Introduction 

I have never cared for the boxed bricks of soft government cheesefood given away to low- income people. Its taste doesn’t please me. Its soft, grainy texture repels me. Its artificial – processed cheesefood fabrication – offends me. In much the same way, the teachings about the Rapture irritate me. Rapture teachings are like government cheese.

Teachings of the Rapture

These notions, as far as I understand them, say that 

• The Devil and the Beast and their evil forces will make the whole world a darker and darker place.
• Christians, those who believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus will be persecuted more and more because of the Devil’s deception of the rest of Humanity.
• In the nick of time before all of Christianity is extinguished, Jesus will return from Heaven.
• Those who have held fast to belief in Jesus will be caught up into the air to meet Him. He will, then, take all believers to Heaven with Him.
• He will leave the Earth to go to Hell in the Great Tribulation.
• Eventually, Jesus will return again to take up His throne in Jerusalem. The Devil and his evil forces will be confined somewhere for a thousand years.
• The Earth will enjoy the blessings of Heaven for the Millennium.

Government Cheese Teaching

As many well-known Bible teachers have declared, this is an escapist Christian philosophy. On the surface, it appears to follow Bible teachings. However, this is like processed American cheesefood junk. It might have some nutritional value and a particular taste some people like. It is not the solid, meltable, flavorful cheddar or colby cheese naturally processed with beneficial bacteria.

(And Paul’s letter to the Romans says we must tolerate each other’s differing beliefs.)

Real Cheese of Parousia and Kingdom

A fuller reading of the Bible narrative gives a richer, more glorious understanding of biblical truths. Genesis 1-2 and Revelation 21 give the real biblical picture of Heaven overlapping with Earth. The high country of Eden in the midst of the jungle of the land held the garden the Creator had planted and inhabited with Humanity. He gave the humans the food they needed. There was no need for shelter from the weather, wild animals, or people. They were healthy in body and mind. They had no flaws of body or of character, so they could be naked – vulnerable to each other – without shame.

Revelation 21 speaks of the new Eden coming down out of Heaven in the form of a city. Here, again, will be provision for everybody, health and wellbeing, no wild animals or people from whom to seek shelter, no more shame over any existing flaws. 

These will be accepted as part of the person’s present circumstances. The person will be prayed for and supported as he/she works with Holy Spirit for the needed changes.

Before that, the Kingdom of God that Jesus proclaimed and taught will increase more and more through the work of His ecclesias in the land. These governing bodies of Heaven’s citizens in the colonies of Earth will tear down the strongholds of the principalities and powers. His people will call on Ruach to work in the hearts and minds of people to bring them to surrender to King Jesus. We will teach them how to renew their minds and to offer their bodies as living sacrifices in worship.

This expansion of the Kingdom on Earth will continue until the time comes for Him to return to Earth. At that time, believers dead and alive will be caught up into the air to meet Him and to escort Him back to His throne in Jerusalem. 

The King will reward His faithful servants with the authority over nations, ethnos, and localities around the world. The places where ecclesias threw out the principalities and powers, His people will take up their thrones. This is the real cheese of the Bible.