Anne Graham Lotz: Christians Must Get Prepared for the Rapture
Evangelist and author Anne Graham Lotz has listed a number of key preparations Christians should make before the rapture.
Lotz, who is the founder of AnGeL Ministries and the chairwoman of the National Day of Prayer, wrote in an article Monday on the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association website that preparing for any kind of trip takes "time, thought and energy."
"The Bible teaches that all followers of Jesus are to plan and prepare for a 'trip.' The trip is not only undertaken when we move to Heaven following death, but it is also a very unique one that will take place at the end of human history as we have known it," she wrote.
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"We are told that believers in the last generation will not experience physical death, but will be caught up in what is called the 'rapture'... the 'snatching away'... to meet Jesus in the air and be reunited with loved ones who have died in Christ and have gone before us. It will be the trip of a lifetime — a trip that is out of this world," Lotz added.
She indicated that getting informed and being prepared to "leave suddenly, at a moment's notice" for the coming trip, referring to the rapture, would be the first step.
Next, she said that a checklist needs to be planned out.
Lotz shared several Bible verses for readers to help them make such a checklist, and said that Christians needs to be abounding in love, established in faith, confident in hope, unblamable in holiness, and steadfast in service.
"What is your service for Jesus? How can you serve Him even more as the time for departure draws near?" she asked believers to reflect upon.
Finally, she said faithful believers need to listen for the "Clarion Call."
"How will we know when it's time to leave? Read 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17. When the call to leave comes, will you be ready? What items on your checklist will you wish you had 'packed?'" she asked.
Lotz did not speculate when precisely the rapture may arrive, but said Christians need to get ready.
"We haven't left yet, so there is still time to increase and excel in each item on the checklist. Ask God to help you prepare so that you are rapture ready," she wrote.
In the past, Lotz has warned that the United States is entering the "last stage" of the "downward spiral" toward God's judgment.
"God is backing away from America. He has said again and again and again, 'If you forsake me, I will forsake you. If you abandon me, I will abandon you.' So, we see God abandoning America as we shake our fist in his face and insist on our immorality and all the things we are doing," she said in 2016, referring in part to the legalization of gay marriage.
"We have lost the ability to think straight, no pun intended. God backs away and removes His hand of blessing and His hand of favor and His hand of protection," Lotz added.
Most recently, she told The Biblical Recorder that the U.S. continues "unraveling" and "disintegrating" into anger and anarchy, due to its "rejection of God."
"God has promised to hear us, forgive us and heal us on the condition that we pray. Therefore prayer is essential. It is not an option, it is a necessity," she said.
