Pastor Jentezen Franklin stepped into the pulpit with a message many have not heard preached with this level of urgency in a long time. Jesus Christ is returning, and He is coming soon.
Not eventually. Not someday far off. Soon. And the question hanging over the entire message is one every believer has to wrestle with: Are we actually living like that is true?
Preaching from First Epistle to the Thessalonians, Franklin walked straight into what happens next, what it means for us right now and why this is not a topic to ignore or push aside. This is not theology for another day. This is about how we live today.
The Promise That Changes Everything
Franklin began with Scripture, grounding everything in what the Word of God already makes clear.
“I would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep or died, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.”
That line hits differently when you really sit with it. This is not just about the future. This is about hope right now.
“When we die, our body goes in the ground, but our spirit goes to Jesus. And He can’t bring them with Him if they’re not with Him. They’re with Him right now.”
That means death does not have the final word. Jesus does.
What Happens When the Church Stops Preaching This
Franklin did not soften this part, and honestly, it needed to be said.
“If the coming of Jesus Christ is not preached and understood clearly in the church, three things happen. Ignorance… sorrow… and no hope.”
Take a look around. That is exactly what is happening in so many places. The urgency is gone. The expectation is gone. And when that disappears, something else fills the gap.
“I believe the body of Christ… are ignorant of the second coming soon return of Jesus Christ.”
That is not an attack. That is a wake-up call.
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In a Moment: How the Rapture Will Happen
Then the message shifts to what Scripture actually says will take place, and it is not gradual. It is not drawn out. It is immediate.
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout… and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain… shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.”
Think about that for a second.
“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye… you will look and you will look again, and millions of people will be gone. They will vanish. They will disappear instantly.”
One moment everything looks normal. The next moment everything changes.
Only One Thing Determines Who Goes
This is where the message gets personal. Not distant. Personal.
“You better get the nature in you… Do you have the nature of Jesus?”
That question does not leave room to hide.
“You love everybody. You forgive everybody. You live to please Him. You love His presence. You love His word… You don’t live in sin. You can’t stand sin.”
This is not about pretending. It is not about appearances.
“It’s not my perfection. It’s my nature… If you’ve got the nature of Jesus, something in you will begin to rise.”
That is the dividing line.
Proof It Will Happen: The Resurrection of Jesus
Everything comes back to one unshakable truth.
“If we believe that Jesus died and rose again… that’s the whole reason why we are to believe in the rapture.”
If the tomb is empty, everything else follows.
“If God raised Jesus from the dead, that’s proof that Jesus can raise you and your loved ones from the dead.”
That is not symbolic. That is reality.
One Taken, One Left: The Shock of That Moment
Jesus already told us what it will look like, and Franklin brought that into focus.
“There will be two men in one bed. The one will be taken, the other will be left… Two will be in the field. One will be taken and the other left.”
This is where it gets uncomfortable, but it needs to.
“You’ll just be standing… maybe you’re eating your lunch… and you’ll be gone.”
No warning. No countdown. Just gone.
What Comes Next: Chaos and the Rise of the Antichrist
What follows is not peace. It is not stability.
“Tens of millions of people will vanish… The world will go into chaos. The economies will collapse.”
And into that chaos, leadership will rise.
“There will be one world leader… one system… everything will go into panic.”
Franklin connects that directly to what is removed when the church is gone.
“When we’re out… pure evil. Hell will have a party.”
That is not language meant to scare. It is meant to wake people up.
No One Knows the Day, So Be Ready
There is no timeline to mark on a calendar.
“Of the day and the hour knows no man… anybody that tells you they know when He’s coming, they’re lying.”
So what does that leave us with?
“Be ready… for in an hour that you think not, the Son of Man cometh.”
Not someday. Not when it feels convenient. Now.
This Hope Changes How You Live
This is where everything turns inward. This is not just about prophecy. This is about how we are living.
“Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself.”
If that hope is real, it shows up in real ways.
“You don’t live a loose, lax, moral, wicked life… You purify yourself.”
That means taking a hard look at what we allow, what we justify and what we keep holding onto.
“Take heed to yourself… lest you be weighed down with overindulgence… drunkenness… the cares of this life.”
Those things do not look dangerous at first. Until they are.
A Final Call to Be Ready
At the end of it all, the message is not complicated. It is direct. It is personal.
“Jesus is coming again… and He’s coming soon… in the twinkling of an eye.”
That is not just a statement. That is a reality we have to respond to.
So the question is simple. Are we ready?
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a journalism background from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and at the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
