Are You Ready for the Rapture?

At the last trumpet, all our hiding and pretending will end

A common dream many people have is finding themselves naked or in their underwear in a public place like school or work. We think of that kind of experience as a nightmare. The truth is, we live that dream while we are awake—because we are ashamed of our weaknesses, faults, and failures.

It was not always that way, though. To understand this, you only have to read the first two chapters of the Bible, including this passage:

Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.—Genesis 2:24-25 NKJV

Adam and Eve were both naked, but didn’t try to hide it. They weren’t living a nightmare. They weren’t ashamed…at the beginning.

Of course, only a few verses later, they felt intense shame (see Genesis 3:10). After eating the fruit, Adam and Eve hear God in the Garden of Eden and decide to hide from Him. Adam says they are hiding because they are naked, which seems to make no sense, especially because sin is the real reason why they are hiding. Adam was created naked. He didn’t suddenly get naked—he’s always been naked.

Then God asks a question: “Who told you that you were naked?” (Genesis 3:11). God knows Satan, the great gaslighter, whispered it to them. Satan told them they were broken, and even the most beautiful and intimate parts of their lives were now defective.

We might wonder why God didn’t ask them about the fruit of disobedience they just ate. Is there anyone concerned about their nakedness? Anyone at all? No, because nakedness isn’t the real issue. For Adam and Eve, nakedness was life as usual. They were free and unbothered by anything.

But when sin entered the picture, innocence died, God’s glory departed, and shame took their place. People began to think of sexuality as a problem to fix rather than a blessing to enjoy. But human fixes without God are never true repairs.

Sin Changes Us

In Genesis, Adam realizes he is naked after eating the fruit because he realizes his desires are no longer God’s desires. He no longer finds joy in the things that cause God delight. He is hiding from the person he has become. If he can cover and hide, then maybe he will forget he has replaced God with himself.

As far as we know, Adam didn’t lash out, but his son Cain sure did, murdering his brother Abel. Father and son are both the centers of their own universes. Adam no longer remembers why God created him. He could repent and throw himself on the mercy of God, but Adam won’t do that, and neither will Cain. See how quickly sin becomes a family tradition?

I don’t know what God would have done if Adam had truly changed his heart and mind, but I’m sure it would be very different from what happened. Shame and pride are two sides of the same issue. Adam was too ashamed and too prideful to repent.

The last verse in the Bible before Adam and Eve sinned says, “They were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed” (Genesis 2:25 NKJV). Then the very first thought Adam had after they sinned was, We’re naked!

At that moment, their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves (Genesis 3:7).

The truth is that sin changes something deep within us. Suddenly we want to hide it away. Our guilt strips us bare. We are filled with shame.

Why does the book of Genesis mention their nakedness? Before the humans sinned, they were focused on God and doing His work and not on themselves. They only knew innocence. Then they ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and we know what happened.

Shame came from the knowledge of evil. Before Adam and Eve sinned, there was no evil to even know about. They were pure and innocent in their relationships with each other and with God. They didn’t notice they were naked any more than a dog knows it’s naked.

Innocence Disappeared

Everything changed when they ate from the tree. They turned their eyes from God to themselves. Now they know guilt, fear, pride, and shame. Now they feel naked and exposed.

They want to hide their spiritual and physical nakedness. Innocence completely disappears. Ever since Adam and Eve sinned, nakedness became associated with shame.

Consider this passage from the book of Revelation, in which Jesus is speaking to the Church in Laodicea:

You say, “I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!” And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see.”—Revelation 3:17–18, NLT

Jesus doesn’t have very many good things to say to the Church in Laodicea. Even so, the believers there seem to be unaware of their own problems. They are like the emperor in Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale, The Emperor’s New Clothes—they are naked and don’t even know it. The believers in Laodicea think everything is fine because they have wealth and prosperity. However, Jesus tells them they are actually naked. The Laodiceans can’t even see because they are almost blind. They are a physically wealthy yet spiritually poor church. They are in danger of their lampstand being removed.

Dressed and Ready

A second passage in Revelation is a caution for believers and a warning for unbelievers:

“Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”—Revelation 16:15

Jesus warns believers and unbelievers alike about being “clothed” when He returns. This isn’t a warning about accidentally being caught in the shower during the Rapture. One traditional interpretation of the background of this verse is that priests in the Jewish Temple stood watch during various times. If any of them were to fall asleep on watch, their clothing would be burned, and they would have to return home naked. I don’t know if this is a true account, but the warning is serious.

Adam and Eve were ashamed when God came looking for them because of their nakedness. That shame is similar to the experience of those who are unprepared for the Rapture. Believers should be clothed in the righteous of Jesus, and they should also put on the whole armor of God. As royal priests, we must be dressed and ready.

Both passages in Revelation associate nakedness with shame. The people in Laodicea are covering their shame with riches. Those who are not clothed and ready when Christ returns will experience a similar kind of shame.

Jesus came to restore us to God. When we come in childlike faith, we become innocent like Adam and Eve were before they knew sin.

“Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” 16 And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.”—Mark 10:15–16 NKJV

Jesus is telling us to recover the humility and wonder of children. Children are dependent on those who care for them. Before they learn the ways of adults, children do not try to mask or hide their thoughts and feelings. It is this natural humility Jesus calls His followers to recover. Humility is not contrived, nor is it worn as a mask to deceive.

The world wants us to do whatever we can to succeed and stay on top or to hide our failures when we can’t. But Jesus offers us childlike innocence and humility. He is the one who really cares for us. Those are the attitudes that really count in heaven.

Hiding and Pretending Will End

Humans continue to struggle with pride and shame. These weaknesses cause us to hide because we don’t want to face our sin, or they make us puff ourselves up to appear that we are more than we are. When the Rapture happens, all the hiding and pretending will end.

When Jesus returns, five things will happen simultaneously that relate to our shame and innocence:

1. Sin will cease, so there will be no reason for us to feel shame or guilt because of sin.

2. We will see Jesus face to face, so we will know He is not angry or disappointed with us.

3. We will be clothed in Jesus’ righteousness, so we will not feel ashamed or exposed.

4. We will not be able to compare our sin or innocence with anyone else’s because everyone will know that only the grace of God has saved them.

5. We will never again focus on ourselves, but only on what delights God. That will be our work, and we will never grow tired of doing it.

If you are a believer, I urge you to stay close to the Lord. Look up! Jesus is coming, so prepare yourself. Continually examine your heart and remove anything that would draw you away from the Lord. When we see Jesus, He will restore all things.

Innocence will return, and shame will be gone.