Triumph of Christ’s Kingdom (Daniel and Revelation)-3

The Rapture of the Church

Wednesday August 23, 2023

Study Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11

Focus:

We have seen a prophesied 70 weeks in Daniel 9.

Daniel 9:24 (LSB) “Seventy weeks have been determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Holy of Holies.

The Bible tells of an event that will lead to the beginning of the 70th week.

The Rapture

So, before we look at Daniel’s 70th week, the Tribulation, let’s look at what we believe is the next event on the prophetic calendar — the rapture of the Church.

The word rapture does not appear in the Bible but references to Christians being "caught away" are plentiful.

1 Thessalonians 4:17.

1 Corinthians 12:2.

Acts 8:39.

The Book of Revelation records an event in chapter 4 which most evangelicals recognize as the time in prophetic history when the Rapture will occur. John turns his attention from earthly to heavenly occurrences in the fourth chapter of Revelation.

The majority of prophetic references concerning the Rapture occur outside of the Book of Revelation. We will now turn our attention to those passages.

WILL THE DEAD BE RAPTURED?

Read: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

One of the primary motivations for writing the first letter to the Thessalonian church was a misunderstanding concerning the Rapture. The apostle Paul rejoiced that the Thessalonians had turned from idols to God. They chose to serve the living, true God. They were waiting for Jesus to come from heaven ( 1 Thessalonians 1:9,10).

While this anticipation of Jesus' return was good in itself, two problems began to develop. The first problem, dealt with in 1 Thessalonians 4, was that some were teaching that believers who died before Jesus' return would miss the glory and blessing which will accompany His return. First Thessalonians 5 exposes a second problem: the church's speculation concerning the time and date of Jesus' return.

1. According to 1 Thessalonians 4:13, what two things did Paul hope to accomplish through his communication?

The Christians in Thessalonica had accepted God's promises and put their hope in Christ. They were anxiously awaiting His return from heaven. They were assured that, when He came, they would be given new bodies, immortal and incorruptible, not to be touched by death or decay.

Many Thessalonian Christians were converts from the pagan Greek religion which taught that all the dead entered into a dark, hazy underworld from which there was no return. Some of these Christians apparently were still influenced to some degree by these old Greek ideas. They came to the false conclusion that if people died (or fell asleep) before Jesus returned, they would miss all the wonder, glory, blessing, and joy of that event.

Paul recognized this false teaching was causing considerable sorrow among believers whose loved ones had already died. In their sorrow they were, in fact, expressing a hopelessness that was close to the kind of unrelenting despair expressed on the tombstones of the heathen of those days. In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul supplied truth that would replace their despairing grief with new hope that would not fail.

2. Who are the participants in the Rapture?

3. Compare 1 Thessalonians 4:14 with 1 Corinthians 15:12.28. How does the fact of Christ's resurrection provide assurance for those who are concerned about the dead?

Such belief is not mere mental acceptance of the fact Jesus rose. It involves a personal identification with Jesus in His death and resurrection.

4. How would a realization of life after death promote self-examination?

5. Paul declares the authority behind his proclamation in I Thessalonians 4:15. What is that authority, and what assurance does this give to those who claim to be believers in Jesus?

Jesus told Paul that those who are alive on earth when He comes back will not precede (get ahead of, or have any advantage over) those who died with their faith in Jesus.

Some have pointed to Paul's use of the phrase "fallen asleep" to justify the heretical teaching of soul-sleeping. "Fallen asleep" is used here to mean "died," just as Jesus used the word "sleep" in John 11:11 and explained it in John 11:14.

It is used of Christians because the death of the body is not final. In a number of places the Bible shows that the dead are not in a state of "soul-sleep."

6. According to Isaiah 14:9,10; Matthew 17:3; and 2 Corinthians 5:8, what is the present state of those of the Christian faith who have already died?

Some may wonder what happens to the human body after death. Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 15:35-58 that our new bodies will retain our old identities in the resurrection, but we will be clothed with a new creation God has for us.

Paul compared what will happen to us with what happens to a wheat seed that is buried in the ground and grows up to become a mature wheat plant. The wheat plant shares the same identity as the seed that was buried, though vastly different. Our new bodies will be the same bodies that were buried, yet changed in the resurrection. They will be as different from our present bodies as a mature wheat plant is from a seed of grain.

Our present bodies deteriorate, decay and perish, but will be raised in incorruption, not subject to decay or death. Our present bodies are buried in humiliation and weakness, but will be raised in glory and power. Our present bodies are natural bodies, suited for earthly, natural life, but will be raised as spiritual bodies.

This does not mean they will be unreal, filmy, or ghostly. They will be just as real and tangible as our present bodies. They will be like Christ's resurrection body, for we shall be like Him when we see Him as He is (1 John 3:2).

HOW WILL THE RAPTUE OCCUR?

The Rapture will be an exciting time for believers. The apostle Paul clearly outlined the events which will propel the Church to its eternal reward.

7. According to 1 Thessalonians 4:16, who will initiate the Rapture?

8. What specific events will immediately precede the rapture of the Church (1 Thessalonians 4:16)?

9. What is the significance of the trumpet being sounded at the Rapture?

10. According to 1 Thessalonians 4:16, whose bodies will be changed first?

11. According to I Thessalonians 4:17, what will happen to Christians who are alive when Jesus comes?

12. According to 1 Corinthians 15:51,52, how long will it take for Jesus to rapture His Church?

The Greek word translated as "snatched away" or "caught up" in the English Bible once meant "to seize," then it came to mean "to snatch up forcibly." It was used of an eagle snatching up its prey. Paul used it in 2 Corinthians 12:2 of his being caught up to the third heaven. The Greek word was translated into the Latin word raptus, from which came the English word rapture.

Emphasis should be put on the word together. We shall be gathered suddenly in one body. Paul gives no hint of special raptures for those who are "more holy" than ordinary believers. The implication is that the only requirement for living believers to be prepared to go up in the Rapture is to be in Christ.

13. Paul includes himself in the group who will be alive at the time of the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:17). What does this fact reveal concerning Paul's view of the immediacy of Jesus' return?

14. Considering Paul's view of the immediacy of Christ's return, how should we, who live many years later, prepare for the return of Jesus?

15. What was the primary purpose of Paul's communication about end-time events (1 Thessalonians 4:18)?

HOW SHOULD I PREPARE?

In addition to their concern over what would happen to those who died before the Rapture, the Thessalonians were concerned about the dates and the nature of the times and signs connected with the Second Coming. Paul told them they did not need him to write more about that.

16. Jesus had provided all the information necessary regarding the date and time of His return in Acts 1:7,8. What did He tell His hearers in that passage?

17. What analogy does Paul use to illustrate the manner in which Christ's return would occur (1 Thessalonians 5:2)?

18. Paul identifies the Day of the Lord with the second coming of Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:2,4). The Old Testament prophets attached many meanings to the phrase "the Day of the Lord." Read the following passages and record the various meanings associated with the phrase. Isaiah 22:5; Joel 3:11-15; Zephaniah 1:14-16; Malachi 4:1; Isaiah 54:2,3; 55:3-5; Ezekiel 47:22,23 Amos 5:18.20

19. Are the Rapture and the second coming of Jesus the same event?

20. According to 1 Thessalonians 5:3, some will not be prepared for the Rapture. What will be the consequence of being unprepared for this important event?

Once the trumpet blows, there will be no way for those unprepared to stop it. The individual's previous relationship with Christ will determine the rewards and judgments which await.

21. Jesus explains the importance of preparation through a parable found in Matthew 25:1-13. Summarize the parable in the space below.

To emphasize the impossibility of escape on the Day of the Lord, Paul compared the arrival of that day to the birth of a child (1 Thessalonians 5:3). There was no way to stop the birth process once a woman went into labor. She simply had to go through with it. God's enactment of judgment will be just as inevitable.

Paul's warnings were not meant to scare believers. His purpose was to encourage. The Day of the Lord will not overtake believers as a thief if they are truly living for Jesus. This does not mean the Lord will let believers know the time of His coming in advance. It simply means believers looking forward to Jesus' return will be ready whenever He comes.

We are to live in the light of God's presence, the light of God's Word, the light of the Holy Spirit, and the light of Christ (Ephesians 5:14).

22. What did Paul say we should do to prepare (1 Thessalonians 5:4-8)? What other things should we do to be ready?

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God's wrath against sin must come. The Bible repeatedly states the Kingdom will come in through judgment, yet Christians are not appointed to wrath. Jesus will preserve ready believers from the wrath that is coming upon the world.

23. Read the following verses and summarize what they say about God's wrath awaiting those who do not know Jesus as Savior and Lord.

Revelation 6:15.17

Revelation 11:18

Revelation 15:1,7

Revelation 16:1,19

Revelation 19:15

Followers of Jesus are not appointed to the wrath that will fall on a sinful, Christ-rejecting world. We are appointed to salvation. Salvation means more than conversion. The word "salvation" in 1 Thessalonians 5:9 refers primarily to the inheritance that will be ours in its fullness when Jesus comes again. Faithful remembrance of these promises will give us the strength necessary to face trials.

24. Why not believe in a mid or post tribulation Rapture?

Some may wonder if they have to be perfect to be prepared for the Rapture. We do not have to live in fear that we will somehow miss our eternal reward because of a sinful thought that happened to travel through our mind at the moment of Jesus' return. The Holy Spirit's convicting and guiding power is able to preserve any Christian (John 16:8-14). But the person is terribly mistaken who feels he can continue his sinful lifestyle, then somehow anticipate the Rapture and

get right with God at the last moment. Jesus is coming to receive a prepared Bride.

SUMMARY

Old Testament foreshadowing:

A. Enoch

B. Lot

3. New Testament foreshadowing:

Jerusalem (Acts 8:1)

Paul recognized that we obtain salvation not by what we are or by what we have done, but by our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We have received cleansing, forgiveness, and freedom from the guilt of all our sins. We stand before God as "not guilty," and nothing can stand between us and Him or between us and the inheritance He has promised. Our hope is in Jesus. He has purchased us by His blood and will preserve us in that day.

Paul's intent in providing information about the rapture of the Church was to provide comfort and encouragement. Comfort for those who worry about the state of loved ones who have already died. Encouragement for those who were discouraged because Jesus seemed to delay His coming.

Effect on those “left behind.”

A. Enoch

B. Elijah

The rapture of the Church is closer today than it has ever been. We can be prepared by faithfully obeying the Word of God.

If you have not accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord, you can do so today. Don't get caught waiting until it's too late.

LET'S REVIEW

1. What were the two concerns circulating in the Thessalonian church which motivated Paul to write his prophetic message regarding the Rapture?

2. What does the word rapture mean?

3. What will happen to Christians who have already died when the Rapture occurs?

4. How can a person be sure he or she is prepared for the Rapture?

5. Upon whom will the wrath of God fall?