Should Parents Talk To Their Kids About The Rapture?

Here’s an important topic that your kids need to be educated about (preferably, by you) – the Rapture.

I Thessalonians 5:2  For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

We believe that at any moment of any day, Jesus Christ can return, taking us out of this world, thus initiating the beginning of the end of the world.  What a wonderful and glorious day it will be… for us, the saved.  But what a terrible and dreadful day it will be… for the lost world.

Do your kids know about it?  Here are some candid questions to ask them about the Rapture:

1. Do you know what the Bible says could happen at any moment of any day that will change the entire world?
2. Do you know what this event is called, and why? (The Rapture or the Second Coming of Christ)
3.  Who will be taken when Jesus comes back?  Who will be left?
4.  What will happen to Christians after Jesus returns?  What will happen to the world after Jesus returns?
5. How can a person know if they will be taken with Jesus, or left behind with the world?

By asking these questions, it will give you a basic understanding of what your kids do and don’t understand, as well as a great springboard for further discussion and education on the topic. (While your kids need to know about this Biblical event, use your discretion based upon their age and maturity as to how much detailed information they are ready for concerning the end times. Even the youngest of kids can understand that “Jesus is coming back”, while the oldest may be ready for as much as you can possibly tell them.)

Whether your kids are already aware of the Rapture, or hearing about it for the first time, they’re sure to have questions.  Which is a wonderful thing, providing you with an opportunity to be the primary faith influencer in your child’s life by answering these questions of utmost importance.

Here are a few of the questions our kids have asked about the Rapture:

1. What will happen to kids who aren’t old enough to be saved yet?
2. What about people who have already died and went to Heaven, what happens to them?
3. When will it happen? Will it happen in our lifetime?
4. Will people be able to be saved after the Rapture?

All of these questions and more have prompted great discussions for our family that have allowed us to teach and train our children about Biblical doctrines and values concerning this topic. However, when it comes to talking about the Rapture and end times with our kids, we only give concrete answers when the Bible does.  Other possible questions and answers we simply discuss and digest together.

Think about this with me…  If the world as we know it could end at any moment (and it could), and our children will be affected by such an event as much as we are (and they will), why wouldn’t we want for them to be informed and prepared?

Not to mention that if Jesus doesn’t return in our generation, He likely may in the next, and it’s our responsibility to make sure that our children are ready, both for themselves, and the world around them that desperately needs the life-changing message of Jesus.  It will be our children who will be the ones to carry the urgent torch of faith and the gospel into future generations.

As you educate your kids on this topic, use some of these great Scriptures to help you give clarity and explanations to their questions:

• I Thessalonians 4:13-18
• I Thessalonians 5:1-10
• Matthew 25:1-13 (key verse – 13)
• I Corinthians 15:51-53

Here are a few simple talking points from the passage in I Thessalonians 5:1-10 to help your kids better understand the Rapture, and how it’s different for the lost and the saved:

1. For us, He comes as our returning King. To the world, He comes as a thief in the night.  5:4  (Discuss with your children, what does this mean?)
2. For us, it’s a time to anticipate. To the world, it’s a time to fear.  5:3  (Encourage your kids to explain why we would anticipate it, while the world would fear it.)
3. For us, we must watch and work until He comes. To the world, they must repent and believe before He comes.  5:6  (What kind of important things has God given us to do until the Rapture?  What happens if the lost don’t repent and believe before the Rapture?)
4. For us, our eternal destiny is secure in Christ.  To the world, their eternal fate is hanging in the balance.  5:9  (As Christians, should we be more comfortable knowing that we are saved, or more uncomfortable knowing that the world is lost, or both?)

In addition, talking to your kids about the Rapture gives you a great opportunity to:

• Highlight every person’s need of the gospel (2 Peter 3:9)
• Stress the necessity of our Christian witness (2 Corinthians 5:8-11)
• Emphasize the need for godly living so as to always be ready to meet Christ unashamed (I John 2:28, 2 Peter 3:10-14, Titus 2:12-13)

I’ll admit, it takes a little courage as a parent to address a weighty topic like this with your kids, but they want to know, they need to know, and the best person to educate them about it is you!  Are you up for the challenge?

(If you’re a family that’s striving to spend time together in God’s Word through family devotions/faith talks, I’d encourage you to take this content and use it as family devotional material.)