Will children be taken in the Rapture?  This question has been discussed probably ever since the Rapture was known about.  The answer can only be mere speculation, since there is no direct Biblical references on the subject.  Those who quickly answer that children will most certainly be taken in the Rapture may be thinking more with their heart than with their mind.  They assume that God could not possibly allow an unattended child to be left down here when his/her parent(s) is taken.  I am not saying that I am certain one way or the other.  I do, however, feel that its more logical that children are not taken in the Rapture.  I fully realize that this sounds cold and mean and heartless.  But we need to consider and realize all of the suffering that children throughout the ages have undergone with no favoritism shown them from God.  He has allowed children to suffer in many ways in the past, and the question must be asked why He would stop doing so at the Rapture.

 

Some of us further assume that its the children of Christian parents only that will not be left behind.  But what makes those children any different than the ones of non-Christian parents?  Why would they get preferential treatment?  Because the Rapture would leave them parentless?  How many children in the past have been left parentless for many different reasons?  They weren't removed to Heaven just because they suddenly had no parents.  Why should it be any different for children whose parents are taken in the Rapture?

 

It is a fact that the Rapture is the event in which the Bridegroom comes to receive His Bride.  And who is the Bride?  The Bride is made up of repentant sinners who are adults that have reached the age of accountability and could make a knowledgeable decision as to their salvation.  The Bride is not made up of, nor does it include innocent children.  So why would children be taken in the Rapture?

 

Just because our minds have trouble dealing with the thought of our children being left behind doesn't mean that this won't be the case.  God has His reasons for everything He does, and we must accept His actions even though we may not understand them.  If our children are left behind, then God has a purpose for it.  Just as He has a purpose for allowing children to be abused and abandoned and aborted and all of the other horrible things that happens to them. 

 

Think about the children who have non-Christian parents that are left behind.  Why shouldn't they have gone up too, along with the Christian parent's children?  Maybe you think they will....that ALL children will be taken?  But what about the children born after the Rapture?  Why should they be forced to suffer through the Tribulation, just because they were so unfortunate as to be born after the Rapture? 

 

You see?  It doesn't make any sense to believe that any child under the age of accountability (only known to God) will be taken in the Rapture.  As much as we may wish it so, and ignore the fact that it has no Scriptural basis, that doesn't mean that its in God's plan.  I have no idea what will happen to children of Christian parents after the Rapture.  They could be rounded up and placed in children's homes.  Maybe they will be slaughtered.  If kept alive, they will probably be forced to take the Mark of the Beast, as will all post-Rapture children.  But God will not hold them accountable for having the Mark because it wasn't them who made the decision.  However, if a child is forced to take the Mark, and then grows to and beyond the age of accountability within the 7 years, then they will have the responsibility of chosing to stay alive and participate in the Beasts economic system, or rebel against it and become martyrs.  If they choose the latter, then they will be the only people who enter the Kingdom having had the Mark. 

 

The point is, it may just be wishful thinking that children will be taken in the Rapture.  Even though its not logical or even Scriptural, I still would prefer that they are taken.  But even if we believe that they will be left behind, we musn't allow our incomprehension of this to come between us and God.  We musn't allow this to rob us of our joy in anticipating and experiencing the Rapture of the Bride.  God uses us to bring children into existence, but they belong to Him.  And who are we to accuse Him of dealing wrongfully with that which belongs to Him?  Abraham was willing to not allow his love for his son Isaac to come between him and God.  And we are to do the same.  No matter what happens to our children if they are left behind, they are in God's hands.  And as long as they are either still innocent (under the age of accountability), or made an adult decision to refuse the Mark, we will see them again in the Kingdom!!

 

I realize that this isn't the cheerfulest of letters.  But its something we ought to consider.  I suppose it does no harm to believe that our children will be taken with us, even if its not the case.  But what IF its God's plan to leave them behind?  How blessed is the person/parent who believes that children will not be going, but doesn't allow this to interfere with their love for and faith in God, or rob them of their joy in knowing what is about to happen to them?  Its a good thing to care about our children's post-Rapture wellfare.  But it not a good thing to worry about it.  From the moment we are changed and taken away, nothing will interfere with the joy and beauty of our glorification and our experience of Heaven.  We will have no rememberence of anything that has ever made us sad.  We will be in the presence of God, and we will know only of His Goodness.  We feel sadness now, about our children being left behind or whatever, because we are not yet glorified and in the fulness of His presence.  But when we finally Arrive, He has promised to wipe every tear from our eyes. 

 

Our children are His much more so than ours.  We have a responsibilty for them up until God decides its time to separate them from us (through death, adulthood, or the Rapture.)  After that, their future is between them and God. 

 

(The same goes with pets.)