The Rapture To Come

INTRODUCTION

Having spent the past couple of weeks looking at 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, we have seen Paul’s pastoral concern for the believers at Thessalonica.

He is concerned for their spiritual well-being in the midst of trials

He is concerned for their comfort during times of grief and loss

He is concerned that they were uninformed about the reality of those believers who had died

that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope, (1 Thessalonians 4:13)

There is hope in the Death Of Jesus

There is hope in the Resurrection Of Jesus

There is hope in the Word Of Jesus

While we endure trials and set-backs in this life, and we lose friends and loved ones to the enemy of death, we have a sure hope rooted in Christ.

That hope is secured through His death, burial, and resurrection

That hope is guaranteed through the assurance of His Word

Today, we are going to examine The Rapture To Come. What exactly is going to take place, and do we know when?

Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

The Lord Will Descend

Ever since Acts 1, Jesus has been at the right hand of the Father in heaven.

Acts 1:9–11 ESV

And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Acts 7:56 ESV

And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

Earlier in his letter, Paul commended the Thessalonians because they were waiting for His Son from heaven, whom He raise from the dead, that is Jesus, (1 Thessalonians 1:10).

The writer of Hebrews said of Jesus:

Hebrews 1:3 ESV

After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high

Jesus promised to His disciples in the upper-room, on the night He was betrayed:

John 14:1–3 ESV

Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Jesus has been in heaven, preparing a place for His disciples to join Him. His return will be accompanied by three things:

a cry of command almost like a military general calling His troops to fall in. When He raised Lazarus, He cried out with a loud voice. When He raises the dead in Christ, He will give a cry of command.

the voice of an archangel it is unclear who this is (Michael?), or what ultimate purpose this serves…(perhaps a proclamation of the Lord’s entrance, like a herald?) It is possible that it could be linked up with:

Mark 13:26–27 ESV

And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

The only caveat here is that the Mark 13 passage is understood to be Jesus’ Second Coming, which is (potentially) distinct from the Rapture.

the trumpet of God trumpets were used in Scripture for many reasons.

They sounded at Israel’s feasts

Marked times of celebration

Sounded an alarm in time of war

Heralded an announcement

The trumpet of God here seems to have the purpose of assembling God’s people and to signal His deliverance of them

The Dead In Christ Will Rise First

Paul makes this point to bring comfort to his readers, that the dead in Christ will not be forgotten about when the Rapture takes place.

In fact, they will be the first to rise and go meet the Lord in the air

“Six foot head start”

MacArthur Their glorified bodies joining with their glorified spirits to make them into the image of Christ.

This is the very promise revealed to us through the Apostle John:

1 John 3:2 ESV

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

The dead in Christ will partake of this most anticipated event because they are His!

Romans 14:8 ESV

For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.

The Still Living In Christ Will Join Them In The Clouds

caught up is the Greek word ἁρπάζω, which refers to a strong, irresistible, and even violent act.

Matthew 11 - describes the taking of the kingdom of heaven by force

John 10 - describes a wolf snatching the sheep

John 10 - speaks of the impossibility of anyone’s snatching believers out of the hand of the Father or the Son

Acts 8 - Philip was snatched away from the Ethiopian eunuch

2 Corinthians 12 - describes Paul’s being caught up into the third heaven

The Rapture…”the snatching” (MacArthur)… is a powerfully quick event where believers are united with Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15:52 ESV

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.

Believers will be rescued from the grasp of Satan, the effect of sin on the flesh, the evil world system, and the coming wrath of God.

we will always be with the Lord

CONCLUSION

The Rapture is an amazing mystery that has been revealed, and for which we look forward to in the days ahead.

It is also an intra-orthodox discussion as to the timing of this event.

Pre-Tribulation Rapture Jesus Christ will secretly and suddenly take all true believers to heaven before a future seven-year period of global tribulation.  After the rapture, the Antichrist rises, God’s judgment unfolds on earth, and many come to faith amid suffering. At the end of the tribulation, Christ returns visibly with His saints to defeat evil and establish His kingdom

Mid-Tribulation Rapture Jesus Christ will take believers to heaven at the midpoint of the seven-year tribulation, after the first 3½ years of relative peace and before God’s most severe judgments. Believers are spared the intense “great tribulation” that follows, marked by God’s wrath. Christ’s return is seen in two phases: a rapture of the church mid-tribulation, and a visible return at the end to defeat evil and establish His kingdom.

Post-Tribulation Rapture the church will remain on earth throughout the entire seven-year tribulation and endure its hardships. At the end of the tribulation, Jesus Christ returns visibly and gloriously; believers are caught up to meet Him in the air and immediately accompany Him back to earth

Ultimately, each of these positions have strengths and weaknesses.

And our view on the Rapture is not a salvation matter, but an interpretation matter.

It is not a matter to cause division, but a discussion that should drive us to our Bibles

So we return to what was spoken to the disciples in Acts 1, as a reminder of our focus.

Acts 1:11 ESV

Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.

Acts 1:8 ESV

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.