the Temple had developed a debased system of legalities based on Jewish Laws. Under their tyrannical rule, ordinary Israelites were subjected to a soul-withering despotism. Jesus came upon this scene, precisely as prophesied by Daniel and other Old Testament prophets. He fulfilled His commission – speaking against the evils in the system and their lifestyles – causing Him to be killed by the Pharisees and Sadducees. He, as He prophesied, resurrected on the third day, an act the scriptures indicate as Rapture. He was taken up in a cloud and disappeared, to appear in heaven to line up with the meaning of rapture in 1Cor. 15: – those that will go in rapture (1Cor. 15:20-24).
Paul presents Jesus as the first of a type. He is the model of that which will happen to all who believe in Him, at the Rapture. Enoch, Moses and Elijah, as great as they were, only foreshadowed the ultimate work of Christ.
When He comes for the church, we shall be caught up in a resurrection that will closely resemble His own. As the Apostle John put it so elegantly, ‘Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is (1 John 3:2).
That scripture puts the responsibility of maintaining holiness till the end on us. We should live hating and avoiding sin. The lures-attraction and temptations in this present world are much. There is the bait of money – the god, Mammon who drives you to seek wealth like the unbelievers “without telling them of the need to give to God – help the needy, the orphans widows and the poor generally. This being the things we must do whether rich or not to deserve heaven (Matt. 25:41).