Session 8 - The Rapture, 2nd Coming and Final Judgement
Christian Theology • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 12 viewsNotes
Transcript
1. The Rapture
1. The Rapture
The Lord Jesus descends from Heaven but doesn’t actually return to the earth. He simply returns for His bride. This is also called “the ctching away of the Church”.
For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
The words “caught up” are where we the Latin translation from Greek which gives us the word “rapuro” and then English word “rapture”.
Notice that it is the dead in Christ who are resurrected first and then those that are alive are taken up next. This is not to suggest soul sleep as the Bible tells us that when we die in Crist we are immediately with the Lord. This means that the soul and spirit of those who have died will joined with that new resurrection body.
They will meet the Lord in the air. The bridegroom and the bride will be together forever.
Paul tells us more about that transformation.
I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 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 imperishable, and we shall be changed.
There will be those who are believers who are alive upon the earth when the trumpet will sound and in an instant those who are dead in Christ will be miraculously have their spirit and soul reunited with new resurrected bodies that cannot die.
This event will be suden and unexpected.
For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
How do we know this is about the rapture and not the Second Coming of Jesus at the end of the tribulation period mentioned in Revelation? There is no mention of judgment destroying the earth and this happens suddenly and unexpected like the rapture. The end of the tribulation will not be life as normal!
2. The Second Coming
2. The Second Coming
There is a great war coming upn the earth before the second coming of Jesus and it is referred to as the Battle of Armageddon. It is mentioned in several verses. The battle or persecution against the Jews is yet to take place as all the nations of the earth will come against them.
The oracle of the word of the Lord concerning Israel: Thus declares the Lord, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it.
This prophecy is clear that all of the nations will come against Israel and it will look like they are winning. The Lord will go out and fight against those nations. These are amazing prophecies about the second coming of Jesus Christ. It is first of all for the nation of Israel.
Behold, a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.
In Revelation John is shown the second coming and there is a war and that Jesus will strike down the nations that come against Israel to wipe them off the map.
Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
There will be a time of great mourning from Israel. They will realise that their saviour, the One who has come, was not recognised the first time and that a time of salvation has come.
“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
There will be a collective turning of the nation of Israel to the LORD at that time. The one who died for their sins. The hardening of hearts will be removed.
“On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.
Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,
“The Deliverer will come from Zion,
he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;
“and this will be my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”
It is a day of victory for Israel. God Himself will fight for them and against the nations of the world seeking to destroy them.
On that day the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the Lord, going before them. And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.
After this battle we are told that Satan will be bound up for 1,000 years. This 1,000 years is known as the Millenial Kingdom or Messianic Kingdom when Jesus will rule the earth and bring unparalled peace and prosperity.
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.
The Second Coming of Jesus to the Earth is largely about rescuing Israel and bringing judgment upon the nations of the world that seek to destroy Israel.
3. The Final Judgement
3. The Final Judgement
When you read throught he New Testamant you realise that there are going to be several different judgments taking place. The “judgment seat” is a single Greek word that is “Bema” which was a elevated judgment seat where judgment was handed out. We know that Christians will not be judged for their sins beacuse Jesus took our sins upon the cross. There is no judment for Christians in relation to sin.
For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
Christians will be judged with regard to rewards. Does this mean that every Christian gets rewards? The Apostle Paul is giving us a principle that applies to all believers. It is either going to be left behind or burnt up. The loss is not a loss of salvation. Salavation is based on faith, not works.
For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
The Final Judgment is shown in Revelation.
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
There are no Christian believers that will be at this judgment because they are part of the bride of Christ. He has taken our judgment for sin.
