[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

Is the Rapture in the Bible?

Many Christians passionately believe in the hope of the Rapture—the belief that before the terrors of the Great Tribulation descend upon the world, Christians around the globe will suddenly and mysteriously vanish, “raptured away” by Christ, as they are taken up into heaven to wait out the terrible events of that prophesied time of devastation and destruction. Meanwhile, those “left behind” must face the forces of the Antichrist and the Beast of Revelation and all the suffering that those years will bring until Jesus Christ returns to finally settle the score.

Millions of people worldwide look forward to the Rapture as the culmination of their hopes and dreams.

Now for those who believe in a Rapture, I can’t blame them for wanting it to come soon. The world around us is showing so many signs that indicate Christ’s return is drawing near—and before that return, the worldwide trial of the Great Tribulation. For many, the Rapture represents the pinnacle of their hopes and dreams finally coming true.

But the larger question is this:

• Does the Bible teach a Rapture in the first place?
• If so, how can you prove it?
• If not, is there no protection for Christians during the Tribulation?

Today, you and I are going to discover the answers together in our own Bibles.

What Is the Rapture?

First, what is the Rapture?

You’ve probably heard the scenario where Christian airline pilots blink away in an instant, leaving commercial jetliners to crash pilotless into the ground, while those who remain wonder what happened to their absent friends.

You might recall this scenario popularized in Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins popular Left Behind book series and movies. This notion of a sudden and secret Rapture is the source of bumper stickers, announcing “Warning: In case of Rapture, this vehicle will be unmanned.”

But where does this idea come from?

Believers often point to 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17. Let’s read there what the Apostle Paul wrote to believers in Thessalonica.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17).

Christians caught up into the air to be with Christ—those who believe in the Rapture say this is exactly the event they are talking about. In fact, when the Greek of this passage was translated into Latin, the word chosen to translate “we shall be caught up” was rapiemur—from the Latin word rapere—from which the name of the belief takes its name: the “Rapture.”

Is a Secret Rapture Coming?

But is a secret rapture—being taken away to Christ in Heaven while the world descends into the Great Tribulation years before Jesus’ return as King of Kings—is that what is being described here?

If you read the passage already believing it is the Rapture, that’s probably all you can see.

But that’s where we need to be careful. God doesn’t want us inserting our beliefs into the Bible or interpreting the Bible through our beliefs. He wants us taking our beliefs from the Bible—believing in what He reveals in its pages.

No matter how deeply we believe something, that doesn’t make it the truth. The night He was betrayed, Jesus prayed to His Father and asked concerning His followers:

“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17).

We let God’s word teach us what’s true, we’re doing what He asks of us. And that takes careful reading, studying, and diligence.

Paul explained this to the young evangelist Timothy.

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).

So let’s do that together.

Biblical Answers to 3 Questions About the Rapture

Let’s not assume the Rapture is true—instead, let’s take three questions to the Bible and let God’s word answer them for us:

1. Will Christians vanish around the world mysteriously and without explanation?
2. Will Christians be caught up into the air years before Jesus returns to rule?
3. Will Christians spend the years of the Great Tribulation protected in heaven?

The Bible answers each of these questions clearly and explicitly. We’ll display the verses on the screen, but you can always write them down and look them up later yourself in your own Bible. At Tomorrow’s World, we don’t want you to just take our word for it. We want you to check up on us—and we want you to learn to check up on other teachers as well, because there are a lot of preachers and teachers out there who mean well, but they are simply not telling you the truth.

1 Thessalonians 4 Explained

So does the Bible teach that years before Jesus returns in visible glory to rule the world, Christians all over the world will vanish into thin air and secretly be caught up into heaven, where they will be protected during the years of Great Tribulation?

Let’s begin by examining more closely the passage many Rapture enthusiasts refer to in 1 Thessalonians 4.

This time, let’s begin earlier in verse 13 and get more context. Here’s what Paul writes to the first-century Thessalonians.

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:13–17).

Notice the important details in this passage that too many ignore. We aren’t just talking about Christians flying up into the air. Paul says that this is the time of the resurrection at Jesus’ return—the moment when faithful Christians who have died—or as he says, those “who are asleep”—are resurrected back to life again. They will be resurrected first, and then joined in the air by those who are still alive at Christ’s return. Also note how this return is described in verse 16.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

Does this event sound like a “secret rapture”—some sort of quiet, secret action on Christ’s behalf? Or a secret return that only Christians are aware of?

Personally, I don’t think so—it sounds more like a very loud, very public announcement.

But here’s the thing: My opinions don’t count. Your opinions don’t count. What counts is God’s word. So let’s look further in God’s word for more details. Is there any other passage that describes this event?

And yes, in fact, there are. Paul, the same one who wrote this to the Thessalonians, also wrote about it to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15.

Let’s read there, starting in verse 50.

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality (1 Corinthians 15:50–53).

Notice, those who are alive at Christ’s coming are transformed in glory just like the resurrected saints. The order is exactly the same as in 1 Thessalonians. The dead are raised in glory first, followed immediately by the transformation of the living into glory, as well.

And is this done quietly? No.

End-Time Events Before the Second Coming of Christ

Again just as we saw earlier, this happens with the sound of a mighty trumpet. Look at the passage again. It happens:

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed (1 Corinthians 15:52).

Notice too an important new detail: Paul says, “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.”

God doesn’t inspire such details for no reason.

This trumpet that is blown at the resurrection of the dead elect, and the glorification of the living to join them, is described as the last trumpet. A last trumpet implies a sequence of trumpets, with preliminary trumpets that precede this event.

And does the Bible describe a sequence of end-time trumpets? Yes, it does in the book of Revelation.

7 Seals of Revelation Begin | 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Revelation chapter 6 records a vision Jesus Christ gave to His Apostle John concerning the end-times. It begins by showing Jesus, the Lamb of God, breaking open the first four of the seven prophetic seals of Revelation in verses 1 through 8.

Those seals describe the famous four horsemen of the apocalypse, symbolizing religious deception, great warfare, worldwide famine, and global pestilence and disease that will come upon the world to an extent never before seen in human history.

Speaking of these symbolic horsemen, Revelation 6:8 says:

Power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.

Seal 5: The Great Tribulation

After the devastation of these horsemen, the breaking of the prophetic fifth seal follows, describing a great martyrdom of true Christians (Revelation 6:9–11). In Matthew 24:21, Jesus describes this time, saying:

“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.”

This is the Great Tribulation—years of suffering so horrific that it will surpass every era of human suffering that has ever been or ever will be.

Seal 6: Heavenly Signs

After two-and-a-half years of the Great Tribulation, Revelation reveals that the sixth seal is opened, and terrifying heavenly signs take place: miraculous, cosmic signs in earth and heavens—a great earthquake, the sun darkened, the moon red as blood, the stars falling from the sky, and every mountain and island on earth shaken out of its place.

These signs announce that God the Father and Jesus Christ are about to personally intervene in world affairs and begin the Day of the Lord’s vengeance on earth. That time is described by the prophet Isaiah as:

The day of the Lord’s vengeance, the year of recompense for the cause of Zion (Isaiah 34:8).

Seal 7: The Day of the Lord Begins | 7 Trumpets

This year-long period of the Day of the Lord begins when the seventh seal of Revelation is opened, described in Revelation 8:1–2.

When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.

There it is. Paul described the time of collecting the saints as a time of trumpet-blowing angels.

He also describes the same scene as the dead being raised and glorified first, then joined by the glorified living followers of Christ, meeting Him in the air—and then adds that this event, this meeting with Christ, takes place at the last trumpet of a sequence of trumpets.

And here we see when that sequence of trumpets begins—after the four horsemen of Revelation, after the two-and-one-half years of the Great Tribulation, and then after the great heavenly signs announcing the year-long Day of the Lord, then the sequence of angelic trumpets begins.

Joel 2:11 calls the Day of the Lord “great and very terrible” for a reason. It represents the unleashing of God’s wrath on an unrepentant mankind. And yet, these terrors are only the first six of the seven trumpets.

“And the dead in Christ shall rise first” at the 7^th Trumpet

The seventh trumpet—the last trump that Paul wrote of—is described in Revelation 11:15.

Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever.”

Paul says it is at this trump—the seventh and last trump, declaring the authority of Jesus and the Kingdom of God over all the world—that the dead in Christ are raised to glory and joined by the living as they meet Christ together in the air, to become His bride and to participate alongside Him in the vanquishing of His enemies and the initiation of His rule in the Kingdom of God.

Jesus Christ Himself personally described this moment to His disciples in Matthew 24:29–31.

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

Why the Rapture Is Not Biblical

Now be honest with yourself: Does this sound anything at all like a secret Rapture? All of these descriptions are consistent: Tribulation, heavenly signs, the trumpet blast, the revealing of Christ to the world, and the resurrection, gathering, and glorifying of true Christians, the Children of God.

No, people will not simply vanish without a trace into thin air, taken to heaven before the Tribulation, leaving their loved ones wondering what has happened. Every eye will see and every ear will hear. The rising of the saints at the last trump, described by Paul to the Thessalonians, is no secret rapture at all. It is the resurrection and glorification of believers at the return of Christ.

• Will Christians vanish around the world mysteriously and without explanation?

The Bible’s answer is a resounding no. The “catching up” Paul describes takes place at the visible return of Christ, with the last worldwide trumpet blast of an angel—an event all eyes will see and all ears will hear.

• Next: Will Christians be caught up into the air years before Jesus returns to rule?

Again, the Bible says No. The event takes place at the very LAST trumpet blast, announcing the beginning of Jesus’ reign—not years before.

But what of the last question:

• Will Christians spend the years of the Great Tribulation protected in heaven?

Again, the Bible says the saints meet Jesus Christ in the air years after the Tribulation has begun, at the last trumpet. So, the answer to this question is no. The Rapture belief fails on all counts.

God’s Protection for Some Christians

Yet the Bible does teach that some followers of Jesus Christ, but not all, will be protected during the Tribulation. And the place of that protection is not in heaven. Let’s open God’s word to read the details.

In Revelation 12, we read of the Church in the end-times, symbolized by a woman, persecuted by Satan the Devil, symbolized by a dragon-like serpent. Let’s start in verse 14.

But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent (Revelation 12:14).

The “time, times, and half a time” here is a total of three-and-a-half years: two-and-one-half years of Great Tribulation before the year-long Day of the Lord.

So we see the Church protected from the Devil, but note—not in heaven. The place of her protection is described as “the wilderness.” And you can search every other verse of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, and you will never find heaven described as a “wilderness.” It is used, however, to describe places here on earth.

Now where on earth, you might ask. The Bible does not make this clear, though it gives some hints.

Let’s be honest—if we knew where it was, most of us would be buying tickets and keeping them current. But God reserves such details to Himself, to be revealed to His faithful servants when the time comes.

But you have to know where God is working and where His true Church is. There are tens of thousands of churches and denominations, so how could you know?

Watch this next video giving five identifying signs of the true Church that Jesus built. He said that many would come in His name but would teach deceptive and false doctrines. But He also said He would build His Church and it would never fail. This means it’s still around today. Use the biblical signs in this next video to find out for yourself.

[The text below is an edited version of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

The New Gender Gap: Why Men Are Falling Behind

The mishandling of student protests over Israel’s war in Gaza brought about the resignation of three Ivy League University Presidents in 2023 and 2024:

• Liz Magill of the University of Pennsylvania
• Claudine Gay of Harvard
• Minouche Shafik of Columbia University

A fourth Ivy League President, Cornell’s Martha Pollack, also resigned, but said that she was considering stepping down prior to the protests.

Something that struck me at the time was that all four of these prestigious university presidents were women.

It surprised me how much women were taking over the ranks of university education.

For more perspective, not including interim presidents, the eight schools that make up the Ivy League have had 173 top leaders in their histories. And during their long and distinguished histories, it was not until 1977 when Yale’s Hannah Gray became the first female to hold that position in an Ivy League school. Maurie McInnis now holds that position.

But since Hannah Gray, the top positions have increasing gone to women—15 altogether. Why such a turnaround? What does it mean?

Women in Leadership: Where the Trend Begins

The western world has been male-dominated for centuries, but that began to change 30 to 40 years ago. And today, women are quickly ascending to top leadership positions as they surpass men in university enrollment and achievement. The idea that men should be the breadwinner and protector has been shattered, and that has changed how both men and women see themselves—and how they interact with one another.

Let’s look at the United States before turning to the U.K., Canada, and Australia. Here in the U.S.A.:

For decades, women have increasingly outpaced men in college attendance. In fact, the last year men outnumbered women in higher education was 1978. The pandemic served only to widen that chasm, and as of 2022, women constituted about 60% of college enrollments. Women are also more likely to earn their degrees. Men finish college within four years at a rate 10 percentage points behind the rate of women. (“Here’s What Students Should Know About Gender Inequity in Selective College Admissions, Ivy Coach, https://www.ivycoach.com/press/best-colleges/heres-what-students-should-...)

Now, to put that in perspective, think what that means on a practical level. For every 60 newly-enrolled university women, there are only 40 men. But this doesn’t tell the whole story.

College Enrollment: Men in Crisis?

It would be worse if it were not for universities lowering their standards for men, to maintain as close to a 50 percent balance between the two as they can.

So colleges have a “men problem.” As such, to manifest a more equal gender balance on campus, some colleges favor male applicants. Simply being male can amount to a “thumb on the scale for men,’” a 2023 New York Times Magazine exposé revealed (ibid).

The New York Times article referred to here is titled, “There Was Definitely a Thumb on the Scale to Get Boys,” with the subhead was:

Declining male enrollment has led many colleges to adopt an unofficial policy: affirmative action for men. (“There Was Definitely a Thumb on the Scale to Get Boys; The New York Times; Sept. 8, 2023).

What is the practical effect of doing this?

Affirmative action, while favoring one class of people, inherently disfavors another class. In this effort to bring about parity between the sexes, universities openly favor academically marginal boys and pass over and deny many highly qualified girls. While there will always be room somewhere for highly qualified candidates, this will mean missing out on scholarships or the university of one’s choice for some.

What about other countries? Is the United States alone in seeing this trend in higher education? Sadly, the answer is no. In Canada, women outnumber men in university enrollment in nearly every discipline other than architecture, engineering, mathematics, and computer and information sciences. Overall, women in Canadian universities make up about 57% of enrollees compared to 43 percent for men (“Number of students enrolled in postsecondary institutions in Canada from 2000 to 2024, by gender;” Statista.com; Aug. 5, 2026).

A similar trend is seen in the United Kingdom, where it varies a bit from year to year, but between 2011 and 2024, enrollment has held steadily in favor of women—fluctuating between 55% and 58% women (“Student characteristics data: population data—key findings;” Office for Students–UK; Oct. 9, 2025).

And the disparity in Australia is even worse. In 2024, the difference between domestic female students beginning university life rose to a shocking 62%, with males making up a mere 38% (“Key findings from the 2024 Higher Education Student Statistics - Department of Education, Australian Government).

This cannot be good for men, nor is it good for women in the long-term.

How the Role Reversal Happened

But what does this mean in practical terms?

Most men are still working, and not every job needs a university education. However, when it comes to leadership positions in the media, government, and the corporate board room, a university degree does make a difference.

We still hear a lot about the corporate glass ceiling, but as shown at the beginning of this program, when it comes to the top positions in academia, that ceiling has been shattered over the last two to three decades.

Now let’s look at what university enrollment tells us about where our western world is heading.

The professions are increasingly being taken over by women. For example,

15 of the top 20 law schools (as ranked by U.S. News & World Report) in 2025 had more female attendees than male attendees (“Law School Rankings by Female Enrollment (2025);” Enjuris.com).

When it comes to future veterinarians, women make up 80% of veterinary school students. More women than men are graduating from dental school and now lead in 9 of 14 dental disciplines.

The same is true in medicine.

What’s more, according to previously released data from the AAMC, in 2023-24 women accounted for 54.6% of medical school students, after having become a majority for the first time in 2019-20 (“Women in medicine make gains, but obstacles remain,” Academic Medicine, July 9, 2024).

Now what does this mean?

Whether for leaders in law, the veterinary profession, dentistry, healthcare, or any other profession requiring higher education, it gives us a snapshot of our future.

”The increasing presence of women in medical school is a fundamental reason for their growing presence in teaching and leadership,” notes Diana Lautenberger, director of gender equity initiatives at the AAMC.
“If the majority of medical school students and graduates are women, it bears out later along the [career] pathway, through faculty and leadership, that there will be more women,” she says (ibid).

While there were pioneers leading to this trend going back two or three centuries, most of the change has taken place within the last 30 to 40 years. Why? How did this sudden reversal of roles happen? And what is behind it?

One Flawed Study Changed Everything

There was a turning point in the United States with the release of a document that dramatically changed how children are educated in the United States, and the general effect has been felt elsewhere.

The late child psychologist, Dr. James Dobson, explained how a single document has had a profound effect on education in America. It was titled “How Schools Shortchange Girls.”

This hostility [against boys and in favor of girls] found its manifesto in an inaccurate and terribly biased report written and released in 1992 by the ultraliberal American Association of University Women (AAUW).… It asserted that female students are invisible, ignored, disrespected, and denied their share of educational resources (Dobson, Bringing Up Boys, p. 172).

Now I still remember hearing about this. It was a big deal at the time, but it has dramatically changed our world. Dr. Dobson continues:

The most widely disseminated finding was that teachers permit boys to speak or participate eight times more often than they do girls, but as with the rest of the conclusions, this turned out to be pure nonsense. Their data was based on an old 1981 study that actually said boys are reprimanded eight times more often than girls, and that three-fourths of both girls and boys said they thought teachers compliment girls more often, think they are smarter, and would rather be around female students (ibid).

According to Dobson:

Although the report has been widely discredited now in the professional community for what it was—a blatant attempt to skew education resources away from boys and to characterize girls as victims—the damage had been done (ibid, p. 172).

The report was received with enthusiasm by academia, the media, and governments at all levels. It paved the way for the Gender Equity in Education Act (GEEA), funneling prodigious amounts of taxpayer dollars toward girls’ education—at the expense of boys. While the large disparities between boys and girls in education cannot be laid totally at the feet of the GEEA, it markedly changed the approach in education, and the result has been dramatic and tragic for both boys and girls.

The Prophecy Happening Right Now | Isaiah 3:12

Regardless of the causes, and there is not a single cause, what we see today is the fulfillment of a prophecy made more than 2,700 years ago unfolding before our eyes.

The biblical prophet Isaiah was addressing conditions during his day, but as with much of Bible prophecy, there is duality—an early fulfillment and a later end-time fulfillment. It is also important to note that Isaiah’s audience goes well beyond the Jews, and it involves the so-called lost ten tribes of Israel at the end of the age. Not surprisingly, his prophecies accurately describe what we are seeing today.

As for My people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err, and destroy the way of your paths (Isaiah 3:12).

The disparity between men and women in university enrollment points to a future ruled by women. They may not be there yet, but the signs of the near-term future are all there for anyone with eyes to see.

The Hidden Costs for Men, Women—and Children

Many applaud this turnaround in American and western culture favoring women, thinking “It’s about time!” But is the trend we see truly good for either men or women? Perhaps you have heard the often-repeated warning: Be careful what you wish for.

Marjorie Hass, President of the Council of Independent Colleges, looks past the war of the sexes and puts it succinctly.

It’s typically not good for society when young men feel they don’t have a future (“There Was Definitely a Thumb on the Scale to Get Boys;” The New York Times; Sept. 8, 2023).

A female-dominated education system that begins early in a child’s life has outwardly benefitted women over the last several decades, but not all are rewarded according to their efforts. Universities recognize the need to have some form of male-female parity in enrollment. In addition to a host of other problems, the fear is that if the disparity is too great, university education will be seen by men as a feminine pursuit, and the bottom will drop out of male enrollment. Brookings Institute’s Richard Reeves points out:

“That notion would be hard to reverse” (ibid).

That will in turn lessen female enrollment and dry up tuition revenue—and worse yet for the colleges, endowments.

But there are far worse effects on society than loss of endowments. These statistics bring with them consequences for society. Marriage rates are already at historic lows, and birth rates are dropping nearly everywhere. Single-parent homes are on the rise, and this has ramifications for children.

In addition to admissions disadvantaging highly qualified girls, there are also men and women who recognize that too great a disparity has social and cultural consequences. How men and women interact, such as in dating to get to know one another, has long since gone away.

Emma Roberts, who graduated from Tulane in the spring, told me she discussed the problem in her gender studies class. “I think everyone’s consensus we came to was that it’s pretty disgusting trying to date,” she says. “Because the reality is you’re not likely going to find someone that wants to date you” (“There Was Definitely a Thumb on the Scale to Get Boys;” The New York Times; Sept. 8, 2023).

Emma did not mean that men are not interested in women. Many still are, but not in the way women hope they would be.

In the 2015 book, Date-onomics, business reporter Jon Birger builds the case that hookup culture has become the norm on almost all college campuses, largely because the gender ratio is so skewed. In a world in which straight men are scarce, he maintains, they control the terms of social life (ibid).

A hookup culture is the result of more just than the ratio of men and women on campuses, but it does leave young women with fewer options and a sense that they have to compromise their values and settle for less. As the author of The New York Times article wrote about a discussion she had with three young ladies:

The young women were older and wiser than when they started, ready to head into the world with the economic advantages that are associated with a bachelor’s degree. But for all their achievements, they also left feeling—to use a word they all agreed on—“humbled” (ibid).

What does a hookup culture do for male-female relations, and by extension marriage and family? Given a choice, do single men or single women really want to marry someone who has hooked up with ten, 20, or 30, or more former friends and strangers? How special is that person?

Our TomorrowsWorld.org website has a feature titled News and Prophecy. We published a piece earlier this year, headlined “The Impact of Happy Marriage on Health?” In it we wrote:

Building a happy and successful marriage takes work, time, and intentionality. It is not easy—especially in a world whose “god,” the Devil, is bent on destroying this God-ordained institution (2 Corinthians 4:4)—but when God gives a command, He does so to bless and not to punish us. With this in mind, it should come as no surprise that studies show happy marriages resulting in improved mental and physical health for both husbands and wives. Recent research shows that couples in happy marriages “have a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks, stroke and death from heart disease, compared with those who are unmarried” (Washington Post, June 2, 2026). The happily married also have better overall mental health and even a reduced risk of cancer. Those who work to keep their marriages happy create an environment that positively impacts their moods, attitudes, habits, and even immune systems.

God intended the marriage relationship to be an institution of joy and stability, a place to raise happy and balanced children who can reach their full God-given potential. Sadly, that is too often now what we see today.

Why Deborah in the Bible Took the Lead—Reluctantly

One of the most chaotic, violent, and lawless times in the history of Israel is that which is recorded in the book of Judges. The last verse of the book sums up the problem this way.

In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25).

Yet, it is in the context of this turbulent time that we read a beautiful passage of what it takes to bring about harmony.

When leaders lead in Israel, when the people willingly offer themselves, bless the LORD! (Judges 5:2).

Yes, those in charge must lead and others must willingly follow that leadership, but what is the context of this specific passage?

Northern Israel had fallen into sin and was ruled over by a foreign power. A woman by the name of Deborah was judging (or ruling) at that time, and she called for a man by the name of Barak to deploy troops and fight off their enslaving enemy. His response to her command was timid at best.

And Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go!” (Judges 4:8).

In essence, he said in so many words, “I’ll go if you hold my hand.”

Now this is hardly the response one might expect from a man. God gave Israel the victory, but the glory would go to Deborah and to a woman who killed their enemy’s leader. It is evident that men were not stepping up to lead as they should have—and it is also evident that women are capable of filling the gap during such times. But was this the way God intended it to be?

It is estimated that women make up 70% to 75% of Human Resource departments, and their thumbs are on the DEI scales. Many say, “Well, it’s about time!” However, there are both men and women who see trouble on the horizon. As education has focused on girls, boys are being left behind, and this is not in women’s long-term best interest.

Anyone with eyes to see knows that men and women are different. A man will never experience the joy of a child being formed within him. Few women are capable of carrying a full-grown adult out of a burning building.

God made both sexes with strengths and weaknesses, and to deny our unique qualities is to deny reality.

God did not create men and women to be in competition with one another, but to work in harmony as He designed us.

In this next video, you’ll find God’s purpose and role for men clearly defined—NOT by our modern world that believes masculinity is toxic.

No, as quoted earlier by Marjorie Hass, President of the Council of Independent:

“It’s typically not good for society when young men feel they don’t have a future.”

Rather, the answer lies in understanding what the Bible reveals. God has a very special future for both men and women—and a clear role using the strengths that the Creator designed them to have.

Watch this next video and see for yourself how men work together with women to succeed as God intends—in marriage, in following Jesus Christ’s example, and in leading a more fulfilling life.