The Rapture

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Intro

Welcome

We sound weird as Christians at times. Almost cultlike

Prayer

The Concept

the word rapture comes from rapturo in latin and harpazo in Greek

caught up - snatch away

Acts 23:10 “10 As the conflict grew more violent, the commander was afraid they would tear Paul apart. So he ordered his soldiers to go and rescue him by force and take him back to the fortress.”

Rescue is the same word

No One Knows the Day or the Hour

Matthew 24:37–39 “37 “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. 38 In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. 39 People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.”

wedding concept

We Are Not Appointed to Wrath

Point

have Eysha play a trumpet sound at some point before point 3

Live in Light of His Return

paul uses the word “we” in 1 thess 4:17. he believed it would happen in his lifetime. our hope is that we will go to be with the Lord one day.

reaching out to everyone on my phone and focusing on the rapture and end times stuff.

Focus on Jesus and preaching the Gospel

Outro

Prayer

In 1 Thess 5 we are not appointed to wrath

1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:9 NLT

13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. 15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words. 1 Now concerning how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters, we don’t really need to write you. 2 For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. 3 When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape. 4 But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. 5 For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. 6 So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. 7 Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. 8 But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation. 9 For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us.

The Rapture 1 Thess 4:13-18 Harpazzo – means to snatch Rev 3:10 Matthew 24:30-31 Bema Seat Judgement Who He is coming back for A spotless pure bride Marriage supper of the lamb The 10 virgins

Matthew 25:1-13 We have 10 flashlights and only 5 have batteries No one knows the time or date We know the signs and times Good being called evil and evil good As in the days of Noah and Sodom and Gomorrah

1 Corinthians 15:50–53 “50 What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. 51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. 53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.”

1. 1 and 2 Thessalonians deal specifically with the second coming of Christ. The Church in Thessalonica thought they missed the second coming of Christ and were extremely shaken. If Paul was preaching a mid or post-tribulation Rapture then there would have been hope, but there was none. Therefore it is likely that Paul was preaching a pre-tribulation Rapture.

2. We get the term “Rapture” based on the Latin translation “rapturo” from the Greek “harpazo” or “caught up” in 1 Thess. 4:17. The term is future passive in tense and means to “snatch away” and there are other instances where people are raptured in Scripture, such as Enoch, Elijah, and the Two Witnesses in the middle of the Tribulation. Philip was also translated in Acts. It also happens in the twinkling of an eye.

3. The 7 year Tribulation period is a time meant for judgement on mankind. The cup has overflown and God has had enough. We as the church cannot experience His judgement because of what Christ did on the cross. God cannot also judge Himself due to us having the Holy Spirit in us. Scripture says that the only thing holding back all of the evil that will break loose is the Holy Spirit. That means we must go with the Holy Spirit when He is removed. There is also a principle of God not bringing judgment down on the righteous. You can see that Lot was still considered righteous and God would not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah until he had left. Noah was also considered righteous and God Himself closed the door to the Ark so that nobody else could enter when the judgement of the Flood finally started. Jesus said “as in the days of Noah and Lot” so it seems to me that also includes not judging the righteous.

4. The marriage Supper of the Lamb and the Bema Seat of Christ must take place at some point and it seems to fit that the church is participating in this during the Tribulation period. The Bema Seat is different than the Judgement seat because as the Church, we are already sealed by the Blood. The Bema seat is when we receive our rewards in Heaven based on what we did in faith here on earth.

5. The Church is also not mentioned after chapter 3 and it makes sense to me. Right now we are in the age of grace with the church but once the Rapture happens, God will focus His attention back on Israel to put them through a purifying process and bring them to a point where they will recognize Jesus as Lord.

6. Those who are dead in Christ are the physical bodies of those have already died. Their Spirits are with God in Heaven but there has to be a bodily resurrection just as Jesus had a bodily Resurrection.

7. Another thing that I have heard and is more speculative is that it is possible that the “door” mentioned in Rev. 4 is the rapture happening. As Jesus is mentioned as the gate we have to enter through, “After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”

I could write a lot more but here are a couple of links to a website that explains some more things on the pre-trib view.

http://raptureready.com/

http://raptureready.com/rr-pretribulation-rapture.html

http://raptureready.com/rr-pre-trib-rapture.html